old Agfa camera

The White Death · Jan 12, 2016

Hi,
I have just recently come into possession of an old Agfa medium format folding camera. To be more precise it's a Billy Record, model 4.5 I believe. I've looked into it already and found it was produced somewhere between 1936 and 1949; it uses a 120 roll film for 6x9 cm frames. I would really appreciate if anyone could tell me more about it, especially about the film it uses and where I could get it.
I am really looking forward to your answers and thank you in advance.

petrochemist · Jan 12, 2016

A nice little camera, I have a pre-war one myself though I'm afraid I havent used it yet

120 roll film is the main standard for medium format, being suitable for negatives from 6x4.5 cm up to 6x12cm (and possibly even beyond in a few very rare cameras). It comes foil wrapped on a spool, and needs you to have a second spool (which should be with the camera) to use it. The film is available at most outlets that sell a reasonable variety of films - photshops, bigger pharmacies, as well as on-line.
There are multiple different types, colour or B&W, print or slide, and multiple film speeds. You also have a choice of different film brands which can have differnt properties - such as Velvia known for it's rich saturated colours. The range of films available is mucg smaller than it was 10 years ago but still fairly extensive if you are willing to search.
Processing the film might be more difficult to sort out than buying it, but there are still a reasonable number of mail oreder labs carrying this out. B&W can be home developed without too much difficulty, though colour tends to be a bit more fussy so might be better left to an experienced lab.
In the UK IIRC 7-day shop are a reasonably cheap source of 120 film, I've heard larger branches of Boots are also now stocking it...

wyogirl · Jan 12, 2016

I don't know much about the camera but 120 film is easy to find. B&H carries it, you can even get it on Amazon. And if you have a local camera store, you might be able to get it locally.