Trying 120 in an old Kodak 3A Model B-4

I picked up a small 3D printer over the holiday break and thought I'd dive into a project I was considering over the past year.

I have a No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak Model B-4 that used to belong to my grandfather. I shot a couple of rolls of VP 122 in it back in the 70's just to try it out, but I haven't used it since. The project I took on was to convert the camera to use 120 film, and I thought I'd share my progress in case someone else is interested in doing the same thing.

Here's the camera:

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Hoping for the best outcome, and looking forward to seeing results.

Won't the number of turns change as the diameter of the exposed film increases?

Correct. I’m hoping 4 is good between the first and second frames and the distance between will then grow for subsequent frames.

I want to keep this simple at first, even if it means I waste a frame.

Terry McDaniel wrote in post #19328515
Hoping for the best outcome, and looking forward to seeing results.

Thanks Terry.

The weather is starting to get a bit better (went through an endless period of -35C type temperatures) so hopefully I can get outside this week to try it out and get the roll developed. Nothing too exciting to shoot around the neighborhood this time of year, so not expecting art

Love it! hope it all turns out okay

Shot the first roll today. No idea how many images were exposed as the reels are a bit stiff so I couldnt feel any difference when winding the camera after I got to the end. Opened the camera in a blacked out room and confirmed that the roll was done.

The viewfinder experience was pretty awful, so if any images actually turn out they are going to be pretty poorly framed It was bad enough with 122 film (square viewfinder image, but rectangular negative), but now with a more panoramic format framing was a complete guess.

Just a test roll anyway. This will confirm if there are any light leaks, if the lens is any good, and how to tweak the recipe for winding the camera. After I get the negs back and tune things up I'll shoot a roll of E100, and use a tripod/level.

Well, I got ny negatives back today! Only three frames were exposed, one ok-ish, one a blurry mess and one that looks like it may be 3-4 multiple exposures. At least this gave me enough information to fine tune loading the next roll and advancing frames to try to get 3-4 good frames per roll.

Here's the only one that really turned out ... and I use that term loosly. I can't find anything that's in focus, so it could be that shooting hand-held, even at 1/100s isn't going to cut it. I'm sure the lens is probably pretty terrible, but a bit of camera shake would just make things worse.

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Bob_A wrote in post #19337786
Well, I got ny negatives back today! Only three frames were exposed, one ok-ish, one a blurry mess and one that looks like it may be 3-4 multiple exposures. At least this gave me enough information to fine tune loading the next roll and advancing frames to try to get 3-4 good frames per roll.

Here's the only one that really turned out ... and I use that term loosly. I can't find anything that's in focus, so it could be that shooting hand-held, even at 1/100s isn't going to cut it. I'm sure the lens is probably pretty terrible, but a bit of camera shake would just make things worse.

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …10%200001-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

I like it.