Difference between revisions of "Agfa"
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==126 film cameras== | ==126 film cameras== | ||
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Iso-Pak]] |
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Iso-Pak C]] |
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Iso-Pak Ci]] |
* [[Agfa Autostar|Autostar]] | * [[Agfa Autostar|Autostar]] | ||
* [[Agfa_Autostar_X-126|Autostar X-126]] | * [[Agfa_Autostar_X-126|Autostar X-126]] | ||
Revision as of 00:48, 24 May 2011
 Agfa film and development ad on an old drugstore window | ||||
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| Agfa cameras | ||||
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| Agfa films and accessories: Panchromosa, Plenachrome, Superpan Supreme, Natarix finder, Agfalux flash | ||||
Contents
Company
AGFA was the abbreviation for Aktien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, given in 1873 to a company that had been founded in Berlin in 1867. It produced chemicals for photography. Most famous is the film developer Rodinal, introduced in 1892 and continued for 115 years. When Agfa obtained the Rietzschel camera works in Munich from Bayer in 1925, it badged all Rietzschel products with its Agfa rhombus. In 1926 it introduced the first real Agfa camera, the Standard. In 1927 the name Rietzschel disappeared from the products. In that year the successful Billy camera series was introduced. In 1928 the US division of Agfa entered a merger with Ansco, and over the following 15 years many models from the two companies were sold under the joint name Agfa Ansco.
In 1930 the first Agfa Box camera for 6×9 cm exposures on roll film was produced. In the following year it popularized photography in Germany by dumping the Box 44 for 4 Reichsmark, easily recouping its losses afterwards by selling Agfa 120 roll films. In 1937 it brought out its first camera for 35mm film.
After WWII Agfa improved its prewar models and introduced the new 35mm Solinette. In 1954 it modernized its camera design with the Silette series; 1956 saw the introduction of the medium format Automatic 66. In 1959 a 35mm viewfinder camera with autoexposure button followed, the Optima. In 1964 Agfa introduced the Rapid system as an answer to Kodak's 126 film. The company debuted cameras accepting 126 film in 1967.
In 1968 Agfa introduced its red sensor point, a round membrane made of red foil and framed with a metal ring. Depending on the camera type, either a mechanical or an electromechanical shutter release button was hidden under the flexible membrane. Since then this touchpad-like shutter button was used on most of the company's models and became a familiar feature.
In Germany Agfa had a huge success with its popular "Ritsch-Ratsch" pocket cameras, which accepted 110 cartridge film. A whole series of these Agfamatic cameras was launched twice, the first series using magicubes and the second, flipflash. Of course these cameras had the red sensor point as shutter release button.
In the early 1980s Agfa produced its last film cameras. The new models of the Selectronic series were manufactured by Chinon. Agfa gave up camera production in 1983. All later Agfa film cameras were OEM products.
In the early days of digital photography Agfa sold low end compact cameras under the Agfa ePhoto name. Today the AgfaPhoto brand is licenced by German photographic company Plawa which sells a modest line of AgfaPhoto Sensor compact digital cameras.
35mm film cameras
Folding
- Karat
- Memo
- Solinette and Solinette II
- Super Solinette
Fixed lens
fixed lens, half-frame
- Parat
- Parat-I
- Paramat
Rangefinder, interchangeable lens
SLR
TLR
127 film cameras
Folding
- Agfa Billy 0 (Zero)
120 film cameras
Folding
- Agfa Automatic 66
- Agfa Billy
- Agfa Billy-Clack
- Agfa Billy Compur
- Agfa Billy I
- Agfa Billy Jgetar 8.8
- Agfa Billy Record
- Agfa Billy Record II
- Agfa Jsolette
- Agfa Isolette
- Agfa Isolette I
- Agfa Isolette II
- Agfa Isolette III
- Isolette V
- Isolette L
- Agfa Record I
- Agfa Record II
- Agfa Record III
- Super Isolette
Rigid
Box
- Trolix (also known as Box 14)
- Box 44
- Box 50 / Synchro Box
620 & 616 film cameras
(Agfa/Ansco designations PB20 & PD16)
Plate cameras
Rapid film cameras
- Iso-Rapid I
- Iso-Rapid IF
- Iso-Rapid Ic
- Iso-Rapid C
- Isoflash Rapid
- Isoflash Rapid C
- Isomat Rapid
- Isomat Rapid C
- Moto-Rapid C
- Optima Rapid 250
- Silette Rapid I
- Silette Rapid F
- Silette Rapid L
- Optima Rapid 100C
- Optima Rapid 125C
- Optima Rapid 150
- Optima Rapid 250V
- Optima Rapid 500V
126 film cameras
- Iso-Pak
- Iso-Pak C
- Iso-Pak Ci
- Autostar
- Autostar X-126
- Agfamatic
- Agfamatic X-126
- Agfamatic 126
- Agfamatic 50
- Agfamatic 50S
- Agfamatic 55C
- Agfamatic 100
- Agfamatic 108
- Agfamatic 200
- Agfamatic 208
- Agfamatic 300
110 film cameras
The series 1000/2000/... accepted magicubes.
The series 508/1008/... accepted flipflash.
The sophisticated models had a special hot shoe for the Agfamatic Lux flashes.
- Agfa Mini
- Agfamatic 508 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 1000 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 1000S pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 2000 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 3000 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 3000 Flash Pocket
- Agfamatic 4000 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 508 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 1008 tele pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 2008 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 2008 tele pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 3008 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 4008 pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket sensor
- Agfamatic 6008 makro pocket sensor
- Optima 5000 pocket sensor
- Optima 6000 pocket sensor
- Agfa Easy
- Agfa Autostar pocket
- Agfamatic 901 motor
- Agfamatic 901E motor
- Agfamatic 901S motor
- Agfa Traveller
- Snapper
APS film cameras
Digital
- Agfa ActionCam (1995)
- Agfa StudioCam (1995)
- Agfa ePhoto 1280 (1997 0.7 megapixel)
- Agfa ePhoto 1680 (1998 1.2 mp)
- Agfa ePhoto 307 (1997)
- Agfa ePhoto 780
- Agfa ePhoto 780c
- Agfa ePhoto CL18 (2000, 0.3 mp)
- Agfa ePhoto CL20
- Agfa ePhoto CL30 (1999, 0.9 mp)
- Agfa ePhoto CL30 Clik! (1999, 0.9 mp)
- Agfa ePhoto CL34
- Agfa ePhoto CL45 (2001; 0.7 mp)
- Agfa ePhoto CL50 (1999 1.2 mp)
- Agfa ePhoto Smile (0.3 mp)
Accessories
- Agfatronic electronic flash units
- Agfa flashbulb units
- light meters
Japanese advertisements
 
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| Advertisements for Agfa products in Asahi Camera February 1930 and Shashin Salon January 1934. (Image rights) |
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera. Advertisement in February 1930 (p.A20).
- Shashin Salon. Advertisement in January 1934.
Links
| Camera industry in Berlin |
| Agfa | Amigo | Astro Berlin | Bermpohl | Bopp | B+W | Foth | Goerz | Grass & Worff | Levy-Roth | Ernst Lorenz | Plasmat | Rudolph | Rothgiesser & Schlossmann | Rüdersdorf | Schulze & Billerbeck | Sida | Stegemann | Romain Talbot |
| Camera industry in Munich |
| Agfa | Deckel | Eder | Enna | Friedrich | Kilfitt | Leitmeyr | Linhof | Niezoldi & Krämer | Perka | Rex | Rietzschel | Rodenstock | Staeble | Steinheil |
- Orphancameras.com, with many Agfa camera manuals in PDF format. The site also includes old camera mail-order catalogues from the 40s and 50s listing prices and abilities.
- Agfa page at Collection G. Even's site
- Cameras and User Manual at www.collection-appareils.fr
- Flickr group agfa photography
- Agfa camera's in Andrys Stienstra's camera collection
