AGFA Isolette III

[Solinar]

A good set of posts Bill. The Iskra is one vintage folder that has that has truly earned its stripes as a present user. The Soviets took the concept of the Super Isolette/Super Speedex and cloned it in their own way. The KMZ combined viewfinder and rangefinder are an improvement over the still somewhat squinty Agfa viewfinder.

Both the Iskra and the Autorange 820 were the last of their genres. So, there should be some more modern enhancements. The Mamiya Six is another vintage folder which embraced modern ergonomics.

 

[Ernst Dinkla]

Forgive me for feeling that the cameras of the former Soviet Union are but imitations of better-quality German manufactured goods. I own several Russian cameras, and I do not dispute their capability to produce excellent images. But I am also familiar with their shoddy build quality and indifferent machine work.

Given the choice between an Iskra and a Super Ikonta, I'd take the Ikonta hands-down, without knowing anything else about the two of them. Perhaps I am missing something special, but my experiences thus far have not convinced me of this.

I would not mind trying out an Iskra at some point, but with prices the way they are, I think I'll wait a bit longer.

More than 5 years ago that I bought the Iskra on a photogear fleamarket in The Netherlands and I had to pay the two Ukranians ?, Polish ? 80 Euro. At least I could check its basic functions there on the spot. On the same market where two Agfa Supers at twice the price and they were in worse condition + the viewfinder is not up to the Iskra one.

The finish of the Iskra parts is rougher without doubt but there's nothing wrong with the images it can take. The camera can endure rough treatment and if anything goes wrong it can be repaired by a blacksmith. For the time being I'm happy with this camera. That the price went up since isn't a thing I get worried about 🙂 I also see that Bessa IIs actually fetch a lower Euro price than they did 5 years ago.There's one with a Heliar for sale at 400 Euro right now. A nice 6x9 camera but a bit delicate, rangefinder hard to correct and the viewfinder not as nice as the one on the Iskra.

Based on the Fed that I once had and some Zeniths from the 60s I have seen I wouldn't buy a Russian camera either. Even the Moskvas I-IV are not to my liking (not just the Russian job done but also the German SI concept). The Iskra however is in another category. Like I wrote not a typical collectors camera but a fine user.


Ernst Dinkla

 

[bmattock]

Ernst,

I'm not disputing the price or the image quality that is possible with the Russian equipment. However, my experience has been that my Russian equipment tends to fall apart in my hands. I have a lens that literally fell into pieces, a Zorki 4K that began zinging off parts like a wind-up clock coming undone, and a Fed 5 - and so far, the Fed 5 has not disassembled itself.

I just got the Fed 5, so I guess I'm willing to keep taking chances on Russian kit, but I am just expressing a personal preference - I prefer German to Russian kit, taken side-by-side.

 

[puderse]

120 folders

120 folders

There are RFDRs available at garage sales and flea markets all over the world. They come with and without RFDRs in three formats. Many sorry ones end up on a well known auction site. A significant percentage will need work. There is something to be said for paying a little more for a camera that you can hold in your hands, test, and examine. As for lenses; only real world testing will tell you if a particular lens/camera is suitable. I found the Agnar on the left like new in its box with papers, is there a reason? The Apotar in the middle needed a CLA and got a new red bellows. The Solinar on the right is from a parts camera, the bellows is from a well known bellows source in England.