Agfa Isolette

T

tmcgartland

Member
Local time
10:38 AM
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
13
View My Gallery
Has anyone got any information they can share on the various Agfa Isolettes - model/lens/shutter/year of manufacture and filters sizes for various models/lens combinations.

Perhaps, there are sites that specialise in this area?🙄
 
indeed that site mentioned should give you a good start to the various models.

tmc the iso you purchased (i assume i am looking at the correct one based on what you said before) has the smaller filter size (30mm i think they are, mine are packed away so i cant check but they may be an odd 29.something mm as well)). also yours is an export model isolette II. they were made 1950-60. yours is not one of the early ones i would say based on the knobs on the top. the early ones have the depth of field scale dial instead of the film identifcation dial that your has. i dont think anyone so far has been able to make sence of the serial numbers on the agfa lenses to be able to date them.


yes jetty rd and Glenelg are nice spots, very busy in the summer months as you know--where the first settlers here in Sth Aus arrived by sea. Glenelg is also one of those words that you can spell back the front and still says the same thing
 
Last edited:
I recognize that web site for some reason or the other.

The best info is at the bottom of the page. The Agfa weak points are the bellows, frozen front cell focusing helical and if so equipped, a frozen RF dial. The strong points are once those three issues are remedied, they make for a really nice, compact, medium format shooter.
 
I read somewhere about an 'idiot proof' method of using the Agfa Isolette focus to 'point and shoot' for maximum depth or field. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1. Set the shutter to the 'red dot' (f8-11)
2. Set the distance to read 10m

Am I correct?
 
tmcgartland said:
I read somewhere about an 'idiot proof' method of using the Agfa Isolette focus to 'point and shoot' for maximum depth or field. Correct me if I'm wrong.

1. Set the shutter to the 'red dot' (f8-11)
2. Set the distance to read 10m

Am I correct?
Click to expand...

your more or less on the money. tha max depth of field will always be the smallest aperature.

but yes,your isolette has the red mark on the aperature scale (between f8 and f11) and the focus ring is marked in red at 10 feet (on your lens) and again at 30 feet. if you line up the 10 feet mark everything around 6-15feet will be in focus and at the 30 foot mark 15 feet onwards wil be in focus.

alternatively you can use the depth of field scale on the lens/shutter. in this picture of your lens you can notice the distance is set to 13 feet, if we asume the aperature is set to f11 then everything between 8 1/2 and 25 feet will be in focus. if we asume the aperature is set to f5.6 then this reduces to between around 10-17 feet.

the red dot and numberd distance is great for an 'idiot proof' quick set up without too much thinking.

Isolettesolinarprontor.jpg
 
Last edited:
Andrew, cannot see the image but it was good to see I was correct in my understanding of the distance settings. Thanks God, I'm just back from holiday and I just set the Isolette that way and done nothing but think of composition!
 
i should add before all the more tech guys jump on that there is a differance between placing the subject in the range of definition (depth of field) and actual in focus. but in the spriti of how the question is formed and how you want to use it . its on the money....

just saw your reply...compostition is key! in todays age of things digital it hardly raises a mention nowadays....

hmm i can see the picture..wonder whats going on
 
Someone else can correct me, but the zone focusing method that you described was common back in the day of scale focus cameras and the Isolette II is a scale focusing camera. Naturally, with the 80mm focal length of the Agnar and Apotar, there will be less wiggle room than with a 35mm scale focusing camera sporting a 40mm lens.

An alternative would be to purchase an auxiliary RF and install it in the accessory shoe.

LeicaStandard.jpg
 
my guess is Andrew that the 'zone' focus method imprinted on the camera was more a popular feature post-war (at least from what i have seen), tho no doubt there are exceptions. these post/war years marketing was all important and is seen on many camera makers assemblies, no doubt to improve sales for the cameras that didnt by this time have a rangefinder built in which was becoming popular.

indeed Andrew makes a good point in that a lens of different focul length will alter the range of definition somewhat....i am sure a google search will bring up the math involved if you so desire....is it just me or do others just prefer to get the feel of a lens by using it instead of doing calculations...maybe just me

nice drawing andrew of the leica...and again a good point that if you need that extra wide f stop then a dedicated rangefinder asserary is an advantage


of course people more familar with the math of phtography would utilise zone focusing no matter the format if it suited their needs befehand. and as you say a 75mm or 80mm lens varyies slightly to a shorter (or longer) focul lenght lens.
 
Windscale said:
Does anyone know who would CLA Isolettes and do bellow replacements OTHER THAN CERTO6?

Info desperately needed!!!!!!
Click to expand...

i wish i had the answer for you, but i just havnt had the experiance with sending cameras out to point you in the right direction, and only enough experiance to confidently do my own (although you really need someone in your aera hey). it also depends on the extent of the "CLA" so to speak. but most of the normal things that need doing as you indicate are standard but the depth of lens trouble can sometimes be more extensive than antisapated....trouble with coatings etc

i use a shutter speed tester but before that i got along fine without it to test and adjust....if your shutter needs a tune up then that should be taken into account to whom does it (thier experiance i mean)...i am sure some folk can point you in the right direction.....

also theres a guy here that i bet could do it but doesnt seem to take work on (hey FP) although i am sure he would have to buy the bellows in at your cost. failing that he would no doubt be helpful in walking you through the procedure
 
Windscale said:
Does anyone know who would CLA Isolettes and do bellow replacements OTHER THAN CERTO6?

Info desperately needed!!!!!!
Click to expand...


Essex camera, in NJ will do the CLA. You are going to have to replace your bellows elsewhere though. You have a number of options there. You can do a transplant (from a low end Nettar or from a Kodak 66). You can have a bellows made (any number of places -- just do a search for isolette replacement bellows). You can even make your own. http://www.rolandandcaroline.co.uk/Making_Bellows_for_Isolette.pdf
The guy at Cameraleather swears that his seal grain leatherettes are thin enough for this and
Micro Tools will sell you a bigger piece of rubberized shutter curtain material (suitable for the liner material) than they show in their catalogue. Since it is the liner material that blocks all the light, you can make the outer covering out of anything that is thin enough though. I'm waiting for Certo to discover this and start offering plaid bellows.
 
chippy said:
also theres a guy here that i bet could do it but doesnt seem to take work on (hey FP) although i am sure he would have to buy the bellows in at your cost. failing that he would no doubt be helpful in walking you through the procedure
Click to expand...

I could do it, and I do take work on, but I live in a town with four big colleges nearby, each of which has a photography program. Add in the local collectors and I'm usually swamped.
 
I can take care of the CLA of lenses and shutters. But, having stripped a few older Isolettes, I know I will have difficulty fitting new bellows. If anyone of you can point me at the right direction, that is, finding someone who can just do this, I will be eternally grateful. I was to send one to Certo6, but having reading the other thread about him, I was having second thoughts.
 
http://www.camerabellows.com in Birmingham have provided me with three replacement bellows thus far. I send them the old bellows and they make a new one for 25 GBP.

If the camera is an Isolette II or III, there are four retaining screws for the film gate and once that is removed - it is a very straight forward installation. You will have to remove the lens/shutter assy from the front standard as well.
 
Solinar said:
http://www.camerabellows.com in Birmingham have provided me with three replacement bellows thus far. I send them the old bellows and they make a new one for 25 GBP.

If the camera is an Isolette II or III, there are four retaining screws for the film gate and once that is removed - it is a very straight forward installation. You will have to remove the lens/shutter assy from the front standard as well.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the info. Can you take a picture and show us the exact location of these retaining screws. The front part I have sorted out. I am not normally good at doing this sort of thing. But I love the Isolettes so much that I would have to have a go as no other lenses can produce the kind of older feel 3D effect with plenty of shadow details as the Apotars and Solinars but certainly not the Zeiss Novars or Tessars. The Voigtlander Vaskars and Color-Skopars come a bit closer. Funny they were all supposed to be the same designs!

Also, I have a Super with the same problem. Can you point me in the same direction? Eternally grateful.
 
There are two screws on either side of the film guide inside the camera.

Remove those, and you'll be able to pull up the film guide. Be careful not to bend it. The bellows are firmly bonded to the body, so you might rip the old bellows when they are removed. Try to remove as much of the old adhesive as possible.

The Agfa cameras are much easier to do a bellows swap than other cameras.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom