Agfa Isolette III

[Michael Fraley]

I have an Agfa Isolette III I haven't used much. Sent it to Jurgen for a new bellows and front lens element. It's quite good now. Here's a few from a roll of Fuji Reala 100. Anyone else fancy folders? I saw Greyhoundman's post, he does repairs of folders. Now that takes talent!

These roses are small but they have a very good scent. They are called rosa cecil brunner, and they're a climbing vine.




Taken from the 6th floor of St. Mary's hospital in San Francisco. It's a recovery center for surgery patients. There's an apartment building in the foreground, and UC Medical Center San Francisco on the hill in the distance.



And a slightly off-kilter picture, but it does show the northeastern corner of Golden Gate Park:



Finally, one of nearby St. Ignatius Church, with part of the St. Mary's Medical Center in the lower foreground. During the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989, St. Ignatius Church was one of the few lights in the city at night. The University of San Francisco has a co-generator which allowed it to light the church.



What are your experiences with folders? I'm tempted to try other models.. just placed a bid on one in fact, but I didn't reach the reserve. Can't decide if I need another camera, ha ha ;D

[Randy]

Nice photos Michael. I have a Foldex, Ansco Speedex Jr. and a Universal.

[herron]

Michael:
I think your pictures are fascinating. Love the feeling of atmosphere in the middle two.

Everyone here thinks of me as the Mamiya-man, but truth is, I have a wide variety of cameras, including a great many folders. I love 'em! ;D Got an Agfa Isolette, too.

Here's a shot I took with my Zeiss Ikonta folder last year in Venice:

[John Parry]

Hi Michael - I've an Isolette I. You're into it now so keep going. I've a film in a Yashica 635 TLR (same sort of hassle). I'm hopeless - take double exposures, forget this, forget that. But these are great - yes they're harder work, but if you feel they may be for you, then go for it. And you'll never be short of people to talk to - especially if you set it up on a tripod!

Regards - John

[PeterW]

I expected more response to Michael's query about folders. I've got quite a few, and I do use them from time to time, though not as often as I wish I had time for.

No, they're not as high-tech as later SLRs, and they're slower to use. No AE nor match-needle TTL, not even metering on most, so you have to get a hand meter and learn to use it, or learn how to estimate exposure. Then you have to learn about the relationship between aperture and shutter speed and depth of field and a funny thing called hyperfocal distance.

They usually have fixed lenses so you have get in closer if you want subjects to be bigger than tiny dots. Some had coupled rangefinders, but on most you have to learn to guesstimate distances and set them on the lens, or get a hand-held rangefinder. Move to the upmarket folders and you find some superb coupled rangefinder models.

In other words you have to learn a little about camera technique as well as picture taking.

Most of the popular ones take 120 or 620 film. 120 can still be obtained though not so readily as 35mm. But 620 ain't around any more so you have to get a changing bag and respool on to 120 spools, it's not difficult. Some people file down the ends of 120 spools to fit in the camera, but it's generally not as nice in action, and some slimline 620 camera won't take diameter of the film and backing paper itself. Remember to ask the processor to save your 620 spool!!

At eight exposures per roll on 6x9, or 12 on 6x6, the running costs are higher than with 35mm. But with those size negatives even the humbler f/3.5 or f/4.5 triplets, and even more so the more expensive lenses from Zeiss, Schneider, Voigtländer etc, give lovely definition for taking up to 8x6 or larger if you want. Agfa made some very nice 120 folders, so did Ensign in the UK.

Or, if you must have 35mm, there are small compact folders that use this - early Retinas and Retinettes, Baldessas from Balda, Dollinas and Dollys from Certo and so on.

They're a little more trouble to use than SLRs or compacts, and they aren't really action cameras, but it's no bad thing to have to slow down and think about your photography at times. The extra cost of 120 is a big incentive to take trouble and make every shot the best you can get.

Of course, you can't wear them hanging round your neck so you look like a pro. They're cameras, not male jewellery. But even the 6x9 models fold up to be quite compact and will slip into a reasonable size coat pocket, and when they're folded the lens is well protected.

Other drawbacks? Well, on most of them the slow shutter speeds and the delayed action are rather sluggish by now so you may have to get the shutter CLA'd which can sometimes be expensive - too expensive on many of the cheaper models. But you can always learn to clean the shutters yourself. It's not rocket science, and there are a number of excellent websites that show you how to go about it. You have to set the front cell of the lens at infinity after doing the shutter, and some people find this difficult. But if you've also got an SLR it's dead easy to get it spot on. I'll do my best to post some pictures and a screed soon about the way I do it.

Even replacing bellows isn't ALL that difficult once you learn how - except perhaps on very small 35mm folders - or on a few Kodaks where the back of the bellows was held by swaged-over metal.

Generally I think they're easier to work on and repair or restore than many SLRs from the 1970s and 1980s, and doing it's a lot of fun - though you don't have to go the whole hog like I did for a challenge on one 6x9 Voigtländer. .

Have fun with them. Camera collecting and amateur photography should be fun.

You don't have to take on something like this, but it's fun to do.

Before, and ...

...after.

PeterW.

[Michael Fraley]

Thanks everybody! Some interesting replies. Ron, our typical afternoon coastal fog showed up in the middle pictures. I like your Venice photo. Looks very good. Peter, that's an impressive restoration, to say the least!