First photos from Isolette III

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gdi

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I took my new folder out this weekend and shot a couple of test rolls. This is an Isolette III w/Apotar that came from the APUG folders discussed last week.

These are TMax 400...

Isolette-TMax400-800-1.jpg


Isolette-TMax400-800-2.jpg
 
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I got one of those Isolettes from John at APUG too but I found that the viewfinder is really inaccurate. I shot my first roll and things I had centered were off center to the right or left. I finally figured out that the eye has got to be absolutely perfectly centered or its not accurate, and that's just not something I can do consistantly 🙁

I had trouble focusing too, I am not good at guessing. I may play with it some more though, it is a neat old camera and fun to use. I just wish I could get consistant results. Yours look really nice.
 
Nice first rolls. You have very nice detail in the shot of the tractor and a good DOF.
The VF is very squinty and care is needed to get it centred. I found that my Isolette II gives considerably more on the neg that I see in the VF. It is something I will have to get used to.
Thanks for posting your pics.

Dave
 
fidget said:
Nice first rolls. You have very nice detail in the shot of the tractor and a good DOF.
The VF is very squinty and care is needed to get it centred. I found that my Isolette II gives considerably more on the neg that I see in the VF. It is something I will have to get used to.
Thanks for posting your pics.

Dave
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I need to practice more with mine too. This camera is too cool to sit on a shelf and look at, I want to use it, but I want to get good photos from it. My pics were way off center, all but one. I will have to scan that one tomorrow.
 
It is a tiny little hole to look through. Mine has an uncoupled rangefinder, that didn't seem to be in sync with my own distance guesstimates, but I decided to sacrifice a couple of rolls to see how it worked out. Most of my shots seem to be in focus and fairly well framed.

I don't think the lens is the greatest wide open, but stopped down, it does pretty good. I am amazed at how small it is, I had never handled one before...
 
Very nice work with the camera.

The Isolette III came with either the Apotar (a triplet) mated to a Pronto(r) shutter or the Solinar (a four-element Tessar-type) usually with a Compur.

The Apotar is a decent performer, but I've found that the 35mm version is sharper than the 120 version when shot wide open to about f/5.6.

The Solinar is a sharper lens.

The Isolette III was one of my first classic cameras, and once serviced it's reliable and a fun camera. The uncoupled rangefinder is easier to use than the uncoupled rangefinder on the Zeiss Ikon Mess Ikonta 524/16. However, the eyepiece is off center, so the closer you get to your subject, the more parallax becomes an issue.

As with all Agfa folding cameras, the trouble spots are the pinholes in the bellows (for those with plastic bellows) and hardened lubricant in the lens helical and also the rangefinder wheel. And with any leaf shutter, a routine service does wonders.

Overall, it's an attractive, pleasant camera with very solid construction.
 
Thanks Zeissfan, I had learned that the Solinar is the better choice, but I'll be sticking with this one since the price was right!

It has a new leather bellows and had been cleaned and adjusted and works very smoothly. I may be rating TriX at 800 or so so I can stop it down form its already slow 4.5. Still not sure if it is going to produce much better prints than a 35mm with a really good lens, but at least grain is more forgiving at 6x6.

I have a Mamiya 7 and it appears a good bit less sharp than it ! 🙂
 
The shot with the International Harvester shows a folder at its best. The uncoupled-RF on Isolette III really does increase the number of keepers.

The Apotar is sharp enough when it needs to be f/8 - f/11. Wide open or f/5.6, it makes for good portraiture lens when your subject is over 40.

As for the viewfinder, after working with the squinty finders on an old folder for a while, the viewfinder on a TLR will blow you away. That said, the folder still beats all when it come to packing an extra camera on a long hike or at all day event.
 
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Congrats on the new-old folder! Great first shots. I love my Suoer Isolette and it has become my favorite camera - beating out my Leicas, Rolleis, Zeiss, etc.. It has a Solinar lens and I find that it renders a very rich image in color or black and white, and while my Mamiya 6 draws more fine detail, like using a thinner pen, it looks more clinical and cold. I hope you enjoy your folder as much as I do.
 
gdi terrific shots..you have used the camera to its best advantage...thanks for sharing

i wouldnt say the bokeh is great tho...rather harsh in my opinion more so it shows in the pic of the bush/woods/forest (whatever you blokes call it). which is to be expected with this lens; but still it is a nice shot. in this instance with the strong points of light it is bound to show more. a higher qaulity lens of course renders these blobs of light smoother and usualy more brighter on the inside of blob of light fading to darker toward the outside. as you can notice with this pic the light edges are quite harsh and brighter toward the outside of the blob of light.

i hope it doesnt come across as critisum of you excellent shots or even the camera/lens. that is what you are using and you make great shots with it.

i also cant help but say just how amazing that guy is for fixing/cla'ing these cameras at his own cost and then giving them away for zero. just amazing. what a great guy......if his name was Earl i would be thinking it must be on his Karma list hehe
 
chippy said:
gdi terrific shots..you have used the camera to its best advantage...thanks for sharing

i wouldnt say the bokeh is great tho...rather harsh in my opinion more so it shows in the pic of the bush/woods/forest (whatever you blokes call it). which is to be expected with this lens; but still it is a nice shot. in this instance with the strong points of light it is bound to show more. a higher qaulity lens of course renders these blobs of light smoother and usualy more brighter on the inside of blob of light fading to darker toward the outside. as you can notice with this pic the light edges are quite harsh and brighter toward the outside of the blob of light.

i hope it doesnt come across as critisum of you excellent shots or even the camera/lens. that is what you are using and you make great shots with it.

i also cant help but say just how amazing that guy is for fixing/cla'ing these cameras at his own cost and then giving them away for zero. just amazing. what a great guy......if his name was Earl i would be thinking it must be on his Karma list hehe
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I was joking about the boke - definitely not the lens' forte (to be expected)! Also, though I have only shot 2 rolls so far, it seems the lens is strongest at fairly close distances and doesn't resolve distant detail very well. I am wondering how large prints would compare with a good 35mm lens.

No doubt, the camera is what it is and the main appeal to me is the tiny size when folded and the big negs. Mr. Fyfe is a true gentleman and I too am amazed at his generosity!
 
Ok, here's one of my photos from the Isolette that I got from John!

This is my 11 yr old son, Mackenzie Crawford. Photographed last weekend on Tri-X developed in D-76 1+1. I guessed the distance and was very close. He is off center, which actually looks good though I had composed him in the middle. The viewfinder will take some getting used to, and I have to remember to add some space at the top for parallax when shooting this close. This was shot about 4 feet from my son.

mack-oldcamera.jpg
 
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