Isolette II repair person??

[Stradibarrius]

I just bought my first folder and am anxious to get it. After reading so much about Isolette II's & III's I am assuming that I will need to have it CLA'ed and bellows.
Maybe I will be lucky and it works when it gets here...

Also what is a reasonable cost to have the CLA & bellows done?

I know CERTO6 can do it but I was reading another thread here that has caused me to search a bit further.

Who is a good dependable camera repair person that can do a CLA on an Isolette II?
I am in the S. E. US

 

[ray*j*gun]

Essex Camera in New Jersey did a nice job on my Bessa but it didn't need new bellows.

 

[Steve M.]

You may want to wait until you shoot it before planning on a CLA. I've owned a lot of these and contrary to what certo6 says every one of them had good bellows. But for sure the Agfa bellows are not up to the same quality of Zeiss Ikonta belows. Just make a habit of gently opening the camera and slowly extending the lens.

 

[Windscale]

You can try Fallisphoto who writes regularly in RFF.

As to bellows, you can get new ones made for GBP 25 from custombellows in England. I don't believe in patching up the old one (if it does leak) because such repairs will not last long.

http://custombellows.co.uk/

 

[FallisPhoto]

I just bought my first folder and am anxious to get it. After reading so much about Isolette II's & III's I am assuming that I will need to have it CLA'ed and bellows.
Maybe I will be lucky and it works when it gets here...

Also what is a reasonable cost to have the CLA & bellows done?

I know CERTO6 can do it but I was reading another thread here that has caused me to search a bit further.

Who is a good dependable camera repair person that can do a CLA on an Isolette II?
I am in the S. E. US

I can CLA it. Replacing the bellows is simple if you have a replacement or can get one. Most people just do their own bellows replacement and save the $25 for installation. Basically, you take out 4 screws, remove a ring nut, rip the old bellows out, put the new bellows in, glue in the back of the bellows with contact cement, wait for it to dry, reattach the 4 screws and the ring nut and you're done. Anyway, $80 gets you a CLA. $150 gets you a CLA and a new bellows. $200 gets you a CLA, new bellows, and new leather or leatherette. Interested?

 

[Windscale]

BTW, what lens is on your Isolette II? If it came with an Apotar or Solinar, then worth getting a CLA with new bellows. If Agnar, throw it away!

 

[FallisPhoto]

BTW, what lens is on your Isolette II? If it came with an Apotar or Solinar, then worth getting a CLA with new bellows. If Agnar, throw it away!

With Agnar, patch it, or recoat the bellows.

 

[Windscale]

I have tried 3 Agnars in the past few months, all properly calibrated. 1 was OK but the other were not. The one that was OK was lacking in contrast (dull) to some degree compared to the Apotars. I wondered why there was so much quality variations. I have also tried many many Apotars and Solinars and they all performed very well.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I have tried 3 Agnars in the past few months, all properly calibrated. 1 was OK but the other were not. The one that was OK was lacking in contrast (dull) to some degree compared to the Apotars. I wondered why there was so much quality variations. I have also tried many many Apotars and Solinars and they all performed very well.

Because Agnars were their low-budget lens option. Quality control was, shall we say, variable. That's why I suggested patching the bellows if you have an Agnar. It's cheap to do, and lets you take some photos, so you can see what you have. If it turns out that you got really lucky, you can do the bellows replacement later and you're only out about $5. If not, you've saved $40. BTW, I have six non-rangefinder Isolettes with Agnars and only one of them was acceptably sharp. It's this one:

It got a new old stock Balda bellows and a restoration. I used to have some NOS zeiss and Balda bellows; my rangefinders (Apotar and Solinar) and a few lucky customers got those. Two of the others have patched bellows and transplanted Kodak 66 bellows. The others are slowly being canniballized for parts.

 

[ZeissFan]

Some older Agfa cameras used leather bellows. The later cameras (not sure what qualifies as "later") began using plastic-covered bellows, which are prone to developing holes in the corners.

 

[bvandrasik]

With Agnar, patch it, or recoat the bellows.

How do you recommend the "patching" or "recoating" be done?

 

[FallisPhoto]

How do you recommend the "patching" or "recoating" be done?

There are several ways of patching and recoating. My faovrite patching recipe is two teaspoons full of bookbinder's glue (like white glue, but pliable), about a dozen drops of water and one teaspoon of lampblack (available at art supply stores). Stir it all up and paint the corners and folds of the inside of the bellows. Wait about a week for it to dry (with the back of the camera open) before folding the bellows or it will never unfold again. If I patch it, I spray a little Scotchguard into a tin can and paint the inside of the bellows. That keeps moisture out and keeps the glue from sticking the bellows together.

For recoating the bellows, you can either use "Liquid Tape" http://www.plastidip.com/industrial_solutions/Liquid_Tape_-_Electrical_Insulation or "Wet And Wild" black nail polish (both are forms of liquid plastic that dries flexible). Again, wait a good while before folding the bellows or you'll never get it open again. Liquid Tape is available at Home Depot and you should be able to find Wet and Wild at your corner drugstore. If I recoat it, I use a vinyl protectant on it (once dry) to prevent any possibility of it sticking together.

 

[Windscale]

I think the problem with Agfa bellows is not so much the patching bit, but rather that once you have patched up a hole, the next one will appear soon. A replacement will hopefully last for a few years.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Some older Agfa cameras used leather bellows. The later cameras (not sure what qualifies as "later") began using plastic-covered bellows, which are prone to developing holes in the corners.

My own personal division between early and late is from the perspective of a repairman. The ones I consider early used rivets to hold the back frame half in place. The later models used screws (much easier to deal with).

 

[Muggins]

Good to see this thread - I've finally made the time to get under the duvet with my Moskva and a flexible light (thank you, Fallis, for the pointer - I wouldn't have found anything without it), and found a pinhole in the bellows. It really is a pinhole too - it's hidden behind the folding front, and only appears if I hold the light source just so. I think I will have to recoat the area where the light rests, and see if that fixes it. The bellows look good otherwise - no Agfa-esque crumbling corners - so hopefully that's all that's needed. though I still can't see how a leak at a corner will mark the middle of the side of the image...

Now to go find the stuff - I don't think I dare try to find "Wet 'n' Wild" on the internet, at least when the other half is about!

Adrian

 

[laoyou]

I did not know Agnar was that bad. This pic came from my Agnar. Its sharpness seems OK. Scanned and resized, no sharpening in PS.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I did not know Agnar was that bad. This pic came from my Agnar. Its sharpness seems OK. Scanned and resized, no sharpening in PS.

Not all Agnars are "that bad." Some are very sharp and some are not. Like I said, they were Agfa's low budget lens, so quality is variable (as in ranging from very good to pretty bad). You can certainly get good Agnar lenses; I have one. I am a repairman though, so I tend to see the worst of everything, and I'm not sure what the proportion of good to bad was. Not a whole lot of people send their perfectly tuned properly working cameras to me and ask me to work on them. I also have a few that were given to me as gifts, with the suggestion that I use them for parts. Those are not prime examples either.