C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Voigtlander Avus is a folding plate camera introduced by Voigtlander of Brunswick, Germany in 1914, predating the 35mm format era by more than a decade. It was produced for glass plates and later roll-film backs, typically in the 9x12cm format, and represents the style of compact professional and advanced-amateur cameras common in Europe during the 1910s and 1920s. The body uses a self-erecting or strut-guided bellows construction mounted in a rigid metal and wood chassis with leatherette covering.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the — format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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About this camera
A pre-35mm German plate folder from 1914 -- scale-focus bellows construction with Heliar or Skopar glass.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | ~9x12cm glass plates; roll-film back available |
| Lens | Voigtlander Heliar or Skopar (fixed, varies by variant) |
| Shutter | Compur or Ibsor leaf: ~1s - 1/100s + B, T |
| Meter | None |
| Battery | None |
| Viewfinder | Optical direct; no rangefinder |
| Focus | Scale / rack-and-pinion bellows extension |
| Years | ~1914 - 1920s |
Voigtlander had been producing optical instruments and cameras since 1756, making it one of the oldest camera manufacturers in the world by the time the Avus appeared in 1914. The Avus was introduced as a moderately priced folding-plate camera aimed at advanced amateurs and travelling professionals who required a compact, self-contained camera without the bulk of a full studio or press instrument.
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 disrupted civilian camera production across Germany, but the Avus remained in the product catalogue into the postwar years as demand recovered. By the early 1920s, the Leica had not yet appeared (it was first shown in 1925) and the 35mm format had not established itself for still photography; the plate folder was still the dominant format for serious work.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Voigtlander expanded its folder line significantly. The Bessa series eventually supplanted the Avus as the primary medium-format folder product, incorporating roll-film design from the start and offering improved usability. The Avus is therefore a camera of the transitional plate-to-roll-film period in German camera manufacturing.
The Avus is historically interesting as a product of one of the oldest German camera houses at a pivotal moment -- the years just before the 35mm format began its long displacement of larger formats for portable photography. Photographers working in this era had no option for a compact camera that could produce large negatives; the plate folder was the only answer.
The Heliar lens in particular has achieved lasting reputation among film photographers and collectors. Its five-element formula produces a rendering quality -- especially in out-of-focus areas -- that is regarded as distinctive, and the Heliar name was revived by Cosina-Voigtlander for modern lenses in the 1990s. An Avus fitted with a Heliar offers access to that rendering character at modest cost relative to later Voigtlander rangefinder cameras.
For historians of photography, the Avus and cameras like it represent the standard professional tool used before the Leica revolution. Understanding this context clarifies why the Leica I of 1925 was genuinely disruptive: it achieved portability and speed that the plate folder could not match.
BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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