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Thread: Newbie question: how best to use a 9x12 ICA Reflex?

  1. #1

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    Newbie question: how best to use a 9x12 ICA Reflex?

    I'm a total beginner at large format photography. I have bought an old ICA Dresden Reflex camera with a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 180mm F4.5 lens, which after cleaning, seems to be in mint condition. The camera takes 9X12 film. The camera seems to function alright and I have managed to clean most of it, inside and outside.

    I was planning to modify the camera by putting a Belair Instant Back on it. Do you think this is an ok thing to do, or should I keep the camera in its original form?

    Any advice/opinion is welcome.
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  2. #2
    Jac@stafford.net's Avatar
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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion

    You would end up with ~4" x 2.5" exposure if that's good with you.
    Be very careful with the modification so that the reflex remains
    faithful, accurate or you just have a bad Lomo camera. (I do not
    know if the back can be modified properly. Someone else can
    help us.
    .

  3. #3
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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion

    Welcome to the forum!

    The shape of the Belair instant back is designed to wrap around the Belair camera body. So it's tricky to adapt it to other cameras in a way that puts the film plane in the same place as it was originally in the camera you're attaching it to. If you want that, you'll need to do major surgery on the Belair back, the camera, or both. Or you can attach it with some sort of spacing adaptor, and accept that you'll need to make a focus correction between what the focusing screen tells you and what the back needs. Or, you can contrive some sort of auxiliary focusing back that puts a new focusing screen in the same plane as the Belair puts the film.

    If you look on the web, you can find others who have done Belair back adaptations to various cameras.

    Good luck!

  4. #4

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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion

    9x12 is a nice size of film -- plenty of B&W available. Lots of holders available for it used and inexpensive.
    I'd keep what you've got, and enjoy it.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

  5. #5
    IanG's Avatar
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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill_1856 View Post
    9x12 is a nice size of film -- plenty of B&W available. Lots of holders available for it used and inexpensive.
    I'd keep what you've got, and enjoy it.
    I agree I have a few 9x12 cameras and film's easy to get as are plate holders but you need film inserts.

    Ian

  6. #6

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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill_1856 View Post
    9x12 is a nice size of film -- plenty of B&W available. Lots of holders available for it used and inexpensive.
    I'd keep what you've got, and enjoy it.
    You are right about the 9x12 film holders, but I'm not sure if they will fit the ICA Dresden. Coul you help me a bit more, here?

  7. #7

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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion: modify ICA Reflex with Belair back?

    International holders have the same outside dimensions for 4x5" and 9x12cm film, but will not fit your camera. 9x12cm glass plate holders were not standardized, though there were a few widely used models. Make sure you get the right kind for your camera.

  8. #8

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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion: modify ICA Reflex with Belair back?

    Below are two Ica catalog pages, the first from 1922 and the second from 1925. I can't tell which model your camera is, but if it is the Model 756 it takes the Ica 721/6 single plate holders, and if it is the Model 750 it uses the 739/6 double-sided plate holders. Personally, I would try to find some original holders and shoot with the camera as-is. As Ian mentions, these should not be too difficult to find and then all you need are some 9x12 film sheaths and you're ready to go.

    You can see a photo of a 721/6 holder here.







    Jonathan

  9. #9

    Re: Newbie question: how best to use a 9x12 ICA Reflex?

    Figure out which holders fit your camera and then use it as intended.
    Flikr Photos Here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/18134483@N04/

    “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
    ― Mark Twain

  10. #10

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    Re: I'm a total newbie in need of advice/opinion: modify ICA Reflex with Belair back?

    It comes with a holder with the marking 723/12, with dark plate. There is, how ever, a square cut out.
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    So if I can do something about the square cut-out, then I can put film sheet in it? But I can only put one in a a time, and I need to do this in a dark room? So I would need to find more of these, if not, I can only go out to take just one picture? Is that correct? (I'm a newbie, please be patient with me.)

    Question: what use is the cut-out?

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