Newbie in New Jersey

[TRCPhoto]

Hello all!

I was recently given an Ansco Agfa 5x7 w/ a Wollensak Velostigmat Series Ia f-7.7 lens in a Betax No.3 shutter. I've never shot/owned anything larger than MF and am very excited (and hopeful!) to use this beauty soon.

The camera and lens seem to be in great condition on initial inspection, but only two of the five wooden film holders seem to be fully intact. I'm sure I'll be pounding the boards in no time with questions, but if anyone has any suggestions for me on getting started all will be much appreciated!

A friend suggested picking up Steve Simmon's book on using a view camera. Beyond that I think I'm going to search a few local shops for cheap expired stock and get used to loading and exposing film with this.

Lastly, I can't seem to find much information specific to this setup. Is there anything in the body that would give me a better indication of the age of the camera? I find a good bit on Velostigmat Series II and older, but not on the Ia?

Happy New Year to everybody!
TC

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to Large Format Photography Forum

[Alan Klein]

Welcome to LF. I'm close by in Monroe Twp. But still shooting MF. Good luck with LF.

[Tim Meisburger]

Welcome to the forum. I cannot help with the camera, but I think they were made in the thirties. I could be wrong. For the holders, not sure what could be wrong with them, unless maybe they need to be re-taped. If you post a photo we can help (show us the camera too).

Might be hard to come up with cheap 5x7 film locally, but you can always order it from B&H or Freestyle. Otherwise, you might try shooting paper negatives to start.

You will have a lot of fun, I think. Just get away from the idea of capturing a decisive moment, and think more about building an image step by step; still life, portrait or landscape, they all require a deliberative process.

Cheers!

[mdarnton]

If it says both Agfa and Ansco, it's from between the late 1920s and 1942, when the company was taken over and the Agfa name removed. There's no way to precisely date them. Presumably it would be brass and lacquer finished. Features came and went without any obvious reason. Ones without front tilt were made through that period, though there would be a tendency for the no-front-tilt ones to be earlier. After 1942 there was a grey/chrome Deluxe model, then in the 50s the knobs went to plastic and all models turned grey. The last version had slotted stays for the back tilt instead of a sector, plastic knobs and grey color.

It was considered a fancy camera in its time, equal to Deardorff. They're real workhorses.

If you want to get started on the cheap, check out the several threads on using x-ray film. It's dirt cheap (40 cents per 8x10 sheet instead of $4--like 1975 prices!), and you can develop it under safelight. I was frozen with several LF cameras and no interest in using them until I discovered the x-ray option, and now I use nothing else.

[Bob Salomon]

If it says both Agfa and Ansco, it's from between the late 1920s and 1942, when the company was taken over and the Agfa name removed. There's no way to precisely date them. Presumably it would be brass and lacquer finished. Features came and went without any obvious reason. Ones without front tilt were made through that period, though there would be a tendency for the no-front-tilt ones to be earlier. After 1942 there was a grey/chrome Deluxe model, then in the 50s the knobs went to plastic and all models turned grey. The last version had slotted stays for the back tilt instead of a sector, plastic knobs and grey color.

It was considered a fancy camera in its time, equal to Deardorff. They're real workhorses.

If you want to get started on the cheap, check out the several threads on using x-ray film. It's dirt cheap (40 cents per 8x10 sheet instead of $4--like 1975 prices!), and you can develop it under safelight. I was frozen with several LF cameras and no interest in using them until I discovered the x-ray option, and now I use nothing else.

You sure about 1942? The war started, for the USA in 1941.

[Dan Fromm]

December, '41, Bob.

[Tim Meisburger]

If I recall correctly (maybe not) war was declared with Japan on December 9, 1941, and Germany a few days later, so its quite likely Ansco didn't divest itself of Agfa until early in '42, so that date could be correct. I guess I could google it, but too lazy...

[Leszek Vogt]

Welcome to the forum, TC. Agree with Michael, xray is pretty reasonable and you can play/practice on it....even do serious work with it. You could order 7x17 and in few slices you'll have (3) 5x7 sheets...from one. Can't say anything about the Ansco rig, but there are several here that use this camera.

Les

[Peter Lewin]

Welcome from about one hour north in Florham Park, near Morristown. While I'm not familiar with "historical" cameras, I've been in love with large format for over 30 years, so consider me an "in-state resource." As for the X-Ray film suggestion, my own instinct says to stick with regular film, so that your learning experience is with the same type of material you will be using going forward; X-Ray film has its own set of characteristics and processing needs.

One question I would consider is whether there are any 4x5 reducing backs readily (and cheaply) available for the Ansco, since 4x5 film is both more readily available, and less expensive, than 5x7.