Agfa Selectronic S

[mpt600]

Hello everyone. Just added another cheapy rangefinder to my rolling collection and for the first time I honestly can't work out how the thing works. This isn't such a stupid post when you bear in mind it's an Agfa Selectronic S, which is somewhat "quirky". Does anyone know what the "V" and "R" levers on the front panel are for. I'm guessing they must have something to do with rewinding the film, as there's no clutch release on the bottom plate and no rewind knob. I'm guessing the film advance lever rewinds the film when one or two of these levers are switched, but I've been fiddling with it all evening and I'm none the wiser. Any help appreciated. Mike.

 

[Trius]

I think V is for self timer. I've never seen an R lever for anything other than rewind. The OMs have a front-mounted R button for rewind.

 

[MikeyGaGa]

Greetings:

I have a Voightlander VF-101 which is basically the Selectronic. No,it doesnt have a rewind button-it has a fold away crank in the bottom,so you just pop it out and wind the film back.

My VF101 has a 2-position knob on the right front-"A" for auto and lightning bolt for flash(1/30 sec synch)

It has a pull out lens hood which is also the focus

I used mine for years-it was great;the lens is excellent. I stopped using it only because it took 4 costly batteries and found I liked the Olympus XA4 better.

Mikey GaGa

 

[ZeissFan]

On the Voigtlander VF-101 and its sibling models, the Contessa S 310 and S 312, the front mounted knob doubles as an on-off switch for the light meter.

Also, these cameras can be refitted to accept a Lithium 123 3-volt cell, as the camera uses four batteries, but two sets of two cells in parallel with the cells within each set in series.

 

[MikeyGaGa]

Mike Elek:

sounds like you mean a CR-2 battery;can you explain how to fit it to the VF101?

Also,for those of you who have not seen this camera,it has some other interesting features-a pressure plate which is hinged to the film gate and holds the film very firmly down,and a motion indicator,that lets you know that the film is advancing.

MikeyGaGa

 

[daniel~]

Hello, finally another user of the "quirky" Agfa Selectronic S Sensor! 😎

Yes, the "R" lever is about rewinding, but not a rewind lever itself. Push it toward the lens barrel then upward, as the arrow sign indicates, and you'll see a metal point out to lock the position. Now the camera is in rewinding mode, and its advance lever at the bottom now functions as a rewind lever.