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Earlofmar11
Tinkerer
Username: Earlofmar11
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 04:03 am: | 
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I recently bought a cheap Bilora Bella 66 that is in nice alround condition, except that the red film counter window in the back is missing.
Do you have any suggestions on an easy and effective way to replace it?
What if I just tape it closed and only briefly remove the tape while advancing the film. Would that badly cloud the film?
Marc. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 168
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 07:24 am: |
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Red windows were for orthochromatic film, now not readily available which was insensetive to red light. For modern films you need to cover it completely eith a piece of black tape or something similar and uncover only when winding. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 617
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 09:23 am: |
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Charlie is partly right. The red color does not protect your film, but amazingly enough, many red-window cameras are still perfectly usable without taping the window over. The trick is the baffling inside the camera back, which must form a decent seal between the film backing paper (which is opaque) and the camera back. Sometimes this is a felt ring, sometimes a metal baffle.
It's still a good idea to keep the window covered when not in use, of course, and it doesn't hurt to have a red filter in the hole. I have one of these little filter sample books, from which I can cut a small piece in any color I like:
http://www.adorama.com/ROSB.html?searchinfo=roscolux%20book&item_no=1
Since there's no great value in the red color any more, you might pick a color you like better... just make sure you can read the numbers through it. |
Dmr
Tinkerer
Username: Dmr
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 08:29 pm: |
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I seem to recall one Kodak model which had a GREEN window for the film numbers, green being the color that pan film is least sensitive to.
If you need some red filter material, there's a product called Rubylith which any art house should have. |
Mndean
Tinkerer
Username: Mndean
Post Number: 55
Registered: 08-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 - 10:32 pm: |
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My Kodak Pony 828 has a green window, but all the other cameras I have (that have windows) are red. |
August
Tinkerer
Username: August
Post Number: 18
Registered: 06-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 06:31 pm: |
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If the purpose of this is to reduce the risk of exposure, on modern films that are sensitive to all colors, wouldn't a neutral color (i.e. grey) shaded window be best?
But it probably doesn't make all that much difference, and you might like red to make your classic look as original as possible. Good sources might be red-tinted report covers from your local office mart, or the red lens out of a cheap pair of 3D glasses. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 620
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 07:40 pm: |
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Probably the best would be a dark shade of the same color as the backing paper on the film you're using. That way, the effect of the tint on the readability of the numbers is minimized, and you can make it that much darker before they become unreadable. |
