Putting a Roll Through

Kodak Tourist II folding 6×9: Putting a Roll Through

By Daniel J. Schneider Posted:
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Kodak Tourist II test shot
The remains of a neon sign on the side of the facade of Denver’s fairy historic Wax Trax record shop, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)

This one isn’t really a toy camera like most of the others I’ve looked at so far. This is a lower-end model with a Kodet Lens, though the Tourist was, apparently, one of Kodak’s higher-end cameras overall in the 1950s.

I tested it on one of my routine trips to find my car (parked somewhere in Capitol Hill, typically 5-7 blocks from my apartment building) on a day when the sun was shining, but thin, high clouds muted the light a little. Shadows were clear, but not crisp-edged.

Kodak Tourist II test shot
A garage with a lot of character on 12th Avenue in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Kodak Tourist II test shot
A view down the sidewalk on Emerson Street south of 12th Avenue in Denver’s Capitol Hill, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)

Learning from my experiences with other pre-1960 cameras (when ASA numbers underwent an adjustment that more accurately reflected most films’ speeds and when standard ‘daylight’ film was usually closer to ISO 12 or ISO 25 than the modern ISO 100 standard for daylight), I looked up the shutter speed online before applying sunny-16 rules. This stuck me shooting at f/32 because the Flash Kodon shutter on the Tourist II is fixed at 1/50th sec.

That’s okay, at least the frames will be sharp.

And boy were they, for an inexpensive camera with what I’m guessing is a plastic lens.

In the end, with the 1/50th shutter speed, the ISO 100 film was still a little too sensitive and the negatives were a touch overexposed.

Kodak Tourist II test shot
Another divided Victorian in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, many of which have been carved up into 3-5 individual apartments. From the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Kodak Tourist II test shot
An eclectically signed and be-mailboxed porch on a divided Victorian on 12th Avenue in Denver’s Capitol Hill, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Kodak Tourist II test shot
An apartment building on Washington Street south of 13th Avenue in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Kodak Tourist II test shot
A disused back door into Denver’s Wax Trax record store on Washington Street at 13th Avenue, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Kodak Tourist II test shot
A gated, disused doorway leading into an Xcel Energy substation along 13th Avenue in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, from the test roll through my Kodak Tourist II 6×9 camera. (Daniel J. Schneider)

I shot these on Ilford Delta 100 120 film (rerolled onto a 620 spool), which I developed in Kodak HC-110E (47:1 mixture) for 8:45 min at 69°F.

I used Photoshop to bring the blacks up a tiny bit and fix a few dust spots from the scanner, but the adjustments were very minor.

I wrote a much deeper look at the camera itself, as well.

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