A Photography forum. PhotoBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » PhotoBanter.com forum » Photo Equipment » Large Format Photography Equipment
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

"New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 24th 11, 09:22 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Richard Knoppow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 751
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View

I found an AGFA-Ansco Universal View camera yesterday
at the Anaheim camera show. Its in good condition but needs
some TLC and minor repair. Its missing the sliding bed
block. The camera is quite usable without it and I could
probably make one since I have another similar camera so I
have a block to use as a pattern. But I wonder if anyone on
here might have one. I would be nice to have an original. I
think the same block was used on the AGFA Commercial View
camera.
This camera dates probably from about the mid-1930s. It
has the older style front without tilt. The tilt was added
about 1940-41 and the top brace eliminated about a year
later by an arrangement of interlocking L strips on the
sides of the sliding portion of the front rise. These were
medium-priced cameras in their day, more expensive than a
Kodak 2D but much less so than a Deardorff.
My other Universal View is a military surplus one
probably built in the mid-1940s. It has both front tilt and
new type front and also has the 6x6" lensboard necessary to
meet the military spec which appears to have been written
for the Kodak 2D, the original design had a 7-1/2 square
board. This is can be an advantage for mounting very large
portrait lenses.


--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA



  #2  
Old January 25th 11, 02:54 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Richard Knoppow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 751
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View


"Cheesehead" wrote in message
...
On Jan 24, 3:22 pm, "Richard Knoppow"
wrote:
I found an AGFA-Ansco Universal View camera yesterday
at the Anaheim camera show. Its in good condition but
needs
some TLC and minor repair. Its missing the sliding bed
block. The camera is quite usable without it and I could
probably make one since I have another similar camera so I
have a block to use as a pattern. But I wonder if anyone
on
here might have one. I would be nice to have an original.
I
think the same block was used on the AGFA Commercial View
camera.
This camera dates probably from about the mid-1930s. It
has the older style front without tilt. The tilt was added
about 1940-41 and the top brace eliminated about a year
later by an arrangement of interlocking L strips on the
sides of the sliding portion of the front rise. These were
medium-priced cameras in their day, more expensive than a
Kodak 2D but much less so than a Deardorff.
My other Universal View is a military surplus one
probably built in the mid-1940s. It has both front tilt
and
new type front and also has the 6x6" lensboard necessary
to
meet the military spec which appears to have been written
for the Kodak 2D, the original design had a 7-1/2 square
board. This is can be an advantage for mounting very large
portrait lenses.

--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA


Congrats. Good find.

I got locally, off Craigslist, a 1923 Eastman 2-D for $400.
The camera has a finish that looks like new. It came from a
family
member,
so I'm really the first outside-the-family owner of this.
Just the bellows has some corners in need of tlc.
The best part was the lens that came with it.
B&L Protar VII, triple convertible. 11 7/8, 18.xx & 23.xx.
Super clean with its original front cap.
I was also told that the lens was ordered with the camera,
circa 1923.

And the outfit even came with film!

I am, well, excited. I am now officially camera-poor.
(But I do have a bunch of stuff on eBay right now --
a C1 in need of TLC, and another Eastman 2-D as a project
case.)

The B&L Convertible Protar was originally built under
license from Zeiss but B&L aquired the rights somehow after
WW-1. It is a very fine lens. The individual cells are
corrected for coma so they are sharper than the cells of a
Dagor but the combined lens is about the same. The 2D was
probably the most popular camera for studio use in its day.
It was strong and not too expensive. Still an excellent
camera especially for field use. You have a fine rig there.
If the bellows have pin-holes they will probaby need to be
replaced. While there are many cures for pin-holes proposed
none works very well because the flexing of the bellows
tends to loosen any patches. However, the one that seems
best is the patching material sold for diver's wet suits.


--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA



  #3  
Old January 25th 11, 04:56 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Richard Knoppow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 751
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View


"Cheesehead" wrote in message
...
On Jan 24, 8:54 pm, "Richard Knoppow"
wrote:

The B&L Convertible Protar was originally built under
license from Zeiss but B&L aquired the rights somehow
after
WW-1. It is a very fine lens. The individual cells are
corrected for coma so they are sharper than the cells of a
Dagor but the combined lens is about the same. The 2D was
probably the most popular camera for studio use in its
day.
It was strong and not too expensive. Still an excellent
camera especially for field use. You have a fine rig
there.
If the bellows have pin-holes they will probaby need to be
replaced. While there are many cures for pin-holes
proposed
none works very well because the flexing of the bellows
tends to loosen any patches. However, the one that seems
best is the patching material sold for diver's wet suits.

--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA


Thanks.
I would like to find a 4x5 reducing back for it.
There was one on eBay a couple of months ago,
but they don't come up very often.

I was lucky enough to find a home made one, essentially
the back from a Calumet 4x5 fastened to a panel that fits
the back of the Agfa. Has the rotating feature of the
Calumet back. I also have a factory one for my Calumet C-1.
I also have a factory 5x7 back for the Agfa so I can shoot
all three sizes with it. I also have a 5x7 Agfa Universal
View. Its similar to the 8x10 but didn't have the sliding
bed block. I have both 5x7 and 4x5 backs for it. Mine
originally came with the 4x5 back, Agfa-Ansco sold this as a
"deluxe" 4x5 camera. The extra bellows draw is useful for
portrait and other work where longer than normal lenses are
desirable. For some reason I have a fondness for the
Agfa-Ansco cameras and like to work with them despite the
fact that there are other, better, cameras.
BTW, I found my 4x5/5x7 at a yard sale complete with
Agfa studio stand, case, lens, and accessories being sold as
furniture!!!


--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA



  #4  
Old January 25th 11, 09:07 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Richard Knoppow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 751
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View


"Cheesehead" wrote in message
...
On Jan 25, 10:56 am, "Richard Knoppow"
wrote:

I was lucky enough to find a home made one, essentially
the back from a Calumet 4x5 fastened to a panel that fits
the back of the Agfa. Has the rotating feature of the
Calumet back. I also have a factory one for my Calumet
C-1.
I also have a factory 5x7 back for the Agfa so I can shoot
all three sizes with it. I also have a 5x7 Agfa Universal
View. Its similar to the 8x10 but didn't have the sliding
bed block. I have both 5x7 and 4x5 backs for it. Mine
originally came with the 4x5 back, Agfa-Ansco sold this as
a
"deluxe" 4x5 camera. The extra bellows draw is useful for
portrait and other work where longer than normal lenses
are
desirable. For some reason I have a fondness for the
Agfa-Ansco cameras and like to work with them despite the
fact that there are other, better, cameras.
BTW, I found my 4x5/5x7 at a yard sale complete with
Agfa studio stand, case, lens, and accessories being sold
as
furniture!!!

--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA


Well, I do have the tools that would allow me to cut a wood
back out
of new material.
Perhaps looking for a rotating 4x5 back @ a modest price
might be the
easier way.
Glad to hear you did even better on your solution.

One little thing -- the lens came with its original cable
release.
Unfortunately it is not repairable.
I would like to get an original to replace it and keep it in
the same
state.
It says "Germany" on the top of the plunger and is *roughly*
10.5
inches long end to end.

While the rotating feature is a convenience its not a
necessity and was part of the Calumet back. Its easy to
adapt a Speed Graphic back. If you can find a Graflok back
so much the better because it takes all sort of accessories.
A Graphic or Graflok back will mount with a few screws, the
camera adaptor back only needs a square hole. The Agfa-Ansco
back is fairly simple to make.
Most of the German cable releases were made by
Gauthier, the same company who made Prontor shutters. It was
aquired by Zeiss along with Deckel. I think a web search
will find another, they should be cheap. You can also find
air operated releases that are very convenient, the air
cylinder screws into the cable release socket.
The large format Convertible Protars mostly came in
Compound shutters. These are regulated by an air cylinder at
the top of the shutter. Depite this they are quite accurate.
Some early ones had an air release cylinder built-in, they
have a nipple for the hose on one side. They have both the
air release and cable release and I think the air nipple is
threaded inside for the cable release.
Note that there are two cable release threads, Deckel
(Compure and Compound) are tapered, while the Kodak pattern,
used on Kodak, Ilex, and some other shutters, has straight
sides. I am pretty sure Bausch & Lomb used the Deckel type
since they were licensed by Deckel to build Compur and
Compound shutters in the US and continued to do so without
license after WW-1. B&L shutters _look_ like the Deckel
originals but have some differences such as different
threads and diameters. The parts are NOT interchangible.
Generally a good cleaning will return Compound shutters
to original performance.
Another shutter that may be found in some Protar sets is
the B&L Volute. This shutter combined the iris and shutter
blades so can fit into lenses with very small air spaces.
B&L used it for the B&L-Zeiss Protar extra-wide-angle lenses
supplied in some Protar sets. They are extremely difficult
shutters to repair.


--
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA



  #5  
Old January 27th 11, 06:07 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
David Nebenzahl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,353
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View

On 1/26/2011 2:05 PM Richard Knoppow spake thus:

I keep a release in the kit of accessories for each
camera. For view cameras I like fairly long cables. However,
for a length over perhaps 18" a mechanical release becomes a
bit stiff and an air release is more satisfactory. They may
still be made. Some very old shutters have air cylinders
built-in but mostly you have to find the parts.


There's another method of remotely tripping the shutter, as you know: a
solenoid. I rigged my Crown Graphic (w/127mm Ektar) to use the attached
solenoid, using a box with 3 D cells in it and a pushbutton switch on a
wire. That seemed to me to be the ultimate in remote luxury. Takes a
little more gear to haul, but works really nicely.

I actually made my own 2-pin connector: it attaches to the solenoid, and
has a mini-power plug socket that attaches to the cable that goes to the
battery box. I should post some pictures of it somewhere.


--
Comment on quaint Usenet customs, from Usenet:

To me, the *plonk...* reminds me of the old man at the public hearing
who stands to make his point, then removes his hearing aid as a sign
that he is not going to hear any rebuttals.
  #6  
Old January 27th 11, 11:23 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Richard Knoppow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 751
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View


"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
On 1/26/2011 2:05 PM Richard Knoppow spake thus:

I keep a release in the kit of accessories for each
camera. For view cameras I like fairly long cables.
However, for a length over perhaps 18" a mechanical
release becomes a bit stiff and an air release is more
satisfactory. They may still be made. Some very old
shutters have air cylinders built-in but mostly you have
to find the parts.


There's another method of remotely tripping the shutter,
as you know: a solenoid. I rigged my Crown Graphic
(w/127mm Ektar) to use the attached solenoid, using a box
with 3 D cells in it and a pushbutton switch on a wire.
That seemed to me to be the ultimate in remote luxury.
Takes a little more gear to haul, but works really nicely.

I actually made my own 2-pin connector: it attaches to the
solenoid, and has a mini-power plug socket that attaches
to the cable that goes to the battery box. I should post
some pictures of it somewhere.

A solenoid works very well and one can use a very long
cord with a pushbutton on it for tripping. Some shutters are
better than others for solenoid use: the Kodak and Compur
shutters, at least the older Compur, have booster springs
for the highest speed which significantly increases the
"trigger pull" so that a solenoid with a normal three-cell
battery case can not overcome it. They used to make
extra-high-voltage "photoflash" cells for this reason and
Graflex offered an extension for their cases allowing an
extra cell. The Wollensak Rapax or Graphex shutter has a
uniform tripping pressure which is also a bit lighter than
the Kodak or Compur shuttes. Wollensak made very good
shutters but some awful lenses. As a result the
synchronization point stays constant at all speeds and the
draw of the solenoid does not reach the point where the bulb
does not fire, a frequent occurance with other shutters. Of
course, its also possible to use the internal synch of
shutters that have it to fire the bulb and use the solenoid
strictly for remote tripping.
At least one manufacturer, I think King Sol, made a
solenoid that screwed into the cable release socket. I've
seen ads for them in old magazines but never saw one in the
flesh. Ilex built shutters with a direct access socket for
this kind of solenoid. It looks like an extra cable release
socket, and will indeed take a cable release, but it acts
somewhat differently.
BTW, it was common practice for press photographers to
leave the flash gun case on the camera all the time and use
the solenoid as a sort of body release. Much more convenient
than trying to reach around the camera.


--

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL



  #7  
Old January 30th 11, 10:57 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Richard Knoppow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 751
Default "New" AGFA-Ansco Universal View


"Cheesehead" wrote in message
...
On Jan 27, 5:23 am, "Richard Knoppow"
wrote:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in
message

s.com...



Lots of snipping here...

When it comes to an alternative shutter release, I'm digging
through
the basement now and hoping to come across my old Kodak
(or maybe it was Polaroid) self timer that will fit on the
end of a
cable release.

There were a number of self timers available over the
years. Most thread into the cable release socket. I think I
have one somewhere but they never seemed to appear on the
used market much.
On the shutters made by Kodak and Compur as used on
Speed Graphic cameras the self timers were usually omitted
for something else. On the Compur Rapid it became the
shutter blade arrestor for focusing without changing to T
and on the Kodak shutter it became the flash synchronizer.


--

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL




 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
"Corset-Boi" Bob "Lionel Lauer" Larter has grown a "pair" and returned to AUK................ \The Great One\ Digital Photography 0 July 14th 09 12:04 AM
Interesting "Angle of View" Article with helpful chart on B&H Me Digital SLR Cameras 0 June 25th 09 11:35 AM
Interesting "Angle of View" Article with helpful chart on B&H David Ruether[_3_] Digital SLR Cameras 0 June 24th 09 05:31 PM
Now watch the droids KISSING Canon's "live view" a---!!!! RichA Digital SLR Cameras 4 February 22nd 07 06:42 PM
Detrmining age of a 5 x 7 Agfa Ansco View Camera Scott Sharp Large Format Photography Equipment 2 November 20th 05 04:22 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 PhotoBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.