DIY Project with old folder (Isolette II), replacing shutter/lens or complete overhaul?

Hi all, first post here!

I have been an avid medium format shooter for a long time, but recently the DIY/hand-made camera bug got me, and I obtained an old folder to work with, it is a Ventura 66 Deluxe, another name for the Isolette II.
The lens focusing system is broken, and I want to see what I could do with it. After removing the lens and shutter, here is what I have:


I can see two interesting options in front of me, both with challenges.

1) remove the bellows, door, and emulate Dirk Fletcher's awesome custom creations (he however tend to use 6x9) to create soemthing like this with a helical mount and a wide-angle lens.



2) The second option would be to leave intact the bellows and door and simply replace the lens and shutter by something better. While the build above is more complex, I still feel somewhat clueless about this second option, especially in terms of shutter/lens options. The original shutter/lens combo on the camera was a Prontor-S with an Apotar 85mm F4.5. Am I limited to another lens using the same Prontor-S? It may be a dumb question but are the lens holes in old folder cameras standardized like large format lens board with similar size (like copal 0, etc.)? I'd like to find a shutter/lens combo with good IQ that can fit.

Thank you all! André

andremunro said:

Am I limited to another lens using the same Prontor-S?

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No. Most folders came with a combination of lens and shutters. You should be able to find a Compur (Synchro-Compur) for your Isolette. What is the diameter of the hole in the front standard? How exactly the lens focusing is broken? On my Agfa Billy the front element was completely frozen by the infamous Agfa Grease but I managed to clean it. Here are the details if you are interested:
Apotar is a great lens and deserves another chance.

To give you an idea of what you will be getting yourself in for, this isn't a simple swap out of a shutter and lens block most likely. If the original lens is 85mm, that is an unusual focal length. I don't know if this was typical for Agfas at this time or not. The location of the front board that holds the shutter/lens block is tied to the focal length of the lens.

This doesn't mean that any 85mm lens would work. I forget the terms here, but the 'zero' point (back flange distance??) of a lens is not the same for a specific focal length. Different designs will have different zero points. So the shutter block will need to be in different locations. I've seen folders that had spacers between the lens board and shutter to change this, and most will have thin shims of paper or brass to fine tune.

Pretty certain that the shutter will be a #00, and lenses from many cameras of the time will fit it. Prontor and Compur used the same sizing. Many Japanese cameras of the time did, also. Lots of lenses could be an option.

If you want to lose the folding thing, that opens up all sorts of options. What you have really is a film holder and winding system, and now you build a light-tight box on the front. Might be easiest to remove the front door completely. Then focusing becomes the issue. Not too hard to take an old 35mm SLR lens like a ubiquitous 50mm f/2 and pull the helical out of it and mount a #00 on the front.

Some patience, some willingness to go down a few dead ends, and you can probably make something very nice.

I had good luck when I stayed in the Agfa 'family', putting a 105mm f/4.5 Solinar on a like-new 6x9 Ventura body that was missing its lens (probably was a 105 Agnar or Apotar). If you could find an 85mm Solinar (I don't know for certain they ever made one) it would certainly be worth a try-- every Solinar I've owned is a fantastic 'keeper'. Other than that possibility, Dan Daniel's points are spot on.

Thank you all! This is great advice, much appreciated! Will share the results if I succeed.

If you still have the lens and the shutter restoring the folder is the best and probably the cheapest option.

I have a Agfa Billy that I bought for $8 as a donor for my Agfa Compur which was missing the original shutter release and the brilliant viewfinder. The body on Agfa Billy is seriously broken with the struts and the rails ripped from the front door. Some idiot applied a fair bit of force to rip 8 rivets that held it together. I am facing a similar dilemma with how to restore the camera now that I have the lens repaired.

If you are willing to sacrifice portability you can turn your Isolette into a rigid-body camera. The easiest way is to find a 105 mm lens in #00 shutter with a focusing front element. All you need is some sort of a spacer to go between the standard and the shutter.

Alternatively, you have a choice of lenses from medium format view cameras like Horseman or Linhof. The standard focal lengths are 90, 105 and 120 mm. They are focused by moving the whole lens so you need a helicoid for focusing like the one on Dirk Fletcher's camera. These units are easily available at a reasonable price and so are the lenses as they do not usually cover 4x5 and are limited to medium format use. 90 mm does not leave you any space for the helicoid so 105 mm is probably your best option.

You might be able to leave the door in place. I was also considering keeping the bellows to preserve the original look of the camera. It could be possible to put a 3D printed lens cone inside the bellows and attach it to the camera body at one end and the front standard at the other to provide extra rigidity. I'll probably go this route for my broken Agfa.

I have many folding cameras but Agfa Compur is my favourite and most used. Restore your Isolette and you won't be disappointed with its performance. Good luck and please report your progress.

I have an Isolette III with the Apotar lens (adds an uncoupled rangefinder to the II) which I rebuilt. Since there is no focus mount in the lens standard, you are limited to a front-cell focusing lens. The only significant upgrade would be to substitute the 85mm Solinar/Syncho Compur, which was the top option on the Isolette III or from the Super Isolette. But either of those camera bodies would be a better choice. So, unless you can acquire the lens/shutter unit separately, why bother? The Isolette body is quite simple and lightly built, so it would be a poor choice on which to build something like Flether's unit above. In short, just fix what you have. Also, when a lens is marked "85mm", that in no way means that it is exactly 85mm or has the same focal length as other 85mm lenses, even those used on the same camera body. These slight variances are factory adjusted with shims unique to the camera during assembly. Unless you are prepared to do these precise optical measurements and mechanical adjustments to the lens mount, your lens swap idea is a waste of time and money.

nosmok said:

I had good luck when I stayed in the Agfa 'family', putting a 105mm f/4.5 Solinar on a like-new 6x9 Ventura body that was missing its lens (probably was a 105 Agnar or Apotar). If you could find an 85mm Solinar (I don't know for certain they ever made one) it would certainly be worth a try-- every Solinar I've owned is a fantastic 'keeper'. Other than that possibility, Dan Daniel's points are spot on.

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There is a Solinar 85mm/4.5 for the Isolettes, I have it on my Isolette II and III (See this thread)
The Super Isolette has a 75mm/3.5
I dont know if they made a Solagon (6 element) in that focal though, a Xenar or Heligon might work as well.

You can use any shutter you want (00 hole) as long as you can align the shutter release lever and I guess a 105mm could be used if the flange-to-film distance is the same