Agfa Ansco View Camera Question/help

[zoom2zoom]

hi all..

this is my first LF post.. i shoot 70% DSLR, 20% 35mm film, and 10% MF film, and i dont have any knowledge of large format equipment.

I was wondering if anyone here can help me with the following gear that i was recently able to acquire.

Agfa Ansco 5x7 View Camera ( i think its called universal view from what i found on google). The camera is in really excellent condition, with minor marks on the body, but overall to be good condition. no holes in bellows, all knobs seems to work.

The lens is Hugo Meyer & Gorlitz Primotar 25cm f4.5. the lens also in excellent condition, all speeds sounds accurate, comes with original front leather cap and collaspable hood.

It also comes with its original tripod, case, and extra lens board and 3 film holder.

Here are some questions:

1. i paid $600 for the set.. may i ask if that is a reasonable value.

2. how is the performance of the camera in comparison with other LF cameras

3. how is the performance of the lens, what is the focal length in 35mm

4. I have an extra lens board, so i would like to get another lens, what lens should i get, and how do i find out the exact dim to fit the board? how do i mount the lens to the board? is it just unscrewing/screwing?

5. i suppose there is no polaroid back for this? what film should i try, i would like to do my first shots in wash dc landmarks..

6. is this a field or view camera, it seems like it should fold up, but it sort of doesnt.. ?

any help and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[CG]

Many of your questions need to be answered based on your interests / what you want to photograph. Maybe the best clues would come from the kinds of things you photograph with your other cameras. Your camera's and lenses performance are relative to your goals. If you want a big piece of film and very few movements, I'm guessing you are in good shape. If you are looking for state of the art optical performance and the movements of an advanced monorail, you may see things differently. What lens to get next depends on your goals. Portraiture? Maybe something longer. Architecture? Maybe a shortish lens.

But a couple of responses... Your lens is roughly a normal - like a 50 mm on 35.

Most lenses screw apart and screw back together around a lensboard. You can get a lensboard drilled out to fit a larger lens if you need it.

Does your camera look something like the cameras on www.fiberq.com/cam/scovill/agfa.htm ???

Best,

C

[John Kasaian]

1. I'd he price is a good one when you consider all the goodies that came with it.

2. The performance of these cameras is superb if everything locks down good. Besides thay look classier than a Norma.


3. Argueably 250mm is about average for a 5x7, say like a 50mm on a 35mm.

4. That all depends on what you want, my friend. You may want something longer or shorter. Shoot with your 250mm for awhile and you'll figure it out. Whatever you get make sure it comes with a flange or retaining ring. The flange goes on the outside and the lens screws into it. A retaining ring goes on the inside and sandwiches the lensboard between the shutter and the retaining ring.

5. A polaroid back will fit on a 4x5 back which is quite common and fits the 5x7 model (actually the 5x7 and 4x7 are the same camera with different backs.

6. It is a flatbed camera, it folds up into kind of a chunk. One nice thing is that the lens rides onboard, sticking out between the front rail. The Universal Agfa Ansco is a neat camera---I've got two and another two hulls for parts. Enjoy yours!

[Rafael Garcia]

Welcome, CG! A few answers:

1) It's an American (VS English) design, so it slides on the front and rear tracks. The front one swings up, the back track, if you have it, bolts on.

2) 5x7 is a great format, but film choices (especially color) are very limited. I started with a 5x7 Gundlach Korona View and have taken some of my best shots with it and it's 7 1/2" Raptar lens. I now use an old Japanese camera of English design. It folds and is less bulky, but it's less rigid in the wind that my Korona. Your camera is very similar to the Korona. I shoot 4x5 and 5x7 with this Japanese camera, with backs I made for it (the camera was a half-plate format initially, a size close to 5x7). You can do the same with yours.

3) Get a couple of books. Using the View Camera by Steve Simons is good (although he ignores 5x7). Also the articles in this and other websites which I won't mention here but that you can find by googling have a lot of valuable information on lenses and their equivalents. A standard lens for 5x7 (equivalent to the standard 50 to 55mm in 35mm) is anywhere from 180 to 300mm. The focal length your camera can use will be limited by how long you can stretch the bellows and how tight you can compress them. You can use any focal length lens between those two extremes.

4) You need to learn about movements, even though you probably don't have much in that respect. Also bellows factor ( where you compensate the exposure for light lost with longer bellows extension), and several other things.

5) It's the most fun you will have taking photographs, but you cannot rush it. It takes time, a relaxed attitude, and a good ten minutes in a rush to take one shot. You will go home from an outing with 4 or 6 shots, and feel like it was well worth it!

6) As to how it compares, don't worry. It was a state-of-the-art camera once, and very good photographers used it. Today's field cameras are smaller, lighter and have more movements, but that does not impact the photo, only the convenience when taking it. New field cameras work exactly the same way. I have never used a new one (although I have my first one on the way from China) and am totally satisfied with the capabilities of my old girls.

7) Lenses for landscape and architecture: wide angle and standard. Portraiture: standard and slightly long. Just like in 35mm. Watch the size of the image circle when buying. A 121mm Schneider Super Angulon, if you can find it, has all the coverage you need for a wide angle. A 90mm Schneider Super Angulon has just enough circle to cover 5x7 without any movements. That's where having a reduction back (to 4x5) helps.

I need to go now, but others will fill in my gaps.

Enjoy!

[zoom2zoom]

thanks for your inputs... i look forward to trying this format out soon in wash dc..

here are some pics of the camera.


http://www.smugmug.com/photos/275805357_qDF9u-L.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/275806019_rtut7-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/275805834_mtJJz-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/275806191_fm8ew-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/275806359_M4zNw-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/275805494_rE6uk-XL.jpg

[venchka]

It's gorgeous! I want one! My wife would actually welcome something like that in the house.

[wfwhitaker]

Beautiful camera. Value is in the eye of the beholder, but considering the condition evident from your photos and the fact you got the original tripod with it, you did well. The Agfas are great old cameras. They were the top of their class during their day. And they're still pretty nice these days. Again, it depends on what you want to do...

I'm not familiar with the Primotar, but the Hugo Meyer name is well respected. Most any lens of that vintage at f/4.5 has got to be interesting.

[zoom2zoom]

since i am new to LF, i would like to use polaroid first to test... how do i mount a 4x5 polaroid 545? do i need a speical holder?

oh, the person (wife) that i got it from told me that it was display at home as a piece of furniture for the husband of 26 years, then recently gotten divorced, and now she is sick of this camera in the house...

(just did a quick search and find that i need a 4x5 reducing back to use polaroids... what kind do i need to get?)

[Robbie Shymanski]

You are going to have to hunt to find reducing back for the camera. It may take a bit to find one. Unless you are handy and can jerry-rig. You might just be better off jumping into the deep end with some 5x7 film holders and shooting with film. A bathroom with plastic bags over the windows and some trays will be cheaper than instant film in the long run. 5x7 is a wonderful format for contact printing. Polaroid isn't long for this world. Best to get beyond it. If your heart is set on going with Polaroid, find an in expensive 4x5 like a Graphic or an old Calumet (press or view, with a little hunting you can pick either up for less than $200). You have a beautiful camera that was made for shooting film. I am sure there are many, like me, who looked at the pictures and were in lust. Take it for what it is and make the most of it, but don't try and make the camera do something other that what it was meant to.

[Nick_3536]

The only two things wrong with the Ansco are:

1) It's weight.

2) You can't use very wide lenses.

Neither is a killer. Some modern cameras have similar weights. IIRC it'll take something like a 120 [130mm flange distance?] with a flat board.

If you stick a good lens on it and put the camera on a stable tripod it'll produce photos no different then the same lens on a fancy brand new camera.

If you're reasonable in the woodshop you could mount a 4x5 back to it fairly easily. If not just shoot 5x7.

You need to move the both standards far forward on the tracks. When you've done that the rear track should fold up behind the back standard. Wrap it in a darkcloth and throw it in your case.