Sumida Apollo test roll
The Sumida Optical Works Apollo 120 was produced after WWII in Japan, and is the successor to the Miyoshi Kōgaku Roavic from the early 1940’s. It is a medium format 120 film camera producing 6x4.5cm negatives. There are some nice design touches like the contoured release pad to close the front, the embossed name on the vulcanite back panel, and the fonts used. I have a simple brain when it comes to buying new cameras, and something as small as the red on the cable sockets just adds a little something!
Mine comes with a Wester NKK shutter 1-1/200th plus Bulb, and a Wester Anastigmat 75mm f3.5 lens, and according to Camera-wiki is a version of the middle variant, and considering it is 80 years old, is in great condition.
Sumida Apollo 120
Sumida Apollo 120
It was found in a box full of folders at Photographica this year, and as I didn’t have a 6x4.5 - plus the fact it looks interesting - made the purchase.
All the shutter speeds worked and looked correct and no holes in the corners of the bellows, so I loaded with a roll of HP5, and took it for a walk whilst waiting for the car to be fixed.
Sumida Apollo 120 - Ilford HP5
The first thing I noticed when viewing the scans was the negative gives a wider field of view than the viewfinder. The view through the finder appears a lot more zoomed in - so much so that when I composed this shot the cars were not in it!
Sumida Apollo 120 - Ilford HP5
There does seem to be a light leak which I assume is down the edges of the bellows where they sit in the body. Only one of the 15 frames didn’t have the leak, but that was in low light in a woodland so would explain it.
I would love to get inside this abandoned Printers one day, but it sits right next to residential streets so I am sure someone will disapprove and call the authorities!
Sumida Apollo 120 - Ilford HP5
The Wester lens does not seem to be the sharpest - most of these were at f8 and either 1/125 or 1/250th so not at the extremes of the aperture range. However it is far better than the lens on the Seagull 203 I used recently!
Sumida Apollo 120 - Ilford HP5
As the weather improved and the sun almost made an appearance on the long walk home as the car wouldn’t fixed that day, the light leaks are more prominent, which I suppose is to be expected.
I enjoyed using this camera, even though the results are not 100%, it made a change to shoot differently to 6x6 which I still prefer. I found the viewfinder the most annoying as you compose the image with the elements you see, but the end results are different. Looking at where the leak lines are is probably about the edges of the view through the finder. I will fix the leaks in case I fancy having another go.