A little too quick for my own good

ciniframe · Aug 24, 2014

Just out for my morning stroll and stopped at a weekend flea market. Therein sat an Agfa Isoly that I took to be a 6X6 because of the size and square VF. Looked it over carefully, very clean inside and out including the 60mm f3.9 Apotar lens. Front element scale focus smooth and well damped. The little Prontor looked about right at all speeds.

Keen!, I thought, a leightweight 6X6 wide angle camera. Don't know why when I opened the back I didn't notice the film gate was a tad small for that size.
Got it home, thought I'd load a roll and only then noticed the red window.

Internal monologue;

"Isn't that supposed to be in the middle of the back?"
"Hey, is this a 4.5X6"
Look at the film gate again, "Nope, it's square alright."
"Wait a minute." Grab the ruler "One and five eights by one and five eights!" "Cripes! It's a lousy 4X4." Slaps forehead, feels real dumb.

PS; Nope, the film gate is not just an insert that snaps out. I already checked that.

pdeeh · Aug 24, 2014

So the 60mm lens didn't give you pause for thought ?

ciniframe · Aug 24, 2014

pdeeh said:
So the 60mm lens didn't give you pause for thought ?

To tell the truth I'd almost forgotten that there ever was 4X4 size. I've always associated it with 127 film and cameras like the baby Rollei and 4X4 Yashica TLR's. Come to think of it my very first camera was 4X4 if I remember right. It was a Kodak Brownie Bullet, a little brown camera made out of bakelite. Only now I remember that some cheap cameras using 120 film had the frame restricted to 4X4. That size was also for transparencies called "super slides" because they could fit in the same 2X2 holders as regular 35mm slides.

After 50 years of dinking around with all kinds of cameras it is amazing what one forgets.

snapguy · Aug 24, 2014

a while

After a while it's amazing when one remembers much of anything.

Regular Rod · Aug 24, 2014

ciniframe said:
Just out for my morning stroll and stopped at a weekend flea market. Therein sat an Agfa Isoly that I took to be a 6X6 because of the size and square VF. Looked it over carefully, very clean inside and out including the 60mm f3.9 Apotar lens. Front element scale focus smooth and well damped. The little Prontor looked about right at all speeds.

Keen!, I thought, a leightweight 6X6 wide angle camera. Don't know why when I opened the back I didn't notice the film gate was a tad small for that size.
Got it home, thought I'd load a roll and only then noticed the red window.

Internal monologue;

"Isn't that supposed to be in the middle of the back?"
"Hey, is this a 4.5X6"
Look at the film gate again, "Nope, it's square alright."
"Wait a minute." Grab the ruler "One and five eights by one and five eights!" "Cripes! It's a lousy 4X4." Slaps forehead, feels real dumb.

PS; Nope, the film gate is not just an insert that snaps out. I already checked that.

eBay item number: 331114963533

RR

trythis · Aug 24, 2014

So... wha'dya pay for it?

summicron1 · Aug 24, 2014

so buy some 127 film and shoot it. Freestyle has it in stock.

k.hendrik · Aug 24, 2014

http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/k-hendrik/media/lecieldeParis6_zps1cc6ddb2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=27
http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/k...enaarParijs6_zpsdb203a2c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=34

get some 120 400 triX & go the happy road; shoot that Isoly

ciniframe · Aug 24, 2014

trythis said:
So... wha'dya pay for it?

Twenty dollars. I felt, considering condition and operation it was not an unreasonable amount, even with the reduced frame size.

ciniframe · Aug 24, 2014

summicron1 said:
so buy some 127 film and shoot it. Freestyle has it in stock.

Sorry I was not quite clear. You see, it uses 120 roll film but with only a 4X4 frame with 16 exposures per roll. Not the only camera to do so. Fortunately I have plenty of 120 film stocked.

Oh yes, I do intend to shoot it.

trythis · Aug 24, 2014

So its like a Diana folder? cool!

NedL · Aug 24, 2014

ciniframe said:
....I'd almost forgotten that there ever was 4X4 size....

Ha! I never knew. I would have been looking at the 120 spool, then the film gate, then back again then the spool then the gate... huh??

Denverdad · Aug 25, 2014

The variety of lens and shutter types which Agfa used on the Isoly make it a surprisingly diverse model - at least in terms of capabilities, if not appearance. Isolies run the gamut from the toy-like meniscus-lensed "Isoly I" versions that you most commonly see, all the way up to the harder to find Isoly III models with either an Agnar or Apotar lens in a Prontor shutter. I have always been curious to try out one of these "higher-end" Isolies, but I have never been so lucky as to encounter one at a flea market like you did. Given that yours is the top-of-the-line model and in apparently very good condition too, I would say you did all right for $20!

I imagine the trick to really appreciating one of these is that you just have to get past the whole 4x4 thing. With that lens and shutter, yours is no doubt a very competent and versatile performer, but you can always remind yourself that you are getting that performance in a very compact and lightweight form too, not to mention getting 16 images per roll instead of 12!

Looking forward to seeing a pic of the camera, and pics made with with it too!

Jeff

summicron1 · Aug 25, 2014

ciniframe said:
Sorry I was not quite clear. You see, it uses 120 roll film but with only a 4X4 frame with 16 exposures per roll. Not the only camera to do so. Fortunately I have plenty of 120 film stocked.

Oh yes, I do intend to shoot it.

even better!

Vaughn · Aug 25, 2014

ciniframe said:
...After 50 years of dinking around with all kinds of cameras it is amazing what one forgets.

I first thought you wrote 'drinking' and thought, "Of course there would be some memory losses!"

Have fun with it!!!!

k.hendrik · Aug 25, 2014

k.hendrik said:
http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/k-hendrik/media/lecieldeParis6_zps1cc6ddb2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=27
http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/k...enaarParijs6_zpsdb203a2c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=34

get some 120 400 triX & go the happy road; shoot that Isoly

https://www.flickr.com/photos/77846450@N00/5800270108/in/set-72157625911025516

these are the pics and this is the Agfa Isoly III.

Sirius Glass · Aug 25, 2014

If that turns out to be the worst mistake in your life, then you will have had a marvelous life.

You could have done much worse. Maybe you can sell or trade it.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 25, 2014

Once, while on vacation in Sweden, I ended up with a 40mm square back for my Hasselblad when I borrowed a film back from my father. He didn't realize it either, just handed it over and I put it on the camera, burned a frame or two off empty to make sure everything worked.

Then my significant other and I headed out on a little road trip and spent a whole day looking at things and photographing. I shot five rolls of 120 film and did not realize my mistake until I came back home to Minnesota.
Boy was I surprised, but thinking back at the situation I realized that some of the compositions were actually better tightly cropped as they were, so while the pictures were not what I had intended, at least there were some good photographs as a result, and two good lessons: crop in as tight as you can in the viewfinder, and always double check the film back - twice.

europanorama · Dec 29, 2014

k.hendrik said:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77846450@N00/5800270108/in/set-72157625911025516

these are the pics and this is the Agfa Isoly III.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agfa_Isoly
apotar 60/3.9 driven isoly= IIIa
Agnar 60/3.5 driven isoly= III which i have. prontor 500S-shutter working good-not yet tried out.

A little too quick for my own good

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