Value of this Agfa Isolette III with Solinar?

Seele · Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 742 Location: Sydney Australia

I still regret selling my mint-condition Record III. Sad

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Congratulations! It is surprising how many well-preserved folders there are lying around needing just a minimum of attention to get them going again. I suspect that the online warnings that most folders are wrecked and those that aren't need the attention of an experienced serviceman originate from servicemen who don't want people to know how much good stuff is there for the asking.

All the gossip about misalinged front standards also seems to come from people who study internet chat rather than actual cameras. I've bought more than a dozen, only one of which had a wobbly standard and they all seem to be light-tight (though a few haven't been tested yet). The really common issues are clogged up shutters and dirty lenses.

Now we need to see the photos from yours.

Spotmatic · Joined: 18 Aug 2008 Posts: 4045 Location: Netherlands

Thanks Paul. Have you seen my photos of the actual camera? http://forum.mflenses.com/agfa-record-iii-with-105mm-f-4-5-solinar-in-synchro-compur-t25607.html

To be honest: I think most folders (even the cheapest) out there are still capable of taking good results. In my experience, the better shutters (Synchro-Compur c.s.) hardly need any service, and photographers back then who had the money for an expensive folder knew darn well how to treat the camera and how to clean the lens. More often than not, the 1s setting is still spot-on. How this translates to a good 1/500s I do not know because I usually do not shoot at that speed.

I wonder if it's true that each and every Agfa needs a new bellows. I haven't checked it thoroughly but I have put a roll of test film in the Record III and we'll see what happens.

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

I hadn't seen the photos of it. Very, very nice indeed. Lovely bloom on the lens.

Unless there was some general fault with the way the bellows were made or were fixed (glued?) to the camera (such as a glue that decays with time - but I really don't know how they are affixed) I can see no reason why Agfa bellows should be a problem. Your camera's bellows look absolutely perfect, so if they do leak it has to be a generic age/decay issue. If they don't .... well, not everything on the internet is right.

Slow speeds sticking certainly is a recurring problem, I've had it with (at least) a prontor, a compur-rapid and two klios. Maybe there was a light oil in these shutters originally that went sticky, or maybe servicemen tended to put it in even if it wasn't meant to be there.

I've seen suggestions that the top shutter speeds were never quite was was claimed for them even when the cameras were new. I don't know what the basis of that claim was.

Spotmatic · Joined: 18 Aug 2008 Posts: 4045 Location: Netherlands

Not everything is what it seems I suppose. Yes, the bellows look shiny new on the Record III, but if I'm not mistaken those are made of plastified fabric (not leather) and the corners will get punctures. At least that's what's being said "on the internet", so I'm intested in what the test roll will bring.

I have read in a book that Deckel (the maker of the Compur shutters) claimed a 20% tolerance on the higher speeds. So I always assumed a large tolerance.

PaulC · Joined: 23 Dec 2008 Posts: 2318

Would it be fair to assume the tolerance was always on the slow side, so 1/500 probably means 1/400 and 1/300 means 1/250?

Spotmatic · Joined: 18 Aug 2008 Posts: 4045 Location: Netherlands