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| The Adox Golf 63S |
To use a folding medium format camera seems anachronistic today, but there was a time when folding cameras were pretty much standard, unless you wanted a box camera. However, by the end of the 1950s, folding cameras were coming to an end, as 35mm became more popular, and medium format was becoming the domain of professionals. Zeiss-Ikon and other European manufacturers would soon succumb to the onslaught of Japanese-made cameras, which were just becoming popular in the world of 35mm. Today, a folding medium-format camera in good condition generally does not command the prices that are being asked for Hasselblads and so forth, for a variety of reasons.
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| Voigtlander Bessa 6x4.5 |
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| Ansco Speedex, a bottom-tier 6x6 folder |
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| This Welta has 6x6 and 6x4.5 masks |
Folding 120 cameras generally do not have fast lenses, lack lens interchangeability, and viewfinders do not give a precise framing of the subject. Most of the old folders do not have meters or rangefinder focusing. Square-format folders also tend to be less common than 6x9 and 6x4.5 folders. However, it’s certainly possible to get excellent images from these folders, so long as they work properly, don’t have light leaks in the bellows, and you use good techniques.
Why folding medium format?
The absolute genius of folding cameras is that they generally have a self-erecting lens standard, and the collapsible bellows allows the camera to be lighter and far more compact than a rigid-bodied camera. You typically push a button and the camera unfolds, sort of like a Transformer, although the transformation is only into a camera. I should add that in most instances, folding cameras are relatively simple and do not have interchangeable lenses. Only a few models have built-in rangefinders, and most have scale focusing. Early Kodak folders usually featured only 6x9 cm negatives, with the exception of the Vest Pocket Kodaks which used 127 film. Having a folding medium-format (typically 120 and 620 roll film) camera allows one to put a camera capable of using a large negative into a coat pocket. The folding bellows retracts into the camera body, which also protects the lens and bellows from dirt and pointy objects. The most obvious reason to use one of these cameras is due to the larger negative, as well as the separation of the subject from the background that you get at larger apertures.
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| The Ricoh Six can do 6x6 and 6x4.5 |
The reality today is that most of these folding cameras are now 70 years old or more, and their bellows are often in sad condition if they have been left to the environment. Shutters and focusing helicals may be in need of cleaning, lubrication and adjustment (CLA). If the cameras take 620 film, then that involves respooling 120 film onto 620 spools.
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| This Kodak Duo Six-20 folder does 6x4.5 on 620 film |
With that in mind, I was really surprised to find an Adox Golf 6x6 folder in mint condition, with everything working properly, and no haze or fungus. A big plus is that the camera uses 120 film.
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| A roll of Tmax 100 for the next outing |
Adox made the series of Golf medium format folding cameras from about 1955-1959, and all are 6x6 folders, and the variations mostly center around the lens used, shutter speeds, and self-timer present or absence. All share:
- double-exposure prevention
- front dial with apertures and shutter speeds
- red window on rear for aligning frame numbers
- simple reverse Galiliean viewfinder
- scale focus
The 63S model, as shown here, features B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 sec shutter speeds, a f/6.3 maximum aperture for the 75mm Adoxar lens, with f/22 minimum aperture, self-timer, and PC flash contact. The Pronto shutter is known to be reliable and operates without lubrication being necessary. A push of a button on the top left of the camera opens the front panel and the bellows locks into place as you pull the bed down. Everything is manual, and there are no electronics, light meter, or hot-flash shoe. The fully intact bellows, easily adjusted focus ring, and clear lens meant that this camera was ready for a test. I loaded a roll of Fomapan 100 and over the course of a couple of weeks, I shot the roll, and reloaded it with a roll of Lomo Color 100.
Using this camera is easy for me, as I've used all sorts of film cameras for 50 years. The focus scale is in meters, and goes from 1meter to infinity. I saw a YouTube video where the user said the red numbers were for feet. Wrong. The red numbers indicate the depth of field for each aperture! This is especially important in a scale focus camera. It's a very minimalist design, and once you advance the film and cock the shutter, you are ready to make an exposure. If you get one of the tiny shoe-mounted light meters, you only need to guesstimate the distance to the subject.
The Adox Golf may seem very similar to the Agfa/Ansco 6x6 Isolette/Speedex folding cameras, and in general, it is. However, it does not have the litany of problems associated with the frozen helical grease and sticky bellows of the Isolettes.
The beauty of these folders, whether 6x4.5, 6x6, or 6x9, is that they take up little space when collapsed. There are a lot of models other than the Adox Golf to choose from, and having such a compact 6x6 camera (it takes up even less space than a Holga) means that it can pretty much go anywhere with you. If you are looking for something even better – a Zeiss-Ikon Super Ikonta with rangefinder focus is very desirable, but the cheaper Zeiss-Ikon Nettar 515/516 with scale focus is quite nice. The Franka-Werke Solida 6x6 folders are also quite nice, if you can find one. The German Balda company had a bewildering array of cameras named Baldax, Baldexette, and so forth, that are 6x6 folders. Japan's Mamiya-6 folding cameras from the 1940s to late 1950s are definitely among the best 6x6 folders produced.
Back to the Golf...
While this is an easy camera to operate, you can find the manual at Butkus.org. All these different folding cameras can be a bit confusing to someone unaccustomed with using a red-window camera with the lens/shutter controls around the lens. Learning to guestimate distance is a good skill to have, too. Once you have found a 6x6 folding camera that works well, hang on to it! The simplicity and compactness of these cameras make them ideal for trips.
Results from Roll 1. I shot this in Asheville and Raleigh, NC. Overall, happy with the results.
