Agfa Isolette III -- a clean shopgoodwill find

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

I wish I could say that I picked this camera up for a great price, but I can't say that I did. I won the auction, but it cost me $90 to be the successful bidder. Still, I think it was worth every penny. The camera is in almost mint condition. Flash photos tend to reveal every speck of dust, so just ignore the dust in the following photos.

All the shutter speeds work, although the slow ones are about 1 stop slow. The self timer works. The bellows are in good condition; no light leaks. The rangefinder patch in the viewfinder still has excellent contrast. This camera has a feature similar to the Rolleiflex MX-EVS models in that it will vary the aperture according to the shutter speed selected, if so desired.

This is why the camera is so clean. Still, this case is in very good condition. All the seams are intact and the leather has no cracks.

This Isolette III has the 75mm f/3.5 Solinar lens, which indicates it is a late III. Probably around 1958 or so. Synchro Compur shutter.

I'll have to dismount the lens/shutter assembly to get into the focusing helical, I'm figuring. The folks over at KY Photo -- the camera repair site -- suggest a variety of ways of loosening up the hardened lubricant. Most of them involve the application of heat and an aggressive chemical, like xylene or acetone. I think I'll try the heat route first. I'm afraid the xylene or acetone might remove paint. To free up the rangefinder wheel, I'll have to remove the top and dismantle the rangefinder assembly. A fairly involved operation, all in all.

Before I do any of this, I'm tempted to take the camera out and shoot with it as-is. The lens is frozen at infinity, so I'll be able to shoot scenics or landscapes with it just as it is. Stop it down to f/8 or f/11 and that should give me adequate depth of field. I think I still have a couple of rolls of Tri-X around here somewhere. Once I've shot a roll I'll come back here and post some of the photos.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Looks like a lovely camera Michael, hope you can get some nice images from it, even without relubing the helical.

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

That looks a good deal. I have tge Isolette ii with the Apotar lens and it's sharper than I expected; the Solinar is supposed to be even better.

The body can be bought back to new condition with a fibreglass eraser pen.

ludoo · Expire: 2011-12-05

The stuck helicoid problem is common to most Agfas of that period, check the threads for the Karat line too. If you bring it back into shape it's a fantastic camera, I have a soft spot for Agfas...

Katastrofo · Expire: 2013-11-19

I've seen the Agfa Solinar (just the lens/shutter assembly) go for over $100 on the 'bay.

Looking forward to your first pix!

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Katastrofo · Expire: 2013-11-19

Unfortunately, the bellows are the Isolettes' Achilles heel. They are made of paper/cellulose laminated to a woven black canvas
material on the inside. I sent my Apotar Isolette to Attila that had good bellows, but I was always careful when opening the camera.

I used to have the link to the guy that made those nice colored leather bellows that Jurgen uses, but they are rather 'spensive.

Laurence · Expire: 2016-06-19

I had the Isolette III with Solinar lens...I wish I never, ever would have sold it. Sad

I think my mind was on more
camera GAS, and I clouded my own judgement. I have been looking at images from that sweet camera, and realizing
just how sharp and vivid they really are.

I'll have another one sometime, I'm sure.

The one I had was from Jurgen, and I paid plenty for it at the time. I think it was around $125 or so then. However, there
was a good part of the transaction: It had a nice new deep red bellows and leather, and of course a pretty good CLA. Extremely
smooth camera.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Hey Laurence, well sounds to me like the price you paid back then was actually a pretty good deal in retrospect. The Isolette III and its Ansco Speedex (Special R?) equivalent are not that rare, so hopefully you'll be able to add another to your stable soon.

Thanks for the info on the material, Kat. If light leaks begin to appear, I think I will try using some stuff I already have. It's a rubber sort of compound, called "Plasti-Dip" and is made for insulating pliers and screwdriver handles, etc., from electric shock. I have some black PD in a spray can, and I've used it to seal light leaks in my Canon IIIa rangefinder's shutter. I applied it with a brush, painting it onto the shutter surface, and it worked well for this. So hopefully if I have to chase light leaks, PD will do the job I need. I'm thinking though that some sort of conditioner may also be helpful as a way to moisturize the bellows and keep them limber.

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama

Sweet camera. I have only one folder...a Busch Pressman at the moment. I've been avoiding them as the bellows can be such an issue.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Thanks for the tip, kansalliskala. Man-o-man, it would have been a while before I figured that one out. So it looks like I won't have to remove the lens/shutter assembly from the body after all. I think I'll try opening her up in a little while.

BD, I've always thought the Bush Pressmans were cool cameras. They seem to be somewhat better built than Graflex. Somewhere between a Linhof and a Graflex, I guess. Cool

What format is yours?

I've owned a number of bellows cameras. Guess I've just been lucky so far. None of them have had light leaks. Can't say the same for my PS-4 slide duplicator attachment for my PB-4 bellows though -- the bottom section of its bellows is just plain missing.

Big Dawg · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 2530 Location: Thach Alabama