Inherited one of these along with an older German 620, and I have to say I'm glad I did because it led me to this video (and your channel). Well produced, well narrated and very informative.
This video was really helpful! My grandma gave me her old Kodak vigilant a few years ago and I finally go myself some film for it and this vid helped me a lot getting started with it. Hope you keep making this series :)
Azriel Knight Hey, bit of bad news, I got my first roll of film developed and the whole roll got overexposed...I was talking with a local photography store where I found the film and they were looking at the bellows of the camera and noticed a bunch of very tiny little holes in the parts where it folds, and they're guessing thats what caused it to fail. So I'm gona have to reseal it with some black rubber paint sealer or something to hopefully get it to work. I'm open to any recommendations if u know something that would work better/best to make the camera bellows light-tight again. Guess this is gona take a bit more work than I thought :p
Thanks for the video! We have our Uncle's six-20 series III that got stuck in the open position. Your demonstration saved us from breaking the camera. 🙂
I have the slightly larger Vigilant six-16. It's a pain in the butt to use, mainly because the film it takes doesn't have a modern equivalent and its a big camera. I have recently gotten a few 620 cameras, including what I think may be a Vigilant, so thank you very much for the information! And thank you for explaining how to unload the cameras, I've been too nervous to try lol.
That shot at 6:06 of the bus lights is still my favourite shot of yours. I've just been asked to price five or six of these folding cameras at a charity shop (thrift store) and was pleased that I got the price about right £15 -£20, condition as is. Bought a Kodak 3A from them, any advice on film other than 120?
Sorry, wasn't clear. The 3a pocket camera (never seen a pocket that big) takes A122 film, presumably long discontinued. The spool looks massive in the back.Other than 120 film wound on to this do you know any medium format film larger than 120 that is still made on a roll?
I’ve had a Vigilant Six - 20 for a while, but never thought much of it until I realized that I was lucky enough to have the upscale Kodak Anastigmat Special 4.5, 100 mm lens ( from 1940 ) in a No 1 Supermatic shutter, with 400 top speed. It is a solid, and nice quality camera...... except for the bellows, as you said, that are falling apart. Thanks for this thorough and informative, as usual, review!
So, I watched this video. You made the Vigilant look so good, I went and found one, filed down some Delta 100 and shot it. God I love this camera! Not only is it a pretty little bellows camera, but it takes fantastic pictures! Love loading it up and shoot it. Finished another roll last Friday. Thanks!
I have a late Vollenda 620, and they are equal with the Vigilant, I’d say, spec, and operation wise. The Vollenda though had that nice 30’s Art Deco styling, that we all love.
The T on the camera is for a Timed exposure. Works best with a shutter release cable and the camera mounted on a tripod. I have been shooting antique cameras for some time and the T setting is common. It was used most frequently for portrait exposures indoors. Enjoyed the video.
I have a Kodak SENIOR six-20 and I can't find any information on that particular model? Very similar, but no view finder and I cant close it. can you help?
Just picked one up in the original box with book in VG cond. for 25 bucks at an antique store. It looks like a bit of filing on the edges of a 120 roll will let it run to a 620 take up. My camera does not focus and goes from 32 to F 12.5 shutter speed is T B and I . Bellows seems to be good, Think I will run a roll through it.
I love folding cameras.I don't have that one yet,but I have a Vigilant 620 Junior,bought in almost mint condition and in the original box.To check bellows,I open the camera in a dark room and shine a light inside the bellows.Any leaks are obvious.I use a changing bag and respool 120 onto 620 spools.Much cheaper than buying it already done.I have some cameras that need a 620 spool.They are so precise that even a modified 120 spool won't work.
Azriel thanks for making a video on the vigilant, I picked up a vigilant junior 620 about two months ago, so far it has produced very nice negatives, but It was difficult to find an in-depth review and overlook of the camera. I was wondering though, you think you could do a video on the Minolta Weathermatic A? the 110 underwater camera. I have one but, I really don't know what to do with it.
I did a review on the Pentax auto 110 and it wasn't one of my better reviews. If I do another 110 review it might just be on the format as a whole. Thanks for the suggestion :)
Thank you for the excellent overview! I inherited one of these from my great grandmother, and it was apparently the "family photo camera" up until the early 90's. If I may ask, how did you date yours? Mine is slightly different (105mm f6.3 Anastigmat, as opposed to your f8.8 100, and completely lacking a flash nipple) and I'd rather like to know approximately when it was made, in the interests of preserving the family history. Also, how would I go about using a cable release with it?
Two this old camera videos in a row! You really are spoiling us! Does this camera have a sharp lens? I really want to try medium format, large format is a lot of setup for a few photos and this would be a nice middle ground!
Sharpness is relative but this one isn't especially. Think of it this way, you're 35mm is like a really good HD TV and this camera is like a really crappy 4K.
You’re absolutely right about dealers overpricing these cameras. Today I dropped into an antique store to find them offering a very similar Kodak folding camera. It was lightly corroded, and the shutter interval lever would not shift into the slower speeds, yet they were asking AUD$119 (about USD$90) for the unusable camera. Who was ever going to pay that much for a camera that doesn’t work, except to use it as an expensive decoration?
I'd recommend what Hipsters call a "Barnack Leica" as something as simple/classic/compact as the Kodak Vigilant Six-20. Which one is the hard question, since any model after the III/IIIa/IIIb would be the (somewhat) easiest to find among pre-World-War-II models. Otherwise, the IIIc or IIIf would be the next most common Leica on eBay. The family Leica IIIa is a 1938 model that came with an uncoated 50mm f/1.5-9 Taylor Hobson Xenon, which produced hazy/fuzzy images. As soon as I could, I replaced that paperweight with a 1950's 50mm f/3.5 collapsible Elmar, which produced sharp and crisp Kodachrome slides and great monochrome images.
Do you have or plan to do a review of a Moskva 2/4/5? Similar camera, except Russian, 120 instead of 620, and a coupled rangefinder, and faster f/3.5 lens. I have one but Ukrainian ebay purchases are pretty shoddy. The focus doesn't work at all, turn the lens all day and it doesn't move forward/back. I really would like a good one.
A friend gave me a kodak brownie 620. I really want to use it. Sin 620 film is no longer available, I'm planing to use a 120 film, Will I need to respool the film into a 620 spool in a dark room in order to be able to use?
Thank you for your great review! I like yourself would be more inclined to use one of these cameras but for you having to modify the 120 spool :( All the very best to you!!
Thanks for the episode! I enjoy my 6x9 Moskva-5 which takes 120 making my life easier :) There's also a 6x6 mask one can put inside to have the square format photos. I don't have the mask and I don't really need it.
Moskva-5 looks like a solid choice! I saved one to my watch list so I can look them up later, thanks :) Also, good to see friends finding friends in my comments section :)
Can you recommend a better alternative than the Paterson plastic reels? I struggled to load in a Darkbag for a while but once it finally caught I was off and running. My first roll developed was HP5. I used HC-110 (Don't know which type sorry), Ilfostop, Kodafix and Kodak photo-flo. I didn't bother doing anything to the temperature of the chemicals, just used everything at room temperature. As I do not own a scanner (yet) my plan was to store the film in plastic sheets until ready. Will the negatives deteriorate much? They might be stagnant for 6 months tops.
Hi Charles, hopefully this answers your questions. I have only ever used Paterson, and its known for it's user friendly design. The struggle you had was likely the dark bag. You can get away with room temp stop and fix, but the developer should be done at 20 Celsius or you should compensate your temp with the correct time.You can get proper film sheets from just about any camera store, If you develop and store them right they'll outlast your grandchildren. The biggest take away from this is learn to control your temps, if you can do that, most other tasks will be simple.
@@AzrielKnight It still seems to be OK- the shutter still works, no light leaks- but the worst that happened was part of the camera strap came undone (but I did bend it back), and some of my frames got these weird black spots- probably just impact damage. But I guess old Kodak cameras were built to last. Hoping to do another test roll sometime soon.
I just bought one with a max aperature of 4.5 and a supermatic shutter, supposedly the best model available. It came with an exposed 620 roll. I don't know how old it is, I can send it to you if you want to develop it as a mystery film episode. My only fear is that it might be c-22 instead of c-41. I contacted film rescue international to see if they can help me date it.
@@AzrielKnight Sorry! TH-cam didn't notify me and I just saw your comment right now. In fact I have this camera because it was a relic of my grandfather. I really don't know if it still works but it looks very well-preserved. drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Dh5juSplIkTXY3emtydnVHOEE/view?usp=sharing
Inherited one of these along with an older German 620, and I have to say I'm glad I did because it led me to this video (and your channel). Well produced, well narrated and very informative.
Thanks very much. I hope you enjoy the camera!
I'm a simple man. I see a new Azriel video, I like it.
I'm glad you liked it :)
This video was really helpful! My grandma gave me her old Kodak vigilant a few years ago and I finally go myself some film for it and this vid helped me a lot getting started with it. Hope you keep making this series :)
Be sure and let me know how that goes!
Azriel Knight Hey, bit of bad news, I got my first roll of film developed and the whole roll got overexposed...I was talking with a local photography store where I found the film and they were looking at the bellows of the camera and noticed a bunch of very tiny little holes in the parts where it folds, and they're guessing thats what caused it to fail. So I'm gona have to reseal it with some black rubber paint sealer or something to hopefully get it to work. I'm open to any recommendations if u know something that would work better/best to make the camera bellows light-tight again. Guess this is gona take a bit more work than I thought :p
Thanks for the video! We have our Uncle's six-20 series III that got stuck in the open position. Your demonstration saved us from breaking the camera. 🙂
I have the slightly larger Vigilant six-16. It's a pain in the butt to use, mainly because the film it takes doesn't have a modern equivalent and its a big camera. I have recently gotten a few 620 cameras, including what I think may be a Vigilant, so thank you very much for the information! And thank you for explaining how to unload the cameras, I've been too nervous to try lol.
That shot at 6:06 of the bus lights is still my favourite shot of yours. I've just been asked to price five or six of these folding cameras at a charity shop (thrift store) and was pleased that I got the price about right £15 -£20, condition as is. Bought a Kodak 3A from them, any advice on film other than 120?
Glad you like that shot. It's also one of my fav medium format shots.
I'm not sure what advice you're looking for specifically.
Sorry, wasn't clear. The 3a pocket camera (never seen a pocket that big) takes A122 film, presumably long discontinued. The spool looks massive in the back.Other than 120 film wound on to this do you know any medium format film larger than 120 that is still made on a roll?
I’ve had a Vigilant Six - 20 for a while, but never thought much of it until I realized that I was lucky enough to have the upscale Kodak Anastigmat Special 4.5, 100 mm lens ( from 1940 ) in a No 1 Supermatic shutter, with 400 top speed. It is a solid, and nice quality camera...... except for the bellows, as you said, that are falling apart.
Thanks for this thorough and informative, as usual, review!
Thanks Donald.
So, I watched this video. You made the Vigilant look so good, I went and found one, filed down some Delta 100 and shot it. God I love this camera! Not only is it a pretty little bellows camera, but it takes fantastic pictures! Love loading it up and shoot it. Finished another roll last Friday.
Thanks!
That's fantastic, I'm glad you like it. I also re-spool now, since making this video, in case you want to give that a try.
@@AzrielKnight I can't decide what I think would be more work; clipping and grinding or respooling.
I have a late Vollenda 620, and they are equal with the Vigilant, I’d say, spec, and operation wise. The Vollenda though had that nice 30’s Art Deco styling, that we all love.
The T on the camera is for a Timed exposure. Works best with a shutter release cable and the camera mounted on a tripod. I have been shooting antique cameras for some time and the T setting is common. It was used most frequently for portrait exposures indoors. Enjoyed the video.
I am a antique fan so I am trying to learn how does a Kodak 6-20 work and this video helps a lot
Glad I could help :)
I have a Kodak SENIOR six-20 and I can't find any information on that particular model? Very similar, but no view finder and I cant close it. can you help?
Just picked one up in the original box with book in VG cond. for 25 bucks at an antique store. It looks like a bit of filing on the edges of a 120 roll will let it run to a 620 take up. My camera does not focus and goes from 32 to F 12.5 shutter speed is T B and I . Bellows seems to be good, Think I will run a roll through it.
Thanks for the comment Jay. 25 bucks is a great deal. My sister bought me this as a gift but paid about $75.
I love folding cameras.I don't have that one yet,but I have a Vigilant 620 Junior,bought in almost mint condition and in the original box.To check bellows,I open the camera in a dark room and shine a light inside the bellows.Any leaks are obvious.I use a changing bag and respool 120 onto 620 spools.Much cheaper than buying it already done.I have some cameras that need a 620 spool.They are so precise that even a modified 120 spool won't work.
There is definitely something special about folding cameras. Thanks for sharing!
I just bought one for $10 US dollars hoping it works. Will be testing it soon but this video helped me figuring out how to open it, closing it etc. =)
My late father had Ross just after war then various TLRs then onto 35mm with a couple of oldish rangefinders then onto early Practicas !
Hi there! Would you please review a Kodak six-16 or six-20 from 1934? Thank you!
If I come across one I will consider it thanks!
thank you so much! this was great!
No problem Thomas :)
Azriel thanks for making a video on the vigilant, I picked up a vigilant junior 620 about two months ago, so far it has produced very nice negatives, but It was difficult to find an in-depth review and overlook of the camera. I was wondering though, you think you could do a video on the Minolta Weathermatic A? the 110 underwater camera. I have one but, I really don't know what to do with it.
I did a review on the Pentax auto 110 and it wasn't one of my better reviews. If I do another 110 review it might just be on the format as a whole. Thanks for the suggestion :)
Sweet thanks for replying, always happy to see your videos.
Thank you for the excellent overview! I inherited one of these from my great grandmother, and it was apparently the "family photo camera" up until the early 90's. If I may ask, how did you date yours? Mine is slightly different (105mm f6.3 Anastigmat, as opposed to your f8.8 100, and completely lacking a flash nipple) and I'd rather like to know approximately when it was made, in the interests of preserving the family history. Also, how would I go about using a cable release with it?
It has been awhile since I did this review but I think I just googled the model and lens type for an aprox date.
Two this old camera videos in a row! You really are spoiling us! Does this camera have a sharp lens? I really want to try medium format, large format is a lot of setup for a few photos and this would be a nice middle ground!
Sharpness is relative but this one isn't especially. Think of it this way, you're 35mm is like a really good HD TV and this camera is like a really crappy 4K.
Azriel Knight aw okay, I'll keep my eyes peeled for a not hassrlbald like a Mamaya or something , thank you!
With all the lens options this camera had, maybe getting the 4.5 models would have helped in the sharpness department?
You said 50 or 25 iso, I thought they were shutter speeds?
You’re absolutely right about dealers overpricing these cameras.
Today I dropped into an antique store to find them offering a very similar Kodak folding camera. It was lightly corroded, and the shutter interval lever would not shift into the slower speeds, yet they were asking AUD$119 (about USD$90) for the unusable camera.
Who was ever going to pay that much for a camera that doesn’t work, except to use it as an expensive decoration?
A non photographer would look at that and buy it in a second, unfortunately. People are getting smarter though, smart enough to at least check eBay.
I'd recommend what Hipsters call a "Barnack Leica" as something as simple/classic/compact as the Kodak Vigilant Six-20. Which one is the hard question, since any model after the III/IIIa/IIIb would be the (somewhat) easiest to find among pre-World-War-II models. Otherwise, the IIIc or IIIf would be the next most common Leica on eBay. The family Leica IIIa is a 1938 model that came with an uncoated 50mm f/1.5-9 Taylor Hobson Xenon, which produced hazy/fuzzy images. As soon as I could, I replaced that paperweight with a 1950's 50mm f/3.5 collapsible Elmar, which produced sharp and crisp Kodachrome slides and great monochrome images.
chim cham to the flim flam with the whoobie whistle ;P
Do you have or plan to do a review of a Moskva 2/4/5? Similar camera, except Russian, 120 instead of 620, and a coupled rangefinder, and faster f/3.5 lens.
I have one but Ukrainian ebay purchases are pretty shoddy. The focus doesn't work at all, turn the lens all day and it doesn't move forward/back. I really would like a good one.
I bought a Fed 5B but I think the focus is off and I'm not mechanically inclined.
A friend gave me a kodak brownie 620. I really want to use it. Sin 620 film is no longer available, I'm planing to use a 120 film, Will I need to respool the film into a 620 spool in a dark room in order to be able to use?
You can try sanding down the sides and/or clipping them with nail clippers if you don't want to respool :)
Great idea!!! Thanks!!
Great light and background blure looks classic too.What lens/camera you use for record video?Good story thanks again.
Thanks! I used a Canon 5D Mark II and 16-35mm f2.8
Hi, I've a similar camera with a Diomatic len. Do you know how to open the len to clean the shutter? Thanks
Sorry I don't. I'm terrible at DIY
@@AzrielKnight no problem... thanks
Thank you for your great review! I like yourself would be more inclined to use one of these cameras but for you having to modify the 120 spool :( All the very best to you!!
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the vid :)
Very nicely done. Very interesting. This camera seems like a lot of trouble by modern standards, but that's history.
It's like looking at an iPod Nano and laughing at how big it is :)
new lights are looking good!
Thanks very much!
Love your videos! How about a Fujica st801 with EBC fujinon 50 f1.8 for the next time =)))))
I added it to the suggestions! Thanks!
I just bought a Vigilant Six-20 at a thrift store for 8 bucks. Bellows is in very good shape all it needs is a good cleaning.
Sweet deal!!
Thanks for the episode! I enjoy my 6x9 Moskva-5 which takes 120 making my life easier :) There's also a 6x6 mask one can put inside to have the square format photos. I don't have the mask and I don't really need it.
So Expired funny to see you here
Moskva-5 looks like a solid choice! I saved one to my watch list so I can look them up later, thanks :)
Also, good to see friends finding friends in my comments section :)
Why? :) I also watch videos, not only create them :)
I should comment on other people's vids more :)
Youre back!!! :-)
Yeah, sorry about that, concentrating on less videos with higher production for now :)
Fellow Calgarian! Great video.
Thanks Richard!
Nice video, why not just re-spool 120 film on to a 620 spool, that is what I do for my Brownie 620's, not very difficult.
While I think re-spooling is easier than sanding, I still find it inconvenient.
Good review.
Really cool photos. Goes to show equipment doesn't matter.
Thanks Charles!
Can you recommend a better alternative than the Paterson plastic reels? I struggled to load in a Darkbag for a while but once it finally caught I was off and running. My first roll developed was HP5. I used HC-110 (Don't know which type sorry), Ilfostop, Kodafix and Kodak photo-flo. I didn't bother doing anything to the temperature of the chemicals, just used everything at room temperature.
As I do not own a scanner (yet) my plan was to store the film in plastic sheets until ready. Will the negatives deteriorate much? They might be stagnant for 6 months tops.
Hi Charles, hopefully this answers your questions.
I have only ever used Paterson, and its known for it's user friendly design. The struggle you had was likely the dark bag.
You can get away with room temp stop and fix, but the developer should be done at 20 Celsius or you should compensate your temp with the correct time.You can get proper film sheets from just about any camera store, If you develop and store them right they'll outlast your grandchildren.
The biggest take away from this is learn to control your temps, if you can do that, most other tasks will be simple.
Well done!
Thanks!
Yea, I had a modified Kodak monitor fall out of my pocket earlier this fall...
Did it make it?
@@AzrielKnight It still seems to be OK- the shutter still works, no light leaks- but the worst that happened was part of the camera strap came undone (but I did bend it back), and some of my frames got these weird black spots- probably just impact damage. But I guess old Kodak cameras were built to last. Hoping to do another test roll sometime soon.
could you show us some extension tube pictures good to see you thank you thank you
Not sure what you are asking. :)
i bought a 5 times ext tube for fd canon i am not sure how to use it i thought it was for distance and it is exact opposite
I'm afraid I don't use ext tubes, and couldn't provide much more than what a manual could.
Excellent work dude, a step up in production values too. Don't leave it so long between videos next time 😉👍
I'll try not to but I am focusing more on structured content at the moment :)
I just bought one with a max aperature of 4.5 and a supermatic shutter, supposedly the best model available. It came with an exposed 620 roll. I don't know how old it is, I can send it to you if you want to develop it as a mystery film episode. My only fear is that it might be c-22 instead of c-41. I contacted film rescue international to see if they can help me date it.
Hi Zach!
I keep putting off receiving items from people because I really need a PO Box. I should get on that this week.
Hey! Calgary :)
Yup! :)
I have one.
How do you like it?
@@AzrielKnight Sorry! TH-cam didn't notify me and I just saw your comment right now. In fact I have this camera because it was a relic of my grandfather. I really don't know if it still works but it looks very well-preserved. drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Dh5juSplIkTXY3emtydnVHOEE/view?usp=sharing
This was my very first Antique Camera. Cool