who loves their isolette?

BimmerJake · Aug 29, 2009

ordered one as an impulse (like usual) while ordering a mono-pod (which i really needed). I've been dreaming in 6x6 and thought this might be a way to get there for now without spending hundreds ($16 is better than the $400-$500 for the mamiya tlr i'm saving for).

so, what are your experiences, do you get good results?

thanks

Dave Pritchard · Aug 29, 2009

I've got one (actually I've got two). I am not sure whether these are good or not. The focus is by guess and by golly. Guess the range, then set it on the camera. The exposure is also by guess and by the sunny 16 rule. If you have an external rangefinder and a exposure meter, you can set these more exactly, which adds to bulk of stuff in your pockets.. The lens speed is not very fast, so most shots need either fast film or a tripod. At this point, I'd rather use one of my Yashica TLR cameras in 6x6.

A folder which does not have anything other than guess-o-matic for all settings is really not very good.

BimmerJake · Aug 29, 2009

i guess aim and pray doesn't really bother me. i almost purchased a holga a month or so ago, so the isolette at half holga price seemed fun.

mwdake · Aug 29, 2009

I have an early one that does 6x6 and 6x4.5.
The lens is nothing to write home about but it can be fun to use when I don't want to lug around something bigger.

flash26c · Aug 29, 2009

I have two Isolettes: one is a #1 and the other is a #III. Both have many holes in bellows that I continue to patch. Don't really use either of them very much but would like to replace the bellows on the III at least. Any suggestions where I can get an inexpensive replacement bellows to install? Ron

BetterSense · Aug 29, 2009

I have two. A I and a II. I bought the II when the bellows in the I became unpatchable and I realized I could buy a refurbished II with a new bellows from cert6 for not much more than the price of a new bellows. The II is much better quality, but I think the lens in the I was better.

These cams aren't high performance, but they are fun. A "better holga" if you will. Mine fits in my jeans pocket. I like to shoot Neopan 400 developed in diafine in the neighborhood of 800. Then I can shoot indoors handheld, barely. Meters are for noobs.

Nicholas Lindan · Aug 29, 2009

I use the Zeiss Nettar variant. It uses the same guestimatic focus and exposure control. The lens on my Nettar is the low-end f6.8 Novar but it is very sharp if I guess the distance correctly - certainly the final print is better quality than I can get out of 35mm (without resorting to TechPan). No problems with pinholing on the Nettar, while the Agfa bellows have always been notorious for pin-holes. I think there is a man who replaces the bellows on Isolettes - "Certo66" or something like that.

ntenny · Aug 29, 2009

Dave Pritchard said:
A folder which does not have anything other than guess-o-matic for all settings is really not very good.

Oh, I think that's putting it far too strongly. A rangefinder or a meter will make your life easier, but they don't make the *camera* any better, and both can be used as accessories rather than built-in features. Remember, folders generally are an artifact of a time when photography was done differently, and the camera wasn't necessarily expected to be a single box that handled all functions.

I've never had an Isolette, but a lot of people seem to like them pretty well. The "good" lens is the Solinar, a Tessar clone with a pretty good rep. (For $16, though, I bet you get a leaky bellows, which is the traditional weakness of Agfa folders.) I use a couple of 6x6 Nettar folders regularly---basically the same design as done by Zeiss, with a triplet lens---and have generally found the results are limited by me rather than the camera.

-NT

DWThomas · Aug 29, 2009

My Perkeo II is a very similar camera and I haven't found scale focus to be problematic, even with it marked in meters. Sure, I once screwed up a shot of a distant building after a 3 meter shot at a fountain when I forgot to change focus; but if I remember, it works fine. After all, even auto-focus can get fooled now and again. I've followed auctions for accessory rangefinders, but the typical going price is about two to three times what I'm willing to pay. I usually use my Gossen Digisix for light readings, but Sunny 16 gets close enough in normal daytime outdoor shooting.

Since I got it last year I've probably taken more shots with the Perkeo than the rest of my film cameras combined; it's fun and tucks away in a small space.

DaveT

ntenny · Aug 29, 2009

DWThomas said:
I've followed auctions for accessory rangefinders, but the typical going price is about two to three times what I'm willing to pay.

I had to lowball a bunch of them before my number finally came up, but I believe mine cost me US$10. They do typically seem to go for US$WayTooMuch, though, I agree.

There are also plans knocking around for making them from scratch. It doesn't seem that difficult---the principle is simple, and you should be able to "calibrate" by waiting until the very end of construction to mark the scale.

-NT

lorirfrommontana · Aug 30, 2009

I have a Agfa ventura. I've taken some lovely shots with it. the focus is softer than I get with my Nikon but I like the effect. It also has the lower end Isolette lens but I really like it and will be glad when I have it fixed. I'm in the process of tearing it apart to replace the bellows and unstick the focus. I usually end up cropping out part of the photo though because what I think I'm going to get isn't always what I get! That's to do with the person behind the lens more than the camera though.
-Lori

Gerry M · Aug 30, 2009

Love it, no. Like it a lot, yes. Isolette III/Solinar. Holes plugged. De-green goo'ed. An example. Pardon the dust, I scanned it in a hurry.

Gerry

elekm · Aug 30, 2009

The Agfa Isolettes are very nice camera. Agfa made two mistakes with the cameras: the choice of lubricant (most have hardened into a cement) and plastic bellows (holes that need to be patched).

I'm also a fan of the Zeiss Ikon Ikontas, the Kodak/Nagel Vollendas and the Voigtlanders.

ricksplace · Aug 31, 2009

The apotar lens is a good lens if stopped down to f16 or so. I have an isolette with an uncoated solinar. It is not much better than the apotar at f16, but much better at wider apertures.

mjs · Aug 31, 2009

I have an Isolette II with the Solinar lens and like it quite a bit, although I have to admit that I like my old Rolleiflex better. Of course, I paid a lot more for the Rollei. I've found that estimating range isn't difficult; just consider f/8 to f/11 your "normal" working apertures and use the distance scale. My greatest difficulty is estimating exposure indoors: I seem to be really bad at that. I was fortunate to find an old selenium cell exposure meter in the bottom of an estate auction box and it works well down to about EV 6 or so: below that I just expose "a lot" and hope for the best. Sharpness of the lens is adeqate for enlargements up to 7"x7" or so, which is all I ask of it. Where the lens really shines is in its tonal scale. Very smooth, well matched to Tri-X or PanF films, with amazing "reach" into shadow areas (probably due to lack of coatings) yet adequately contrasty. Of course, that's why I like the Rollie, too...

Steve Smith · Aug 31, 2009

I love my Ansco Speedex Special R which is the US version of the Isolette III with un-coupled rangefinder. It was a gift from another APUG member which he had restored to practically new condition. In fact, I think the replacement bellows are probably better than new.

Steve.

fatboy22 · Aug 31, 2009

DWThomas said:
My Perkeo II is a very similar camera and I haven't found scale focus to be problematic, even with it marked in meters.

DaveT

Hi Dave,

I recently got a Perkeo II with Color Skopar lens. All I can say is wow! What a amazing little folding camera. This one was CLA'd by certo66 but well worth
paying a little extra for it. I have been zone focusing with this camera and getting great results on my Velvia 6x6 shots. It is very compact and very fun to shoot with. Slows you down so you think about what your shooting. I have a rangefinder that mounts in the shoe coming but now wonder if it is even needed.

Jamie

Brian Bilgere · Sep 1, 2009

The tech mentioned is certo6

The tech that people have mentioned for restored folders is http://certo6.com/

I haven't seen his work in person but the cameras on his site look sweet.

Brian

BlueWind · Sep 1, 2009

Isolette I, Agnar lens

Hello!
I have an Isolette I with the humble Agnar lens 1:4,5 f=85, the one considered to be at the low end in the Isolette lenses hierarchy. I really enjoy using it and I consider it a very decent camera however one needs to get used to it. The lens was glued with dry Agfa grease, but the cleaning is rather easy. I was lucky with the bellows, no holes at all. Some say that the Agfa bellows can be replaced with the bellows from a Kodak 66 camera same size, just four screws to unscrew.
Two pictures, with Shanghai Film, developed in home-brewed paRodinal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joaofreitas/3456450891/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joaofreitas/3457268650/in/photostream/
Enjoy your camera!
Joao

Francis in VT · Sep 1, 2009

Most of the Agfa Isolette / Ansco Speedex cameras had a very efficient depth of field gage. This is usually located opposite the film wind knob. With this system I was able to get hundreds of sharp negatives. Exposure was Sunny sixteen and later the Kodak Pocket Master Photoguide.

Francis in VT

steven_e007 · Sep 2, 2009

I've got an Isollette, but as already mentioned they have two problems, grease that sets like concrete and bellows that nearly always need replacing. There are many, many other folders around with very similar specs, that don't have these problems. A CLA'ed Isollette with new bellows would be a fine folder, but a Zeiss Ikon folder of similar spec would be available at much the same price as the Isollette before the CLA, but the Zeiss folder might well function perfectly well with little or no attention and the original bellows.

In 6 X 6 I have a V. Perkeo (sticky shutter and the focussing was all wrong, but probably not typical), an Isollette, three Agifolds, a Kodak 66, two Zeiss Ikon Nettars, a Nettax and an Ikonta (Opton Tessar).

IMHO the four Zeiss cameras are by far the most reliable and have stood the test of time better much than any of the others. The British Agifolds are well built, with rangefinders, but a bit big and clunky and about twice the weight of the others! The Kodak is similar to the nettar but just not quite so well finished. The Perkeo should be nice, mine was a bad eBay buy, but has a habit of losing it's covering...

A small detail, but one that drives me nuts with nearly all folders, including the Isolette and the Perkeo, is that there is only just enough clearence in front of the lens to close the door. With the Zeiss Ikon cameras there is a fair bit of space... so you can leave the filter on the lens! Sounds like a minor point, but so much more practical when out and about.

Steve Smith · Sep 2, 2009

steven_e007 said:
With the Zeiss Ikon cameras there is a fair bit of space... so you can leave the filter on the lens! Sounds like a minor point, but so much more practical when out and about.

So I found out when I got one. Great idea (not sure if it was intentional though!).

Steve.

BimmerJake · Sep 2, 2009

just got the isolette and most overything looks good. the bellows look like they might not be original, meaning it doesn't seems to have any holes i can discern. i guess i won't really know until i run some film through it. the shutter is in working order and the aperture can be adjusted no problem. the only problem is the focus ring is stuck solid.

is there a good resource that explains how to disassemble and re-lubricate the lens?

thanks

paul ron · Sep 2, 2009

I love every one of em... have an entire collection.

BimmerJake · Sep 2, 2009

so, upon further inspection this camera is indeed an isolette I, not an isolette II as advertised. i purchased from KEH.com. for $16 should i make a big deal of it? i don't think i really care enough about $16 to make any sort of deal.

who loves their isolette?

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