Porst 135 BC

The Porst 135 BC is a camera made by Photo Porst. The model was in the catalog and on the shelves in the 70s. Presumably, the model was built in the south of Germany by King KG.

The lens of the Porst 135 BC cannot be exchanged. The manufacturer’s name of the lens is “Color-Spezial C 2.8/40 mm”. The largest aperture of the lens is f/2.8 and the focal length is 40 mm. The lens is focused manually.

The 35 mm camera has an exposure meter. It can be used with films with sensitivity from ISO 25 to ISO 400. The Selenium light meter does not need batteries. However, over the years, this may lose accuracy or stop operating completely.

The camera has a bulb mode. In this mode, the shutter can be opened for a variable time. This makes long exposures at night possible, for example. However, you can only use this mode with a cable release.

The Porst 135 BC measures 11 x 7.5 x 6.5 cm. The camera is mechanical and can take pictures without batteries. An external flash can be triggered via the built-in hot shoe. A thread for a tripod is built into the bottom of the camera.

Films for the Porst 135 BC

According to the instruction manual, the Porst 135 BC requires 35mm film. There is still a good selection of material for color and black and white images for this film format. Nice 35mm films for color and black and white images respectively are the Kodak Ultramax 400* and the Kodak T-Max 400*.

The color film is processed in the C-41 development process. This development process is offered by most laboratories. The black and white film has to go into a developer like Rodinal, XTOL or D-76. This kind of development is also offered by many professional developing labs.

Of course, there are many other suitable films from different manufacturers. There are films from Ilford, Foma, Fujifilm or Lomography. Suitable photo films are also available from Kentmere or Rollei.