Kodak Box 620 - First 8 Photos

avatar
(Edited)

Here are my fist photos with Kodak Box 620 and comparison photos taken with Sony A6400. All the photos are as they were, film photos as the camera store scanned them from the film they developed and digital comparison photos as the camera chose the jpg version to be.

Image (1).jpg

When I got the 120 size and ISO 400 film for my Kodak box from PhotoStella, the store owner gave me several advises and three very good ones: always use the widest aperture option, photograph in bright sunlight only and the sun behind you.

And as you can see from this photo, I almost followed all the advises. Well, what can I say, I'm such a huge fan of back light photos, always like to face the sun as I'm a shadow hunter. And the tram was conveniently coming so I couldn't resist taking a photo.

The camera and the lens is about 80 to 90 years old, the camera looks like it has been used a lot and I suspect, never cleaned inside, so the lens has a bit smudge on it. The sunlight brings it all out. But nevertheless I love this photo! I happen to think this is the best one of this 8 photo series. I usually don't like grainy photos but this one I do because I took it!

DSC09960.JPG

The first two comparison photos with Sony I used 16-50mm lens but soon realized that it was too wide and switched to 55-210mm lens. I stood at the same spot where I was when I took the first photo with Kodak box. Only about 3 minute wait and the next tram came.

Image (2).jpg

Okay so just making sure to make the same mistake twice. Facing the sun although I got a clear advice not to do that. I suspect you can clearly see what is caused because of the lens being a dirty old thing (inside) and the sun just pointing it out and which is grain because of the ISO 400. Also when I pressed the trigger, the camera moved a bit although I thought I had a good grip of the camera.

Also there's some light leakage on the left.

DSC09962.JPG

Wide angle lens problem if you don't do anything to it and I didn't. The lamp pole is straight but the Näsinneula in the back isn't. Well the Näsi needle was slightly tilted in the first photo so why not in this one too.

Image (3).jpg

Continuing with the tilted tower theme. It was unbelievable hard to see what I was photographing as the viewfinders in my Kodak box were so dirty and also in the bright light the sun always reflected my shadow and the clouds above to the glass too. So now that I switched to not facing the sun but sun shining over my left shoulder and from the side, and me still being in the sunlight, I could hardly see what I was aiming at.

DSC09970.JPG

Lookout tower and cafeteria where you can get the best big doughnuts, munkkis ever. Actually munkki tastes better than ordinary doughnut. It's softer and more like a bun but made like donuts and of course fresh from the frying oil.

Image (4).jpg

Cloudy but I wanted to try anyway. I chose of course the largest aperture which is f/8 or f/11 depending on which source you believe. Here's the F/Stops And Shutter Speeds info I found but the Brownie site box camera list doesn't have my bulk camera at all. Here's an exact match.

With shutter speed I have only two options, Z or M. Snapshot, which is something between 1/35-1/50 and has probably changed during the years, or the other one which is as long as I want to hold the lever down. Yes, lever, not a button. So many ways to fail and get some motion blur. Or jolt blurriness.

Somewhere in the internet abyss I found the info that the 620 film ISO in the mid 1930's when my Kodak box camera was made is equivalent to 125 ISO nowadays so I could have started with 200 ISO. But the 400 was a good film to start too, not complaining. If there's no bright sunlight, the 400 ISO is of course better. Although I think the next time I photograph with this, I will choose ISO 100 film.

Anyway, here's Kodak Brownie Box camera manuals if you're missing one or interested. My Kodak boxes manual is in the fifth row: Brownie Target Six-20 and Six-16 4-37-CH-5. And what do you know, on page 24 there's a table where you can check out how long exposures you need in different conditions indoors with large stop and on page 30, outdoor exposure guide. Awesome I say!

Image (5).jpg

Sun shining behind my back and again trouble seeing anything other than the shadow of my head and the clouds in the viewfinder. Light leakage.

DSC00165.JPG

Better take a similar weird photo of the two otters fishing statue. I bet you would have not know what this statue is supposed to be from this angle if I hadn't told you. And don't complain about the missing seagulls. Here they are.

Image (6).jpg

Double exposure photo. Cloudy, so largest aperture available. Looks like a reflection!

DSC00319-DSC00322.jpg

Here's kinda similar made in photoshop, upper layer 60% opacity. Cafeteria worker missing.

DSC00322.JPG

So 30's theme.

DSC00319.JPG

Or is this shade more like 1920's?

Image (7).jpg

Sunday, sunny day. Managed to get myself and the camera to the shade so no sunlight shining straight to the lens. Sun on the right. But alas, couldn't keep the camera stable.

DSC00329.JPG

And a comparison photo of the demonstration in Sorsapuisto (Duck park). Well living pet animals in cages compared to animals we humans breed to be sick, grown in poor conditions, and killed young, before they have had the chance to live a full life.

Image (8).jpg

And here's my last photo of the 8 picture roll. This is, in my opinion, the second best photo. Right after the first photo I took. All the other, except for the double exposure photo, are so-so.

The film stuck after the last, 8th frame and I couldn't roll it all the way to the other spool. When I got the camera and the developed film back from the photo store the photo expert guy said that it was because the 120 film spool is a tiny amount too big and it didn't roll well so it started to go askew. So although I did make the roll discs smaller by clipping it with nail clippers as advised in one of the YouTube videos, it wasn't enough. The 620 spool is also a little bit shorter than the 120 spool so either I have to bend some metal thingy inside the camera so that the spool fits better, sandpaper the 120 spools discs thinner or roll the film to a 620 spool in a dark place. Two 620 spools are on their way here from China, let's see which month the spools are here. They promised August 24th but will it be this year, don't know.

DSC00325.JPG

What did this all cost me?
Camera: 4€
Fomapan 400 Black and white 120 film: 5,50€
Film developing: 17,90€
Film scanned to TIFF images: 20€

DSC09971.JPG

Finally, below my Kodak Box 620 chilling on the lookout tower cafeteria windowsill with a new spiky friend.


Film cameras
Kodak Box 620
1
Cosina Flash 35E
1, 2

Digital cameras
Sony A6400, 16-50mm
1
Sony A6400, Laowa 25mm f2.8
1
Comparison: Sony A6400, Canon EOS 550D, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P32, Canon PowerShot A550
1, 2



0
0
0.000
23 comments
avatar

pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 118 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
!BEER
9

0
0
0.000
avatar

Is the film very expensive? I don't even try order it for people cause it such a hassle to get and the cost is too high unless you are a hobbyist who would pay more for some fun :P

The photo quality is very good though, I think if you have a stand and the right iso it might be even sharper than digital? Even so it is a auto vintage effect so who doesn't like convenience until you need to develop.

You experiment shots came out well and I agree the first one with the " wrong" light came out the best . !PIZZA !LOLZ !LUV

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

Actually the film isn't that expensive, the cheapest one was only 5,50€. And the 120 size black and white developing (17,90€) wasn't that bad either, not cheap but not too expensive. The scanning of the 120 size film (20€) was expensive though. So all and all my 4€ camera purchase is turning to be quite an expensive hobby since I can't use regular 135 film which would only be about 20€ developed and scanned. That is, if I continue photographing regularly. But then again it may be that the next time I develop something is when I've taken one photo a month so dividing about 50€ to 8 moths isn't that bad.

The size of the scan in tiff photo is about 40 to 50 MB, 7836 X 5224 and resolution 300 px/inch. The 120 negative is obviously much larger than a regular kino film and the store has really good scanning equipment so I think you're right, with right conditions and clean lens I could get sharper photos than with my Sony.

I meant to, but forgot to add the prices of everything! I'll add those to the post since not that many people have seen the post yet.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I love this series and the story about how you finished this roll.
the back light is the best and your images are the best proof.
my favorite is the double exposure frame which looks like a reflection as you noticed as well :-)
💚💚💚

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thanks! Back light really is the best.

Yeah the double exposure photo isn't that bad. Can't wait to photograph more double exposures and plan it better. And perhaps with a 100 or 50 ISO film. I have films waiting in the fridge.

0
0
0.000
avatar

good luck!
I will wait for more stories on celluloid :-)

0
0
0.000
avatar

This is amazing. It feels like I am back in the past. It is funny how our mind perceives the "old days" via these old images, but in effect, as your post showcases, even today looks a 100 years old. I love this idea. It is so surreal. Thank you for sharing this and taking the time and effort to do this. I really enjoyed this one!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thanks!

Taking a photo with a film camera, where you can't see the end result immediately and with a roll that only takes 8 photos is really meditative as it really takes more planning than taking a snapshot or ten with a phone or a digital camera. And this is something I would have never said 10 or 20 years ago when I owned a Canon film camera. I've found that the most fascinating thing actually is the fact what you said, with a really old camera, it feels like I'm taken 100 years back when I look at the pictures.

My goal is to find under 10€ cameras, perhaps repair them if needed and take pictures with them and be amazed if they work and fall in love with them if they give me their special artistic and unique touch to the photos. And actually I've already found couple, but that's another post so let's keep this between us. 😀

0
0
0.000
avatar

The process is just as important as the final product! With modern tech we focus so much on the end result; the process becomes obsolete and a schlep. That is an interesting thought! I like that.

I have an old typewriter, so the feeling is kind of similar. My poetry and short stories just feel more "old style authentic" when I write them on the typewriter. The same with those photographs. It just takes you back into the past. Fascinating stuff.

I will be looking out for that post! I will keep it between us 😁

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

Yes it is! And it's also about what I want to do. If planning some sort of structure or building something, do I want to just write a list what I should do or not forget and mark down measurements to an app on my phone/computer, or do I like to write and draw and plan things to a paper with a proper pencil.

I guess my brain has started to look at film and digital photography the same way. It's more personal. Artistic although the result may be (artistically) better with a digital camera because I see the result immediately and can do it again and again also immediately. But the process in my brain.

But what I could do and probably should learn to do is utilize both. First photograph what I want to do several times with a digital camera, i.e. use it in planning and then take a photo with the film camera. But when things co by quickly, sunny/cloudy, trams/people, it's hard not to just quickly take that photo with the film camera and not plan things at all.

0
0
0.000
avatar

That is the problem right, fleeting moments need to be captured immediately; reflection on them harms the moment. They will pass, but that is an interesting philosophical question (here I go again making everything philosophical): to what extent can we "steal" moments that needed to remain uncaptured? How many moments do we miss that we should merely have enjoyed in their "fleetingness" because we wanted to capture them? But I am sure we can turn it around as well.

0
0
0.000
avatar

How many moments do we miss that we should merely have enjoyed

Exactly. Looking at things through a camera lens, even though it may help you see the thing you are photographing better, at the same time shuts you out of so many other wonderful things happening around you. And it's also a matter of perspective. If you're looking at the bigger picture, with or without the camera, you may miss details and vice versa. And when photographing, the memory of the event is very much different. It's the memory of you photographing the event than the actual event. The shadow of the event! If that ain't philosophical then I don't know what is.

0
0
0.000
avatar

at the same time shuts you out of so many other wonderful things happening around you.

That is the saddest part. One sees the event completely differently.

It's the memory of you photographing the event than the actual event.

That is really profound. And philosophical to the next level! I like that idea, I want to turn this into a short story. Maybe I will drink some wine tonight and turn it into a short story, if I can use your comment as inspiration!

I like that idea. It kind of "pulls you away" from the moment and turns it into a memory of a mechanical process, you pressing the shutter.

Thanks as always for such wonderful and philosophical insights!

0
0
0.000
avatar

if I can use your comment as inspiration!

Yes! Absolutely! Can't wait to read the story. (Gonna check out right now if you already posted it to Hive as well.)

It kind of "pulls you away" from the moment

This works for me in another way too. In a good way, from my perspective. It's sometimes so nice to put a camera in between me and the world because that gives me the feeling that at that moment I'm not completely part of the world, I'm just an observer and very few people dare to interact with me when I'm photographing. It's like a shield. Not an invisibility cloak though, which I'd prefer most. Mostly people just become so aware of themselves when they see someone photographing them or the streets they walk on.

Can't help being philosophical. I think it's because of your influence. :)

0
0
0.000
avatar

Gonna check out right now if you already posted it to Hive as well.

I did not drink enough wine to get me inspired. No, just kidding. I will post it tonight (my time SAST) if I get enough inspiration tonight.

I'm not completely part of the world ... It's like a shield

Oh, that is exactly it. This also helps the story! And so true. You become, in some sense, an in-between space, liminal, or a kind of "tear" in the fabric of the universe. Okay, the creative mind took over from the philosophical one. Back to philosophy. That is really an interesting position to be in though. And I think a lot of journalist photographers feel the same. You might know about them, the Bang-bang club, but they were photographers in Africa and South Africa. Most of them committed suicide due to their inability to "interfere" in those bad times. Sorry for making it so sad at the end.

Can't help being philosophical. I think it's because of your influence.

Oh, wow, thank you so much! I hope that it has a good (mental) effect on you to be philosophical, otherwise my thesis that philosophy is good for your mind will be less strong now.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I love that! Being in a liminal space when photographing. Or being the liminal space. Liminally insane.

I hope that it has a good (mental) effect on you

Philosophy and wondering about life and the decisions we make and how it feels is one of my favorite subjects so your effect is like gas in the tiny flame that already exists there.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Liminally insane

This sounds like an awesome idea. I really like this! I am going to store this in my mind and "ferment" on it.

one of my favorite subjects

That is awesome then! My research is on using philosophy to help people cultivate a "better" way of living so I am glad that there are people out there that might find it beneficial. Even if only a little.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Congratulations @insaneworks! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):

You distributed more than 49000 upvotes.
Your next target is to reach 50000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:

Hivebuzz supports the HiveFest⁷ Travel Reimbursement Fund.
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
0
0
0.000