Ansco B2 Speedex Review & Results

The B2 Speedex was made in Binghamton, New York by Agfa Ansco. It is very similar to early Agfa Isolette cameras and it was made around 1940. "B2" is what Agfa called 120 film back in the day.

Shutter: It has an unmarked shutter, which features shutter speeds of B, T, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250. It is rather uncommon for a shutter not to be separately marked. Common shutters were Vario, Klio , Prontor, and Compur.  The earlier Compur shutter had the same shutter speeds as this Speedex.

Lens: The 85mm f/4.5 Agfa Anastigmat lens is also a bit of a mystery. Agfa marketed the Agnar (3 element), Apotar (better 3 element) and Solinar (4 element).  I've seen a very similar looking Isolette on eBay with a 85mm f/4.5 Solinar lens. Cheaper leneses were normally attached to cheaper shutters, so it can't be the bottom level lens. However, "Anastigmat" is normally a label I see attached to three element lenses. (he agrees: What the Heck is an Anastigmat).  My guess is that is like an Apotar.

Operation: Body shutter, which I like. No double exposure prevention which I like. No depth of field scale, which I find especially annoying on a scale focus camera. Like most folders, you have to look through the little red window when advancing film.

Condition and Repairs: The bellows, like all Agfa folders, were full of pinhole leaks. Some of these are hard to see without a very powerful flashlight.  I first attempted to patch the bellows with some RTV black silicone. This is a good solution for a bellows with a couple of holes, but these bellows were littered with pinholes, so I decided to replace the bellows. I bought the new bellows from Workmans Photography. The slow speeds (2, 5) stick, but I don't plan on doing anything about it.The lens has a few internal spots, so I'd give a 7.5/10 rating.

Camera (with the old bellows):


Results:
The results are quite positive, but it can be difficult to guess distances. It's not too bad at f/16 due to the wide depth of field, but I wouldn't want to try at f/4.5 except at infiniti. I expected the camera to perform well at f/8-f/16, but I didn't really have an opportunity for a test a f/4.5, so until next roll. 

At f/8. No flash sync, so I manually tripped the flash, with the shutter open. Notice the black in the lower right. That's because of my B+ job in replacing the bellows. That piece stuck into the frame.It is on all photos, just cropped out of others.

At f/16, 6.5 feet:

  

Double exposure at: f/22 Double exposures are easy, because all you have to do is recock the shutter. Camera manufacturer's later added mechanisms that prevents double exposure. This was for the benefit of most consumers at the time, but it prevents experimentation today.

Medium Format Folders

Why Own?
I find something intriguing about medium format folding cameras. I think it is due to the combination of larger MF negatives, pocketability, simplicity, and relatively low cost. Medium format folding cameras were popular from the 1930s to the 1950s.

If someone doesn't own a medium format camera, they are cheap way to get into it. Compared to a Lomo camera, even the simplest folders have a triplet lens (versus single element plastic lenses), 3 more shutter speeds, and an adjustable aperature that is 2-3 stops faster at its widest.

What Drives Price

Camera collectors can radically change the price of seemingly similar cameras. However, there are distinct differences that can change the price from $10 to $400.

1. Number of lens elements: Cameras with 4-element lenses such Zeiss Tessar, Voigtlander Skopar, or Agfa Solinar command substantial premiums. Most folders tend to have lenses that are in the style of a Cooke Triplet, such Agnar, Apotar, Voigtar, Vaskar, Novar, Nettar, or Radionar. They often have the word Anastigmat after the name. They are not bad lenses and offer similar performance at apertures f/8 and smaller. Voigtlander equipped some of its folders with 5 element Heliar lenses - very expensive
2. Lens coating: Post-war lenses are coated which helps reduce flare and increase contrast. This is nice feature, but it doesn't mean uncoated lenses are dogs. To the collector, a coated 4 element lens command a significant premium.
3. Shutter: Better shutter offer more shutter speeds and flash synchronization. The grand poobah of shutters is the Synchro-Compur with a top speed of 500 and a flash synchronization. Earlier Compur and Compur Rapid shutter are quality shutters. Prontor made a line of quality shutter that are just behind the Compur is quality, but still highly useable. Vario shutters were some of the simpler shutters with three shutter speed plus bulb. Tempor shutters are East German versions of the Compur. I have difficulty trusting the quality of the Eastern Bloc camera equipment.
4. Rangefinder: Rangefinders help focus the camera. Without one, you have to guess the distance to your subject. Rangefinders that can be coupled or uncoupled. With an uncoupled rangefinder, you use the rangefinder to determine the distance, then manually set the distance on the focussing ring. There are few folders with coupled rangefinders and these command the highest prices. Models with uncoupled rangefinders also command premiums.
5. Condition: Besides cosmetic condition, old cameras can get problems: Slow speeds on the shutters can stick, lenses can get cloudy or get fungus. One of the prime areas where folders can get problems is their bellows. Almost every Agfa or Ansco model needs new bellows because the material they used was subpar. They develop pinhole leaks, so you can see by plain visual inspection. I shine a high powered flashlight into the back of the camera.
6. Format: Folders that use 120 film shoot one of three formats: 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x9. Price doesn't vary greatly between models, but 6x6 format is the most common, so the most bargain finds will be here.
7. Oddities: Collectors go for various ancillary things that have no bearing on how a camera performs, such as the original box, or a MIOJ stamp (Made in Occupied Japan),.

Recommendation

If I had to recommend one for someone looking for a folder without wanting to commit much money, it would be one of the post-war Zeiss Nettar. Zeiss has the best reputation for build quality and their bellows are typically still light tight.. They typically go for $20-$25. Zeiss had a million different models, so a picture is worth 1,000 words:

Manufacturers:

• Zeiss made a full line of Nettar and Ikonta models starting in the early 1930s.
• Agfa made a range of Isolette cameras. Ansco had a JV with Agfa and had nearly identical cameras branded Speedex.
• Welta is less known but made good cameras. The Perle is 645 and the Weltax is a 6x6. The Weltur came in 6x9 or 6x6 versions. The big advantage is that it is unit focusing, means that the whole lens moves to focus, not just the front element which is common to most folders.
• Voigtlander was another major manufacturer. Perkeo was the 6x6 and the Bessa is a 6x9. There was also a Bessa 6x6.
• Certa, Balda, Ensign, Franka, and Dacora were other European companies that made reasonably quality folding cameras
• Kodak made a lot of folding cameras, but Kodak has a reputation for making junky cameras, withstanding their Retina line (which was made by Nagel). A lot of Kodak folding cameras also use film that is no longer available, such as 620 or 116.

My cameras:
Zeiss Ikonta 524/2: It's a 6x9 from the early-mid 1950s, with a Synchro-Compur shutter and a coated 105/3.5 Tessar lens, and an uncoupled rangefinder. I upgrade to this from the very capable Ikonta 523/2 (added the uncoupled rangefinder).

Zeiss Ikonta 523/16 with a Synchro-Compur shutter and a 75/3.5 Tessar lens.

Ansco Speedex B2. This is a 6x6 from about 1940, with an uncoated Agfa (triplet) 85/4.5 lens with an unnamed shutter, but it has 7 speeds, similar to a Compur.

Zeiss Ikonta 520 A. It is a 6x4.5 camera from 1933 or 1934. It has an uncoated 70/3.5 Tessar with a Compur shutter

Links

Price List - Post 1950, Zeiss Ikon 120 Folders


Zeiss Ikonta 523/2 Reviewed


Zeiss Ikonta 524/2 Reviewed

Agfa Ansco B2 Speedex Reviewed

TDC Stereo Colorist II Review

The TDC Colorist II:. As other sites will tell you, the TDC Colorist II was made in Germany by Bodensee Kamerawerke for Three Dimension Company, a subsidiary of Bell & Howell.

Pros:

• The top viewfinder is natural. Almost every camera on Earth has a viewfinder on top of the camera, except the Stereo Realist, which has a bottom viewfinder which is awkward to use.
• While the viewfinder is small by today's standards, it's acceptable. There isn't much difference from one 50s era stereo camera to the other, regarding the size of the viewfinder
• The focus, shutter speed and aperature are in logical places. I can focus the camera easily when holding it up to take photo.
• Focusing is easy because the RF patch is big and visible.
• It has a standard hot shoe, which allows for easy use of flash
• The camera has 35mm f/3.5 Rodenstock Trinar lenses. It produces very sharp results stopped down and good results at wider apertures. However the benefits of stereo come into play with a when the whole image is in focus, so performance at wider apertures is less relevant.

Cons: 

• The body seems combersome to hold, because of its thickness.
• You need to have film in the camera (or manually wind the sprockets to the left of the takeup spool) in order  to wind the shutter.

Results:

I've only taken two rolls so far, but I've been pleased with the results. It's hard to review the combined results of a stereo image on the net.

The biggest challenge is managing depth of field, but this will be consistent across all stereo cameras.  Stereo pictures look best when objects are in focus, and objects are at different depths. If you purely use the rangefinder, it can be hard to have both someone close and background in focus. You can use the rangefinder to determine distance to your subject but then use depth of field scales to increase your total dof. For example, if with the 35mm lens at f/8, if you focus on your subject 7 feet away, you have dof between 5 and 12 feet. If you then change your focus to 12 feet away, your depth of field will be between 7 feet at 40 feet, allowing for greater background sharpness.

Elite Chrome 200:
Both photos at f/16

Below photos are Kodachrome 64.
At f/11 or f/16. Ignore the movement of the baby's head, there is a lot of sharp detail:


Probably around f/8:


Probably around f/5.6, with fill flash: