Agfa Isolette III

[tmcgartland]

Couldn't resist it but I just bought an Agfa Isolette III on Ebay described as follows - Built in uncoupled rangefinder in clear working order. Lens - Agfa Apotar f4.5 85mm coated lens with no marks or fungus. Shutter Prontor SVS 1 sec to 300th plus D.A. and full flash synch. works on all speeds. Bellows as good as new. Complete with Agfa lenshood in agfa fitted case and with a leather ERC. A very useable camera which takes extremely sharp pictures, also a very collectable camera in remarkable condtion for a 1960s camera.. Full refund given if not satisfield. Paid £43 for this camera which I don't think was too bad considering these Agfa's produce the same sharpnes and quality of many 6x6 SLR's.

 

[Solinar]

also a very collectable camera in remarkable condtion for a 1960s camera.

That would be a mid-1950's camera - second version of the Iso III from about 1956, which makes it a very nice user.

So, if I went into a Jessop's to buy a new plastic wonder camera, what would £43 buy?

 

[whitecat]

Nice user. Some people prefer the Solinar lens.

 

[manojd]

I have the extact same camera and the picture quality is fantastic. Very sharp edge-to-edge. I wish it had come with a wider lens. The price you paid is good. I had paid USD 100 about 6 years ago. You will need lots of rolls if you are click happy!

 

[chippy]

you must be getting a small collection of these now tmc? 🙂

at this rate your going to have to do some restoration or fixing yourself...belows ect ,i know they say the bellows are good but shine torch in there at night and check for yourself 😉

its been said before but its easy to fix em and enjoyable in its own right.

they do produce nice quality 6x6 but i'm not sure i can compare them to my hasselblad SLR hehe ..but of coarse everyone knows i like the old folders

not sure how people get pictures to scan and look good on the puter. my kids scanned this but the print looks stacks better, think it was a Planer lens , maybe not

 

[Windscale]

I can assure you it is a great camera capable of blowing negs up to 30x30in easily when stopped down. I have done many myself. The Apotar is definitely the best triplet I have ever used. But do check and adjust your focus before you used it and you MUST have a lens hood.

 

[chippy]

everyone has there own experiances which is good to hear. heck i blown up 35mm negs to 6x4 foot and made wall murals out of them. it all depends on what you expect and what you want..enevitabily once the same picture is seen with a 4glass 3group lens or greater compared to a triplet..or a larger neg it usually produces finer rendition--personaly i dont have a preferance of the apotar over the mirad of other triplets available--even the older uncoated ones produce just as good or better results from what iv'e seen. curious to know how many SLR's have triplets tho.

 

[tmcgartland]

Any idea on how I can upload an avatar?

 

[chippy]

click User CP up the top and then edit avatar on the left colum...the little pic of your new Iso would look good too

i should add that i'm not trying to downgrade your Iso but in a roundabout way its not really a fair comparison to compare cameras of different vintage so to speak

 

[freeranger]

I've got the isolette II. I love using it...i'm sure you'll have tons of fun!

 

[chippy]

now if only i could get a scan like that! great detail

 

[FallisPhoto]

Nice user. Some people prefer the Solinar lens.

This is true. The Apotar is a good three-element lens though and it can be a little harder to get the elements apart on a Solinar without breaking anything if there is any green grease in there.

 

[Solinar]

Green Araldite grease on an Agfa helical or the RF screw?

Nope, never heard of such a thing. :angel: