Kodak Tourist: Kodak's Last Folding Roll Film Camera

An introduction to the 1948 to 1958 Kodak Tourist series of cameras, the last folding roll film cameras made by Kodak. I'll be discussing various models of the range, the use of the Tourist Adapter Kit, and will shoot a roll of Orwo UN54 in size 828!
If you would like to support my channel in a material way, buying me a roll or two of film is always greatly appreciated: buymeacoffee.c...

[@robertyoung1777]

The 8-28 was a good idea because of the large image area on a 35mm film size. Thank you for creative and posting this.

[@stephenwhited1833]

I have a mid range Tourist and for my wifes birthday I did a complete professional photoshoot using it. I brought in my makeup artist and reflectors and did some outside shots at a botanical garden and WOW. Portra 160 really worked well in it. The clarity rivals my Canon 90D! Excellent lens!

[@oddballcamera]

I love to hear this! These cameras are really quite impressive even by modern standards. Fantastic to hear that you used yours for a professional shoot!

[@marlonsouza9224]

Once again… lots of fun seeing your videos. Thanks a lot. Love the conversion kit.

[@oddballcamera]

The conversion kit is my favorite part of these cameras. They make the camera so versatile.

[@christophersmithphotograph2275]

great education video, had no idea my Tourist could be so versatile. Looking into some of these accessories now. Thx!

[@oddballcamera]

Thank you! I'm very glad you found the video informative!

[@michaelcherry8952]

As I understand it, the main reason behind the 828 adapter was that 828 film was available in Kodachrome, which gave the possibility of "super slides". It was the exact same overall size as 35mm, so it wasn't a big deal for the Kodachrome production lines to make both 35 mm and 828 slide film. At the time Kodak was still selling 828 cameras, and heavily promoting Kodachrome, so the film was readily available, hence the inclusion of 828 in the adapter kit. As you can tell by my avatar, I am a big fan of these cameras (I have, ummm...several🙄) and I am really fascinated by the concept of the Tourist Adapter Kit. I think the last actual folding camera Kodak made was the U.K. only Kodak 66, a square format folder that uses 120 film. This was manufactured from 1958 to 1960, making it as old as me 😟. I have a couple of the Kodak 66 Model III (there was no Model I) and it's not a bad little camera. It has a 75mm Anaston f4.5 lens and a 5 speed (plus B) Velio flashbulb synched shutter (max speed 200). A very "medium format in your pocket" kind of camera. Thanks for the video about one of my favourite Kodaks.

[@oddballcamera]

Ha, I always hesitate to include absolutes in my videos like "first" or "last", because there always seems to be a few outliers that sneak into the comparison. 😄Thanks for the info about the Kodak 66! And yes I also think you are absolutely correct about Kodak's intent with the 828 adapter. The adapter kit box even alludes to this in the copy text on the box lid, which says it allows the owner to use "miniature Kodachrome Film, 828" in the camera. Pretty cool. After I started researching for this video I discovered that Kodak actually made 828 adapters for several other 620 cameras as well, including the Kodak Reflex, the Kodak Chevron, etc. Definitely a chance to promote their Kodachrome film as well as make the camera more flexible. The one Tourist that I've been keeping an eye out for is the Synchro 400 shutter version. This model seems to be quite rare as I have never seen one for sale or otherwise listed online anywhere. But I know it exists because I have a printed manual for it!

[@michaelcherry8952]

@@oddballcamera You have a manual for the Tourist with the 400 shutter? Me too!😆 I'm sure there's some kind of 12-step program we could both join!🤣 I imagine it's the same shutter as the one on the Kodak Monitor. The cool thing about these shutters is that they are, to a certain extent, swappable. There's a little latch that attaches the shutter to the lens board. So "technically" you could create a 400 shutter Tourist by subbing in a 400 shutter on a bog-standard flash Kodamatic 200-equipped Tourist. It does require carefully unscrewing the lens first, but it's possible. Of course, this would be cheating, right?😁

[@jrdnwrnr]

I found one of these for $8 with the cheapest lens on it only capable of f12.5 - f32 with 1/30 shutter speed. Great camera. Wish it had the amount of capabilities has your lens. It's cool to see how many different variations there are out there of the same camera.

[@oddballcamera]

That's great! Yeah it's fun to see the wide range of different variations of this camera, and see what different versions are capable of.

[@JDCarnin]

It could be that this camera uses 828, because the 135 was made by the German Kodak AG at the time, which came to life after Kodak bought the August Nagel Camera works, who also invented the 135 film. Have a Retina 1a from the time in beautiful condition with the Schneider Kreuznach Xenar f2.8 and let me tell you, this thing is amazing, especially when you get a nice working Kodalux L lightmeter to go with it. Now I wanna give the Tourist a try as well. From my experience Kodaks cameras are somewhere between questionable and amazing depending on how much you wanna spend.

[@liveinaweorg]

Fascinating design, especially incorporating the changeable back. Very versatile. I enjoy my two folders (Kodak 1A Autographic and Agfa Isolette II)

[@oddballcamera]

Nice! Those old Kodak 1A's are fun to shoot with.

[@joellinker9899]

Another excellent video. Never seen or heard of 828 film. I assume it was new old stock? How many exposures on a roll? Seems like Kodak would have made this camera adaptable to 127 film also, or instead.thanks again 📸

[@oddballcamera]

Thank you! Yes this was the first time I had ever shot with 828 film. It was most commonly used in Kodak's Bantam and Pony camera ranges. The film I shot was actually brand new film, re-rolled by an 828 enthusiast. The film stock is Orwo UN54...I assume the person who rolled the film was able to get a batch of unperforated 35mm Orwo film. The original 828 film rolls included 8 frames per roll, but this re-rolled film included 10 frames.

[@KurtClark]

This is great! What a cool camera. Much more advanced than any other folding cameras than I've seen before. That complicated shutter really jogged my memory; the Kodak Signet 35 I used in Junior High had the SAME shutter preset, and I totally forgot about that until watching this video. Thanks for sharing!

[@oddballcamera]

Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and especially glad to have jogged some memories!

[@williamthompson5929]

Thank you for another fascinating video. I am a bit of a sucker for folders, and have a few Zeiss Ikon 6x9 and 6x6 models, but I had never heard of this series of Kodak folders. Quite a lot of thought seems to have gone into the "convertible" version, especially considering they must have already decided to discontinue the line.

[@oddballcamera]

Indeed, there's definitely a lot of engineering that went into the design of the adapter kit components!

[@mnoliberal7335]

I have the 1/200 and 1/800 Tourist 2, but no adapter. You need tiny little fingers to use 828 film.

[@oddballcamera]

Nice! Do you shoot with your cameras? Yes, the 828 was a bit fiddly--not sure I'll be shooting much more of that format.

[@Kosm64]

The way the Synchro-Rapid 800 works with the two shutters seems similar in function to a focal plane shutter with two curtains. Does the secondary shutter only close when setting the primary shutter? Or, does it operate like a focal plane shutter where one opens and the other quickly closes in sequence? A very cool idea, but obviously it introduces much more mechanical complexity. I'm also curious if the Synchro-Rapid 800 can sync a flash at its highest speed? I assume it does, since the shutter opens and closes completely.

[@oddballcamera]

Excellent questions. The secondary shutter of the Synchro-Rapid 800 functions more similarly to the rear curtain of a Hasselblad 500-series camera, in that it opens before the primary shutter fires and closes after the primary shutter has finished exposing the film. The secondary shutter on the Tourist 800 (and the rear curtain on a Hasselblad) plays no part in the exposure itself. In a Hasselblad the rear curtain allows the main shutter to remain open during SLR focusing; in the Tourist 800 the secondary shutter allows the primary shutter to open during the cocking procedure. But the primary shutter alone controls the total length of the exposure itself. And yes you're right that the Synchro-Rapid 800 can synch a flash at all speeds, since the primary shutter opens all the way at every speed (unlike a focal-plane shutter). Great questions and observations!

[@oldblinddarby2498]

My tourist II has a single left hand view finder, no shutter speed adjust, lowest f is 12.5, highest 32. It's more like your tourist 1, but with a plaque and box calling it a tourist ii

[@oddballcamera]

@@oldblinddarby2498 Thanks for the comment! Yes I should have mentioned some of the first Tourist IIs with the Kodet lens continued with the single straight through viewfinder. Thanks for sharing about your camera!

[@richardkrotec1440]

hi i am new to taking pictures with these types of cameras and i wanted to know if you have a video on how to take photos and advance the film properly for a kodak 620 tourist II camera ?thanks Richard

[@oddballcamera]

Hi Richard, there are so many varieties of the Kodak Tourist II camera that it's impossible for me to tell you definitely how to use your specific camera. I would recommend that you track down an owner's manual for your specific camera (specific lens and shutter combination). There are a number of manuals available for free download online. Which lens and shutter combination do you have?

[@richardkrotec1440]

@@oddballcamera i have a flash kodon shutter.Richard

[@oddballcamera]

@@richardkrotec1440 This manual should get you going with that camera: www.cameramanuals.org/kodak_pdf/kodak_tourist_ii.pdf

[@richardkrotec1440]

@@oddballcamera thanks thats great Richard

[@chuckcox192]

Doesn't the Kodak Retina IIIc qualify as a folding camera?

[@oddballcamera]

Ah, excellent point! I meant to say that the Tourist was the last folding roll film camera from Kodak...an important distinction! I will update the title of the video accordingly. Although others have also pointed out that there was a UK-only folding roll film camera called the Kodak 66 that came after the Tourist. There's always a danger in making absolute statements like "the last" or "the first", etc 🙂

[@garnieross9958]

Why take a wonderful film format, use it in a beautiful vintage camera and display the photos in cell phone format? Sad! Use a cell phone!

[@robertknight4672]

Whatever I use a vintage camera like this I typically will get Prince but I will share it on Facebook as well. One occasion I may even make a KZbin video to share them and talk about the camera.