Ambi Silette

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AGFA Ambi Silette is an interchangeable-lens 35mm film rangefinder camera manufactured by Agfa Kamerawerk AG in Munich, West Germany, between 1957 and 1961. The Ambi Silette was the interchangeable-lens member of the Silette range of Agfa cameras that included scale-focus viewfinders named Silette and fixed-lens rangefinders named Silette Super (sold in the USA as ANSCO Memar and Super Memar). The Ambi Silette was not rebranded by ANSCO for sale in the USA.

The Ambi Silette was introduced in Photokina 1956 as a result of Deckel's development of a behind-the-lens Compur leaf shutter. The behind-the-lens leaf shutter was an advance for the time but had several well-documented disadvantages. Among those was a small maximum throat diameter (25mm), relatively slow maximum speeds (~1/500), and the inability to support lenses that extend to the rear, as they would touch the shutter blades.

The camera went on sale in 1957 in Germany and 1958 in the rest of the world with catalog number 2090, and while it was expensive for the time, it was a fraction of the cost of a Leica. Agfa bet a lot of their future on this camera, even offering a lifetime guarantee.[1] Initially three lenses were offered with the camera: 50/2.8, 35/4, and 90/4. AGFA developed these lenses as whole interchangeable units, not just the front unit, as in the Contaflex and pre-1958 Kodak Retina lens mounts. The Ambi Silette lens mount is a clamp/bayonet-style mount with only one indexing tab, which makes switching lenses very easy. Unfortunately it was not adopted by any other maker, as the DKL-mount with three prongs was.

In order to provide the best experience with the interchangeable lenses, AGFA introduced a very innovative viewfinder design with variable bright framelines, selected manually for the 50mm, 35mm, and 90mm lenses, and automatic parallax correction. By today's standards the viewfinder is relatively small, but the framelines and the rangefinder are bright and easy to use.

An updated version (Type II, Catalog Number 2091) of Ambi Silette appeared in 1959. The most significant change to the camera was a revised rangefinder with a 5mm wider base, probably to match the 130mm lens that was launched at the time. Other changes included: [1][2]

  • Front look changed, as the RF and frameline windows are separated
  • Addition of strap lugs
  • 35mm frame lines disappear when 90mm frame lines are selected
  • Change in order of frame lines from 35-50-90 to 50-35-90
  • Exposure counter changed from additive to subtractive order
  • Change to the film advance lever (protrudes from back) and cosmetic changes to the film reminder dial (types of film)

Sales of the Ambi Silette were good, but rangefinder sales were quickly surpassed by those of SLRs, in which AGFA never found success despite its efforts with the Agfaflex line. Production of the Ambi Silette ceased in 1961.


Specifications

  • Film format: 135 film cartridges (perforated 35mm film) with a 24x36mm image
  • Shutter: Synchro-Compur behind the lens leaf shutter. Speeds: B, 1-1/500; Setting: ring set close to camera body, with two little handles.
  • Shutter release: on the right of the top plate; standard cable release socket
  • Film winder: short-stroke winder, acts as cocking lever
  • Frame counter: coupled with winding lever, advance type, manual setting
    • Type I cameras have an additive frame counter, reset mark has a red A
    • Type II cameras have a subtractive frame counter, reset setting depends on number of frames of film (red triangles for 20 and 36 exp rolls)
  • Lens Mount: bayonet, very easy mounting 43.5mm register distance
    • Lens release: press the lens release button on the lower front of the lens mount and simultaneously turn the lens counter-clockwise while gripping the fixed milled ring on the lens
  • Viewfinder: coupled view/rangefinder, matching RF images, with bright-line frames. Parallax correction by a switch on the top plate adjusts for the 35-50-90mm lenses; the 130mm lens required a separate viewfinder for composition.
    • Focusing: matching yellow-dot rangefinder images in the finder coupled with the distance ring on the lens, w/DOF scale; focus range: 1-10m + inf
    • Flip-up cover protects the viewfinder and rangefinder windows on the front of the camera and provides shade.
  • Self-timer: ~8s, when the small green lever above the shutter is set to V after winding. Lever resets to X after pressing shutter release.
  • Flash PC socket on the front plate, right of the shutter
    • Flash-sync adjustment via the small green lever on the top of the shutter; M 1/60-1/500, X all speeds with electronic flash
  • Back cover: Hinged, opens by the latch on the left side of the camera
  • Others: Cold shoe; memory dial; tripod socket 1/4 inch; supporting slide on the front of the bottom plate for tabletop use
  • Dimensions: 125x90x40mm (5.0x3.5x1.6") LxHxD without lens
  • Weight: 530g (~18.5 oz) without lens


Lenses

The following interchangeable lenses were sold for the Ambi Silette [3] [4][5]
These lenses were sold in a plastic capsule with silica gel inserts. All the lenses use the same size filters (37mm slip-on or 35.5mm screw-on) with the exception of the 130mm lens, which appeared later (1959).

  • 50mm f/2.8 Agfa Color-Solinar (4 elements in 3 groups; 5-blade diaphragm) sold as the standard lens; it is the well-known AGFA version of the Tessar.
  • 35mm f/4 Color-Ambion Type 4401 (4 elements in 3 groups; 5-blade diaphragm)
  • 90mm f/4 Color-Telinear Type 4402 (5 elements in 4 groups; 5-blade diaphragm)
  • 130mm f/4 Color-Telinear Type 4421 (6 elements; 5-blade diaphragm). This lens uses 62mm filters and requires an extra viewfinder for composing.
  • Recently a 35mm f/2.8 Schneider Curtagon (Agfa Type 4401-100) was reported by Michael Wescott Loder.[6] It seems to be a prototype.


Notes

Links