xwhatsit
Well-known
After reading here and elsewhere about 6x6 and 6x9 folders, I was watching Trademe's (the local eBay clone) film camera section for Isolettes and similar. I saw auction after auction listed, and even the cheapest Agnar in a Pronto shutter would sell for a decent penny. Until one night, I saw an auction only listed 15 minutes ago... an Agfa Record III, with a Solinar in a Synchro Compur! Pretty much the cream of the crop. And, with a very low buy now price! Needless to say I snaffled it up...
On arriving I was shocked to find it was in actual functional condition! I've almost never bought a camera before and had it arrive so well. Even the shutter works. I was getting quite good at pulling apart Synchro Compurs too after my Voigtländers, too... 😛 Only problem is the rangefinder wheel appears to do nothing, despite the rangefinder looking very good through the finder. Will have the top-plate off quicksmart.
6x9 in the pocket, indeed! One thing that immediately struck me, is that on such a beautifully finished and engineered camera, why did they install such a horrible finder?!! Although the rangefinder is in very good condition (none of my 35mm RFs have such good contrast or definition), the finder itself is horrible, with blurry edges and tiny magnification. Quickly gives you a headache!
Red-window it is. Hope the red window is nicer than that on my Rolleicord I, the Shanghai GP3 is all but invisible! However the Record III is not quite as primitive as the Rolleicord I, there's an intriguing double-exposure lock (although you can circumvent it but pressing the Compur's release on the shutter itself).
DOF computer on the left, non-coupled (!) rangefinder wheel to the right of the accessory shoe, and the little red dot is showing the double-exposure lock is active until you wind. Horrible clunky shutter release, it's the long linkage to the shutter, and the double-exposure lock latching.
By golly that's a long extension! Didn't expect it'd be so long. Bellows look OK so far, I'm told these less-shiny leather ones last a bit better. Will take it into a dark room and have a look soon. Oh... the focus helicoid moves! Stiff, but it warms up after some use.
Finally figured out what the chromed bit of trim on the folding cover was for! Nifty!
Unfortunately, the Solinar has a bit of fungus. This, combined with the stubborn rangefinder, means I'll be doing a little work before I put a roll through it. Hydrogen peroxide + ammonia should fix it.
Gosh 6x9 is huge! Can see why it turns out such wonderful images. Compared with my new Yashica YF on the left, you can see 35mm doesn't stand a chance!
I can see this is going to be a very different experience. Lots of fun I hope. If it turns out to be a reliable shooter, I'll be taking the Record III with me to Vietnam and Cambodia early next year to, er, record my holiday. Seems like an ideal travel companion (so long as you have plenty of room for rolls of film -- 8 shots doesn't seem like a lot!)
On arriving I was shocked to find it was in actual functional condition! I've almost never bought a camera before and had it arrive so well. Even the shutter works. I was getting quite good at pulling apart Synchro Compurs too after my Voigtländers, too... 😛 Only problem is the rangefinder wheel appears to do nothing, despite the rangefinder looking very good through the finder. Will have the top-plate off quicksmart.
6x9 in the pocket, indeed! One thing that immediately struck me, is that on such a beautifully finished and engineered camera, why did they install such a horrible finder?!! Although the rangefinder is in very good condition (none of my 35mm RFs have such good contrast or definition), the finder itself is horrible, with blurry edges and tiny magnification. Quickly gives you a headache!
Red-window it is. Hope the red window is nicer than that on my Rolleicord I, the Shanghai GP3 is all but invisible! However the Record III is not quite as primitive as the Rolleicord I, there's an intriguing double-exposure lock (although you can circumvent it but pressing the Compur's release on the shutter itself).
DOF computer on the left, non-coupled (!) rangefinder wheel to the right of the accessory shoe, and the little red dot is showing the double-exposure lock is active until you wind. Horrible clunky shutter release, it's the long linkage to the shutter, and the double-exposure lock latching.
By golly that's a long extension! Didn't expect it'd be so long. Bellows look OK so far, I'm told these less-shiny leather ones last a bit better. Will take it into a dark room and have a look soon. Oh... the focus helicoid moves! Stiff, but it warms up after some use.
Finally figured out what the chromed bit of trim on the folding cover was for! Nifty!
Unfortunately, the Solinar has a bit of fungus. This, combined with the stubborn rangefinder, means I'll be doing a little work before I put a roll through it. Hydrogen peroxide + ammonia should fix it.
Gosh 6x9 is huge! Can see why it turns out such wonderful images. Compared with my new Yashica YF on the left, you can see 35mm doesn't stand a chance!
I can see this is going to be a very different experience. Lots of fun I hope. If it turns out to be a reliable shooter, I'll be taking the Record III with me to Vietnam and Cambodia early next year to, er, record my holiday. Seems like an ideal travel companion (so long as you have plenty of room for rolls of film -- 8 shots doesn't seem like a lot!)
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