Agfa Isolette - first photos

[Neil Grant]

...the 1/100 sec exposure time seems reliable for hand-held work, 1/50 sec there were too many failures.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Nice. Cameras in that class (scale focus 6x6 folders) always seem to do better than they look like they should.

If 1/50 isn't working right, it might be time to learn to clean shutters.

 

[wyofilm]

I have an Agfa Isolette II (not sure of the difference to the I) and I shoot this camera often with excellent results. Very portable MF camera.

 

[pentaxuser]

I have the Isolette I and mine doesn't have a 1/100th speed. It is a speed that would be useful but there we are. So I assume that the OP has another version from the I

One of the slight drawbacks with the I is that it only has three shutter speeds 1/25th; 1/50th and 1/200th but it's manageable in most circumstances. It belongs to an era when in N Europe at least and given the film speeds of the day a 1/100th might have been a more useful speed

pentaxuser

 

[narsuitus]

Nice images !

I do not have an Agfa Isolette but I do have a similar camera, an Ansco Speedex folder. Since I tend to use ISO 100 film and shutter speeds longer than 1/100 second, I usually use a tripod instead of handheld.


Ansco 6X6 Folder by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[Donald Qualls]

The Speedex and Isolette are essentially the same camera (Ansco and Agfa have some history together), differences are mainly cosmetic.

 

[pentaxuser]

The Speedex and Isolette are essentially the same camera (Ansco and Agfa have some history together), differences are mainly cosmetic.

Not wishing to be pedantic but for the sake of accuracy all I can say is that judging from the photo of the Speedex in question, it has a whole range of speeds that my Isolette I lacks

pentaxuser

 

[Donald Qualls]

There were different versions of both cameras, both over time and over price points. Both were sold with at least three shutter choices (perhaps not always at the same time), a couple different lenses (triplet and Tessar type, usually), and at times with two different maximum apertures (f/6.3 or f/4.5, usually). The Speedex, at least, also had a "Junior" version that was fixed focus, I and B speeds, and choice of f/11 or f/16.

 

[Alan9940]

Nice images and camera! I had an Isolette III, but sold it because I tended to favor my Zeiss Super Ikonta III; I don't like cameras sitting around not being used. That said, I really enjoyed using the Isolette and was never disappointed by the resulting images.

 

[Neil Grant]

Nice. Cameras in that class (scale focus 6x6 folders) always seem to do better than they look like they should.

If 1/50 isn't working right, it might be time to learn to clean shutters.

...it's an Isolette 3 with an uncoupled rangefinder (so, not really scale-focus). The lens as a 75mm 'tessar' type. I have an alternative 'neg' of the wheel barrow still-life taken on a Mamiya C 330 with 105mm 'heliar' - and the sharpness and contrast of the two lenses is very similar.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Okay, uncoupled RF -- equivalent to a Mess Ikonta, then.

 

[takilmaboxer]

I've been a folder fanatic since 1966. Keep in mind that the shutter speeds are probably slow, so that your 1/50 may actually be 1/25. The shutters are usually pretty easy to clean; lots of online resources to help you with that. I had the shutter spring replaced on one of mine and all the speeds are accurate and consistent - but exactly one stop slow.
I use mine for subjects more than 15 feet away, anything closer and I use a 35 SLR. In fact lately I've been using my folders as they were originally used; focus set at the red dot, aperture also at the red dot, shutter speed adjusted as needed, modest enlargements. Beautiful results.
Is it possible that the lenses were designed for best sharpness at the hyperfocal distance?

 

[Donald Qualls]

Is it possible that the lenses were designed for best sharpness at the hyperfocal distance?

I don't know that the opticians of the early to mid 20th could pin things down that tightly. Tessar types and Heliars (a 5 element, 5 group, as I recall) were just damned good lenses despite being originally calculated before 1900. Pretty much the peak of what the glass and calculation technology of the day could produce.

 

[takilmaboxer]

Yep, never been disappointed by a Tessar. But folders usually have front cell focusing, which in my experience softens the image at close in distances. I like landscapes and architectural shots and the red dot focal point really nails it. Hmm, think I'll grab a folder...

 

[Dan Daniel]

...the 1/100 sec exposure time seems reliable for hand-held work, 1/50 sec there were too many failures.

You might look at the lens bed to find where the shutter release actually happens. Usually there is a tab there. For example, on the Ansco Speedex above, the release and the black tab are at about 8 o'clock. The mechanics of the shutter buttons on the top of the main body on folders are often not smooth. Using the release right at the shutter is often much smoother, allowing for slower speeds without blur.

 

[Auer]

Nice, I have a Isolette II, Cool little cameras

 

[Helge]

Build in rangefinders are vastly overrated.
They are mostly needed for close ups. And for that they are slow and inaccurate
Get an external RF that you can clean, calibrate and trust.
Also a tripod for close up shots (light tripods really goes like ketchup with fries for folders).
Or
Use a laser measuring tape or real tape for nailing the exact distance.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I haven't used a measuring device that wasn't part of the camera for focusing in many years. If I'm at f/5.6 or smaller, I generally get it right; f/8 almost universally even inside 3 meters. Not everyone can estimate distance accurately, though, so an RF (even an uncoupled one built into the camera) can be a big help.

 

[Helge]

Almost universally the build in RFs are not very good.
The RF in the Isolette and Mess Ikonta are serviceable at best and are hard and expensive to clean and adjust.
If you fuck it up you’ll have that as an ever present eyesore and reminder of your ineptitude every time you use the camera.

And exactly how good a job did you do..?
Close up, very small differences matters a lot.

From one to two meters, focus is critical with MF even at 5.4. And that’s mostly when you’d use high apertures because you are inside and it’s not quite daylight.
For that the build in RF is especially bad.
Use an external one or some other measuring equipment (your own body for example. From my right shoulder to my left outstretched fingertips there is almost exactly 1.2m, corresponding to the minimum focusing distance of the Zeiss folders. Most people will be able to find similar lucky correspondences).

Or make a human rangefinder: https://tomchuk.com/rf/

 

[takilmaboxer]

In my experience the built in rangefinders are of limited utility. Not only that but the distances on the focus ring aren't very accurate either. So on my Mess Ikontas, I first determine the reading on the focus ring that exactly corresponds to 10 feet (3 meters) on the negative. On my favorite camera the actual reading is 4 meters. Then I adjust the rangefinder so that it is accurate at 10 feet - who cares if it's accurate at 100 feet? Zone focusing is fine at long distances.
After these adjustments, if the rangefinder reads 10 feet and I adjust the focus to the corresponding reading, the negative will be sharp at an actual distance of ten feet. But it's a lot easier to use a SLR for closeups. Or a Graphic. And both of these have interchangeable lenses.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I don't know that I've seen a non-folding RF camera that wasn't coupled, which eliminates the main source of error in using either an external or uncoupled internal RF: transferring the distance reading to the lens focus ring.

 

[Helge]

Even with a TLR or SLR the focusing can be sketchy at the most critical times.
Low light and close up.

Often I fall back on estimation, or for still life, measuring.

Close up estimation can actually get scary good once you get into the habit of imagining a measuring stick of known length to the subject.

At longer distances you ability to gauge will drift, but of course will matter less, because DoF grows almost exponentially with normal lenses.

 

[Auer]

I zone focus with my Isolette, it's a F16 point and shoot.

 

[Neil Grant]

You might look at the lens bed to find where the shutter release actually happens. Usually there is a tab there. For example, on the Ansco Speedex above, the release and the black tab are at about 8 o'clock

...
the shutter release on the lens is located as you describe but completely inaccessible. I've found it's important to do things 'just-so' with my Isolette 3 or a frame will be lost because the 'blocking device' becomes activated. Don't advance the film until the last moment, don't push the shutter until it's cocked. Then be sure to hold the shutter release down long enough for the 'blocking' to be activated. You just can't rush this camera.