My grandpa bought one when he was in Germany when he was there in the army. Took a lot of photos, made prints and has them to this day. He passed the camera on to me, so I can carry on the family legacy.
You used to find these in various states of working condition for about $20. Several decades ago, I got mine, exactly like his here, for $15 at a swap meet. The lens focus was tight (like all of those pre-1960s Agfa lenses lubed with whale oil). The rangefinder was slow and sticky. Being jammed full of beach sand, I'd guess so. And the bellow had a mystery light leak. I cleaned and relubed the lens threads with silicon (no whale on hand). I removed the top plate, unpack a half century of dirt and sand, then relubed the rangefinder parts. All this is quite easy to do because the camera build is so simple. I lucked out finding for $5 a mechanically trashed Isolette with a good condition leather bellows to replace the plastic and paper bellows on my camera. 20 minutes later and my Isolettte III with Apotar, the best quality of triplet sold on these cameras, was ready to go. Do I use it much? No. If I am driven to shoot a folder, my "go to" is a fully rebuilt Fuji GS645, which has an amazing lens with a coupled meter and rangefinder.
@@ribsy I used to have one of each. The Voigtlander range.. 35 mm Vito, 120 Perkeo and the 6x9 Bessa II. What a beauty! Sold them whtn I got dovorced. :( - Planning on getting a Perko again now I'm on my feet again.
I own two Kodak Tourist folders. 6x9. The first one still had a roll of film in it. I sent the film in and one photo was taken. This was around 1986-7. The photo was of an older lady, dressed like the forties. I know the camera is not that old. But i looked at the photo and I the camera wasca gift, the owner took a photo and never used the camera. It kind of saddened me.
I love my Zeiss Ikon Nettar. Highly recommend a folding camera if you’re thinking of getting into mf. Also, 6x6 negatives are great to work with in the darkroom.
Oh man a chance to gush about the Zeiss iKON Netter! Fantastic camera, there aren't many medium format cameras that fix in a pocket these days. Always gets attention when I flip it out 👍🏻😁
@@themightychippy3756 literally got mine today, and on shot 9 a guy stopped me and we talked about it for a bit. Been with my TLR for about 6 months now and no one batts an eye, I think it's the bellows that makes them stop and talk.
The best 6x6 folder ever made: Super Isolette - f3.5 Solinar lens, 1-1/500 second shutter, coupled rangefinder and automatic frame indexing (no red window!). Got mine in a charity (thrift) shop for almost nothing.
Thanks for the folder love. My daily driver and favorite film camera is the best kept medium format secret out there, the Moskva-4. It's a Soviet Knockoff of the Zeiss Super Ikonta, complete with a coupled rangefinder but at a quarter of the price. It's cheap as dirt, built like a tank, and I get 6x9 negatives rivaling those from a Fuji GL690, all from a camera that fits in my pocket. It has the sharpest film lens I've ever seen; it beats my Mamiys C330 lenses hands down and even rivals my RF lenses. All in a camera that cost me less than $60 US! And there also doesn't seem to be a shortage of 120 film yet.
Love it. Been a fan of folding cameras almost , my whole life. Can't beat their compactness. Gaffers tape, or photographers tape are a must for bellows repair. Stay away from glues. They eventually crack and leak light again. Just my experience.
Hello! I've loved photography since I was a kid but I've been shooting with digital cameras for the past 20 plus years. I really wanted to shoot with film again so I've bought an Agfa Billy I and Ilford film. It really is a joy. Just wanted to share this! ♥ Have a nice day everyone.
@@ribsy Thank you, I think so too! I also really enjoyed your documentary video in which you visited the Ilford company. It gives such interesting insight into how film is made.
You are so right, Ribsy. I use a 6x6 Nettar but recently bought a 6x9 Ikonta which I personally think is the best compromise. The built-in rangefinder is so clear and bright and makes it truly pocketable, as where the Nettar needs an external rangefinder. With an external rangefinder the camera won't go in the case or in my pocket. The quality of the pictures is amazing, I've shot two rolls with it (you only get 8 shots on a roll) and each roll has delivered a Flickr "Explore" award, amazing for a 70 year old camera! Like yours, my rangefinder is uncoupled. I know the Super Ikonta has a coupled rangefinder but it also has part of the mechanism at the end of the lens and I worry it will get knocked out of alignment, I think the uncoupled rangefinder is perfectly good.
I picked up a nice little Ikon Nettar med format online for cheap. No rangefinder though so it does add that extra element , which is one of the reasons I started shooting film (I came to photography as a digital thing). Really enjoying your videos too, and seeing people shooting in familiar places is always good.
Great video! Folding cameras are marvels of engineering. My smallest one is a Konishiroku (Konica) Pearl III, which shoots 6x4.5. It has a coupled rangefinder and an very sharp Hexar 75mm f3.5 lens and I love it.
Another great video. I regularly shoot with my grandfather's Agfa Record II, a 6x9 folder. The negatives are amazing, especially b/w works well with those old lenses. And it's cool to shoot the same camera as he used 70yrs ago. Try the Isolette with Delta 3200. Using the Agfa was my reason the buy a Fuji GS45Pro, a "modern" folder.
I inherited a Kodak Tourist II and I love it. Took it out for (my) first light in September at Yellowstone. There are DEFINITELY quirks to operating one but I love taking pictures with it and the huge 6x9 negatives are amazing.
I just found one of these agfa isolette cameras in a vintage shop for around 10 dollars, found this video to hear about what I bought and now I'm honestly hyped for getting this working and learning to use it. (Bought it mostly because it looked awesome and had a little leather case to hang around the neck)
My 1st medium format camera was a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16 and it was quite a huge step for me from an 35mm SLR I have been so used to because the process was so different. But I liked it. Now I also have a Certo six which doesn't only have a coupled rangefinder but parallax control and I love it. Same for its little sister, the Certo Super Dollina II, which shoots 35mm and is really tiny. Both cams come with a beautiful f2.8 Tessar, 80mm and 50mm respectively. Can strongly recommend all three cameras.
Pretty Isolette! I've been a big user of folding medium format cameras over the years ... From the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta (in 645, 6x6, and 6x9 formats) to the petite and beautiful Balda Baldix 6x6, had a bunch of them, all very enjoyable and produced lovely photographs. My current one, the one I kept after having all the others, is a Voigtländer Perkeo II - 6x6, probably one of the best build quality of them all, very compact and light, and a superb, coated Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5 lens. Scale focus only, but I have the clip-on Voigtländer rangefinder for when its needed. I also have the Voigtländer Kontour accessory finder for it, which make viewing and framing even with glasses on a breeze. Scale focusing (that is, focus by estimating the distance) simply takes practice. I've done mostly portraits and close ups with the Perkeo, usually don't carry the rangefinder, and focus via the DoF scale and judging the distance. One can become extremely accurate with practice. This photo was made in a wine tasting room at the Vena Cava winery in Guadalupe Valley of Mexico, April 2021 ... I had HP5 in the camera, rated at EI 320, and set f/4 @ 1/2 second exposure. The distance was about 5'. I stabilized the camera on a table... flic.kr/p/2kZ3syq I love shooting with this camera ... on that trip, I took this camera and a Polaroid SX-70 (and my iPhone). It was all that was needed. :) Keep up the good work! I enjoy your videos a lot. G
Yes sir! I have a Kodak model A (shoots 120 at 6x9) from 1918, love it! Bargain cameras and suprising detail for triplet or doublet lens arrangements on medium format. I repaired the bellows with some acyrlic paint from Amazon, worked a treat. 👌
While not as compact, I love my Fujifilm GS645. Now you have me looking at another camera. Uh, oh. Found your channel whenn researching Neg Lab Pro and enjoy every video of yours I've seen. Subscribed and alerted.
Wonderful video and super images. Agree with your take on folders. I've got 4. A Kodak Retina IIIc that was my dad's (35mm). Last year I picked up three: a Wester Autorol, a Super Fujica-6 (both 6x6), and a Moskva 6x9 (have had a roll developed yet on this0. I have these mostly, as you say, they are super cool cameras, especially the 6x6. Super convenient and portable (they are not Pentax 67) and they take great photos. Can't discount the nostalgia either.
Great work with this camera. Awesome images. I have one, not the same brand, but it was given to me in 1968 and I have shot hundreds of rolls through mine. Keep posting your great work.
I used one of these (Zeiss Ikon Nettar) during my conscript year because it fit the vest perfectly and could take the freezing cold and beating. Plenty of rolls of HP5 and Portra 160 went through it. Metered at sunny16 of course, no light meters ;)
Great video. I have a few medium format folders and love them. Mine are all rangefinders but there isn't a huge size difference between the RF models and the viewfinder models. I have the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 532/16 (6X6 format), the Mamiya-6-V folder from the 1950s (takes 6X6 or 6X4.5), and the Super Fujica Six (maybe one of the best MF folders ever made, in my opinion). Love them all. I also love the 35mm folders, like the Kodak Retinas and the Voigtlander Vitessa (with the "barn doors"). Very tiny cameras and easily carried in a pocket.
Hello Ribsy, I'm so glad that I came across your site as I've just bought an Isolette III and I'm finding it a steep and intimidating learning curve. I'm an experienced digital photographer but I haven't shot analogue for nearly 50 years. I used a twin lens Mamiya for a couple of years in the 1970s but fell out of love with the square format and changed to 35mm. My dream would be an 18x24 plate camera but that's never going to happen in terms of cost and I'm far too old and unfit to cart around a heavy camera and tripod. Like you, I fell in love with the look and romance of it and I am determined to use it for "special" shots but my workhorse will always be my Leica Q which is, for me, the perfect camera. A steep initial expenditure, I'll grant you, but after that digital is cheap. On a full day of serious shooting I might make 400 exposures and there is no way I could afford to do that with film.
Dude your videos are fricken awesome! You definitely played a big part in me buying my Yashica D. I swear if you keep up this quality the sky is the limit. I was using your "darkroom printing AT HOME" video while choosing chemicals the other day. Can't wait to see you get the recognition you and your channel deserve PS 4th photo at 5:03 was my favourite, the contrast is incredible and the juxtaposition of serene water against the busy town is perfect
I've just seen one of these that I'm very tempted to buy and this video has told me everything I need to know about it. In particular, that it is an uncoupled rangefinder and it has a great quality lens. Thank you! As for the bellows test, just look through the back of the camera in a darkened room and shine a bright torch on the outside of the bellows. It will save a film. My Kodak No2 Autographic Brownie is riddled with holes!
I agree. My Agfa Isolette III has two problems though. The leaf shutter opens every time I cock the shutter, so I have to remember to cover the lens when I do that. My shutter button is very tight and easily causes camera shake, so I prefer to either use a cable release attached to the shutter (not to the shutter button) or just pull sideways on the arm that connects the shutter button with the shutter underneath the bellows. Both ways I allow me to also do double exposures, if I want to.
Very timely video. Thank you. I recently picked up a nice Agfa Isollet, a Zeiss Netter, and an Olympus 6 all folding cameras. I especially like the Olympus because it came with 6x4.5 internal frame mask.
Folding cameras are a great way to shoot medium format. inexpensive and excellent quality of image for such a small lens. I like them so much .I own 4 6x6 and one 6x9 . Take a small table top tripod and a pocket full of film and a folding camera and you can go anywhere and get amazing photos.
Love my 1959 Mockva-5 6x9 (Soviet clone of the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta.) Very sharp and contrasty lens for the period. Coupled rangefinder makes it. Great video as usual!
Ok I've only just come on this. I had a Mamiya C33 which I gave to my daughter (but she doesn't use it so I may reclaim it) which is 6x6 and chunky, converted to a Brownie 620 which does lovely 6x9 negs but is a bit limiting and now have just bought (in a jumble sale) a 1934 Lumière folder (also 6x9) which I'm looking forward to putting some film through (when the weather cools enough for developing). I love 6x9, poor man's large format!
I have a few folding cameras, a couple from Germany and a 6x9 from France. I love how compact they are. It strikes me as weird that so many will pay $4500 and up for a Mamiya 7 because its a compact medium format camera. These folders are even more compact and I have picked up a few on Ebay for around $50. Even the top of the line, most sought after folders are around $300. The craftsmanship is amazing on most of these folders.
my favorite medium format camera is my Zeiss Ikonta-A. it's an early copy (estimated 1932) of the first 6x4.5 (on 120) camera in the world. since film back then didn't have 6x4.5 markings, there are two red windows to split the 6x9 spacing. It folds down to about the size of the average 35mm point and shoot.
I use Agfa jsorated 1936 to shoot a picture. This camara is older and some of leather bellow is broken and adjust system in lens is stuck. When i got after set to CLA and take to some shoot in 4.5x6 it's have a great photos. very sharp and and feel good for old aponta uncoatind lens. And this this is the lightweight to carry and eazy to put in my pocket after usd. So this is a good camara for someone who don't want to carry some a bit more weight camera and this easy to put into pocket after usd
Nice video. The folding 6x6cm camera shooting 120 roll film was a creature of the 1950s. It's design weakness is that if the front (lens) of the camera is hit hard when open, it can bend or break the struts which hold the lens aligned with the film. After that issue, the image will not focus properly on the film and any repair is far more costly than replacing the camera. I happen to have an Isolette III exactly like his here. I paid $15 at a swap meet with a case. (Note that these cameras have no lugs for a neck strap, so if you want to use a neck strap, you have to use a case.) Mine had sluggish focusing and stiff lens focus. I cleaned and relubed the lens focus threads. I popped the top deck and removed a ton of old grease filled with beach sand (yuck). I discovered light leaks in the bellows from pinholes, lots of pin holes. I tried sealing the holes with "stuff", and that worked, sort of. One day I discovered an old, trashed Ansco folder in a photo shop junk bin for $5. Ansco was owned by Agfa, and Agfa relabeled their cameras as "Ansco:" for sale in the US. The labelled Agfa Isolette III uses a cheap, plastic bellows. When sold as an Ansco, they used a high quality leather bellows, which was perfect on my junker. One bellows swap later, and my Isolette was in "like new" condition. Frankly, the Isolette III was not a high water mark in quality camera production. The shutter was the slower, cheaper model put on low cost cameras to save money. The lens is a triplet (3 element), which was even then being phased out in favor of the better Zeiss Tessar (4 element) lens or one of its many copies. However, the Apotar, with a longer 85mm focal length, and its slow 4.5 aperture, does a great job if, as he says here, you stick to small f-stops (8.0 -16) and keep your subject out there over 15 feet or so. If you want to go "all in" for a camera like this, look for an Afga Super Isolette or a similar Voigtlander model. Thereafter, there is the Zeiss Super Ikonta B or one of the several versions of Mamiya 6 (the newer the better). These have all of the features and highest quality lenses, but except for the Mamiya, they demand a collector's price, many times as much as an Isolette which can deliver nearly the same photo.
With Zone focus cameras I actually use the handheld range finder which can also be mounted in the cold shoe if the camera has one. I have a Kodak Pony 135 which is a 35 mm camera what is strictly Zone Focus. If you're taking a photo of something close up accident awkward spot. I would recommend taking a few pictures just in case you must focus on one of them. I missed focus on some flowers that were close to the ground and it kind of looked like an abstract painting. That was kind of a happy accident. The other photo of the flowers wearing Focus.
I have around half a dozen different folding medium format cameras. My favorite is the Olympus Chrome Six RFIIb with its f2.8 lens. My second favorite is quite a bit larger but gives a spectacular film format: A Kodak 3-A (despite over 100 years old with a coupled rangefinder), remodeled to accept 120 film and thus providing extralarge 6x14cm negatives.
Folding cameras are beautiful. I've always wanted an Agfa Super Isolette but not with that kind of expensive price. I ended up getting a Mamiya Six Mod.V, it's a beautiful piece of engineering
I have an old Zeiss Ikon 520/16 from 1937, it is the low end model from the line with a max shutter speed of 125. There are higher end versions of this one that can go up to 1/500 but harder to find and more expensive. It's a 6x6, with Novar lens and aperture can go from f4.5 to f32. Shorter distance is 1.2m The pictures are great, with a kind of twirl/round bokeh but otherwise really sharp. I love this camera. For the moment I used it mostly with XP2 since it's a film that can be really forgiving and can handle technically from iso 50 to 800.
I bought an Isolette II on eBay. It's a gamble. I did take a bright flashlight into a pitch black room, opened the back of the camera, and shined the light all around the bellows. Seems to be light tight. Now I need to load it with film and try it out.
I agree with your assessment of the beauty of these folding cameras. I shoot with a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 517/2 (6x9) and it is in my top two or three favorite cameras to shoot. I do put a range finder in the cold shoe to aid in the zone focusing. It is a bit large for hiking so I bring a small 35mm camera for this but I am considering a 6x4.5 folder for hiking outings.
Thanks for this great primer to folding medium format cameras. I'm using, and highly recommend, a super ikonta 532/16 (6x6) with the 2.8 8cm Tessar lens, and in mid f-stop it's as good my Hasselblad. I'm also using a Kodak Medalist ii 6x9 converted to 120 format. These produce images well beyond my 35mm negatives, including my M with 50 sonnar. Thanks again for opening up this option to many people.
Great Vid Ribsy :) I quite recently bought my first folder, was very lucky getting hold of a Konica Pearl 4 just serviced for a decent price. They are quite rare from what i have heard and finding one just serviced and in such great condition was awesome. Just like you i kind of fell in love with it right away, just holding it is fun fun fun! I only shot Rolleiflex before that when it comes to medium format, so having such a portable option with that much "power" felt almost unreal :) mine is 645 so getting double the amount of frames as well is also a treat to be honest. I have only shot 3 rolls through mine as of now, tried 2 rolls of Kodak gold which was a wonderful combo, so happy with it. And then a ilford HP5 as well also looked so vintage in the final result, love it. I have a rangefinder in mine but i got told by the guy i bought it from that i wanted to compensate a bit with the shutter speed to get sharper images. But i havent been that bothered with it, the images i got was acceptable for me at least :) Sure it was not pinsharp but just like your camera stopping down made the images really sharp, especially the landscapes i took :) Its now one of my favorite cameras for sure. Have a great time with yours! /Martin the Swede. Ps, you got a new subscriber ;)
@@ribsy Hope my parents can dig it out somewhere after 35 years. At an age of 7 I certainly didn't have an idea of how capable the thing was. Have to say though, I became hooked with SLRs soon after - just made so much more sense to me to see what the film plane was seeing.
Definitely with your view on folding cameras. I have a Zeiss Ikon Nettar and it is a great camera. Folding cameras make you work a bit harder for the image but the quality is worth it.
Greetings from Acapulco, Perú, new to Ribsy. Glad to find another so photographically obsessed. I agree with your assessment on the portability of folders. I long for Kodak 616 film. I am always fascinated by where in the world youtubers post from. A window into another's reality. On a selfish note, may I suggest you talk a bit about the locale you find yourself in? The name of the village (I may have missed you saying), it's history maybe and where you ate while there? A voice-over while viewing your photos? It's a picturesque place. A good presentation Ribsy.
I started MF with an Agfa Isolette II with a Solinar F/3.5 75mm lens. I have added a Mamiya C3 with a few lenses. You can guess which one I take hiking ;)
Ribsy you have to check out the Agfa Record III which basically is a 6x9 version from the same era. My Record III came with the TOTL Solinar lens which eqals the most expensive Voigtlander and Zeiss lenses. Lovely camera.
Thank you for this, I've picked up a Horseman 985 Rangefinder with most of the bells and bits it came with the 120/220 film back and sheet film back and 90mm lens too. I've taken pictures and have not had the time to develop yet..
Rigsby, I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for a good job on covering this camera in depth. I have been thinking of getting a vintage folding camera and your video convinced me to go online and purchase an Agfa Isolette III like the one featured in your video. I am excited and can't wait to get it. (It's coming from Korea to California where I am located) and run some film through it. I am curious what your film stock was for your images. The images look great!
My choice for thse? The Fujica Super Six, with the Konica Pearl IV a close 2nd (better finder). Both have frame counting and stops, coupled rangefinders, and 75mm F3.5 lenses. The Pearl is wayyy up there in price now due to the amazing finder, so I sold mine for the Fujica and pocketed the cash. Great vid Ribsy!
Thanks for this video! Always wanted to dip into medium format but seemed too heavy and expensive (both cameras and film). My only fear of old folders were the bellows but you have addressed that one so no excuses left!
I have a Moskva V 6x9 and a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta (526 I think). And I almost pick the Super Ikonta out every time. Just cannot deny the love for folders (I have Kodak Retina IIIc as well, for 35mm format)
I had a Voigtlander Perkeo 1 with colour Skopar lens ! But Voigtlander Bessa 2 is the best 6/9 camera with Heliar lens which is used in Linhof Technika cameras.
I have a Perkeo I with the Vaskar and it’s honestly given me really good color results! I’d love to figure out a way to upgrade the shutter, though, I have the basic one that does 1/30-1/200 but I think it’ll be perfect with Gold.
Just a quick warning on the Agfa isolettes, the grease that they used tends to age into a green concrete and freeze up the front focusing element. This can be remedied with 90% isopropyl alcohol and mild heat, it should start to seep out, then you can clean it. Also, be sure to check the bellows, the isolettes were made from pretty shoddy material. All this said, I have an isolette I that needed a bunch of TLC, but it is a great, portable camera. Just a quick buyer beware if you're picking up on Ebay, it may need some work.
@@ribsy Guess I buried the lead, so to speak! Great video as usual Ribsy! There are some really amazing folders out there, that are capable of producing great results. I've had my eye out for a Voightlander Perkeo in decent condition for a bit now. They are underappreciated, and excellent for people just getting into photography or medium format! Thanks for continuing to make great work with good info for all us photo nuts.
Love my Zeiss Ikon Nettar, though I'd say anyone getting into 120 folders should definitely be comfortable shooting 35mm on manual first as the learning curve is steep! Separate optical rangefinders or even laser measurers for DIY/construction can be really helpful in nailing focusing distances too! I have a rangefinder in the flash cold shoe on mine and it's a godsend for anything closer than infinity focus!
i disagree. i think it is quite reasonable to learn on one of these. zone focusing isn't as hard when you are taking your time ... aka not candid street photography
@@joaomor10 yeah, I saw it on a channel about 1st AC focus pullers in the movie industry. I think you can get a DeWalt one for about £30 in the UK so maybe $35 USD that'll do out to 16m (~50ft). They do a much pricier one that'll do out to 30m (100ft) but anything more than 16m you're probably best just going to infinity anyway.
@@ribsy if that beginner is really interested in the technical processes of how film cameras work, maybe with an interest in getting into large format photography in the future or if they've shot DSLRs fully manual a lot and understand that process well, then yeah a 120 folder could well be a great option as a first film camera. If that beginner, as most beginner film photographers are, doesn't know a lot about cameras and is much more interested in just creating the images themselves than they are in how the camera actually does this, they're probably going to find a folder incredibly frustrating compared to a good 35mm SLR with a meter. If you're used to autofocus and auto exposure, it's a *lot* easier to learn all the processes of shooting fully manual if you've got real-time feedback from the camera's focus screen and meter telling you if you're in focus and if your exposure is correct or not, rather than shooting a whole roll of mistakes because they misunderstood something and only finding that out when the film's developed!
Great video presentation. I have an Agfa Isolette and love it, but I think the Kodak 66 Models 2 and 3 are even better (I have one of each). I shoot B&W and get amazing quality with all of those early folders.
I recently found and restored a Kodak Jr Six-16. gotta be from the 20s. it uses 616 film (easily adaptable to 120) and takes insane ~6x10cm negatives. I actually put a roll of 35mm through it for some extremely wide panoramic images
I mean, technically, you could draw a size distinction between your 6x6 folding camera and a smaller 6x4.5 folding camera. I have a larger 6x9 folding camera and, while it's relatively light and compact, I would not really consider just putting it in my shorts pocket or jacket pocket. That would not be comfortable.
You should go for the one with the Solinar instead of the Apotar. The first one is the much better performer overall. Also, as a beginner do not go for a folder as your very first camera because of the lacking parallax correction. This can cause a lot of frustration after long shootig-day. Just take a Rolleicord instead. These're also cheap and're much easier to handle. If you get more confidence after a certain time using vintage gear then you definitely should try out an folder. They're really great cameras for their size.
Great video. Picked up an Olympus folder a few years ago on eBay, but the lens had significant haze/fungus. May have to try an Isolette some day, very classy looking and solid imager. 👍😎
For those considering buying a folder, most if not all will have issues with the bellows due to just how old they are. Most will have light leaks and/or cracked bellows. This will generally cost you $300+ to repair so make sure you are ready for this cost when buying one
Bought an RB67 to do street portraits and I REALLY overestimated how strong my 23 year old back is. So I was looking at folding cameras and was looking at some of the voightlander bessas with the rangefinder and they are so expensive. For the price this camera is extremely enticing
My grandpa bought one when he was in Germany when he was there in the army. Took a lot of photos, made prints and has them to this day. He passed the camera on to me, so I can carry on the family legacy.
that's amazing. def keep that forever. i want to see the prints
You used to find these in various states of working condition for about $20. Several decades ago, I got mine, exactly like his here, for $15 at a swap meet. The lens focus was tight (like all of those pre-1960s Agfa lenses lubed with whale oil). The rangefinder was slow and sticky. Being jammed full of beach sand, I'd guess so. And the bellow had a mystery light leak. I cleaned and relubed the lens threads with silicon (no whale on hand). I removed the top plate, unpack a half century of dirt and sand, then relubed the rangefinder parts. All this is quite easy to do because the camera build is so simple. I lucked out finding for $5 a mechanically trashed Isolette with a good condition leather bellows to replace the plastic and paper bellows on my camera. 20 minutes later and my Isolettte III with Apotar, the best quality of triplet sold on these cameras, was ready to go. Do I use it much? No. If I am driven to shoot a folder, my "go to" is a fully rebuilt Fuji GS645, which has an amazing lens with a coupled meter and rangefinder.
I am a huge fan of old folders!!! I especially love 6x9 cameras, a little bigger that the 6x6 but LOVE those negatives!!!
Yea 6x9 is huge
@@ribsy I used to have one of each. The Voigtlander range.. 35 mm Vito, 120 Perkeo and the 6x9 Bessa II. What a beauty! Sold them whtn I got dovorced. :( - Planning on getting a Perko again now I'm on my feet again.
I own two Kodak Tourist folders. 6x9. The first one still had a roll of film in it. I sent the film in and one photo was taken. This was around 1986-7. The photo was of an older lady, dressed like the forties. I know the camera is not that old. But i looked at the photo and I the camera wasca gift, the owner took a photo and never used the camera. It kind of saddened me.
I love my Zeiss Ikon Nettar. Highly recommend a folding camera if you’re thinking of getting into mf. Also, 6x6 negatives are great to work with in the darkroom.
Fully agree!
I second that. I own 3 Nettars and I really love them. The portability is a great perk too.
Oh man a chance to gush about the Zeiss iKON Netter! Fantastic camera, there aren't many medium format cameras that fix in a pocket these days. Always gets attention when I flip it out 👍🏻😁
@@themightychippy3756 literally got mine today, and on shot 9 a guy stopped me and we talked about it for a bit. Been with my TLR for about 6 months now and no one batts an eye, I think it's the bellows that makes them stop and talk.
The best 6x6 folder ever made: Super Isolette - f3.5 Solinar lens, 1-1/500 second shutter, coupled rangefinder and automatic frame indexing (no red window!). Got mine in a charity (thrift) shop for almost nothing.
yea any of the 'super cameras' are usually the best
My Isolette II has that lens on it. Beautiful piece of glass.
I have a hybrid, the Fuji GS645 folder. Fully manual, but has a meter. Awesome for travel!
Great video, a folder is how I started!
Yea those cameras are great!
Thanks for the folder love. My daily driver and favorite film camera is the best kept medium format secret out there, the Moskva-4. It's a Soviet Knockoff of the Zeiss Super Ikonta, complete with a coupled rangefinder but at a quarter of the price. It's cheap as dirt, built like a tank, and I get 6x9 negatives rivaling those from a Fuji GL690, all from a camera that fits in my pocket. It has the sharpest film lens I've ever seen; it beats my Mamiys C330 lenses hands down and even rivals my RF lenses. All in a camera that cost me less than $60 US! And there also doesn't seem to be a shortage of 120 film yet.
Oh that sounds like a good one. I’ll have to look it up
Love it. Been a fan of folding cameras almost , my whole life. Can't beat their compactness. Gaffers tape, or photographers tape are a must for bellows repair. Stay away from glues. They eventually crack and leak light again. Just my experience.
Hello! I've loved photography since I was a kid but I've been shooting with digital cameras for the past 20 plus years. I really wanted to shoot with film again so I've bought an Agfa Billy I and Ilford film. It really is a joy. Just wanted to share this! ♥ Have a nice day everyone.
thats a great combo!
@@ribsy Thank you, I think so too! I also really enjoyed your documentary video in which you visited the Ilford company. It gives such interesting insight into how film is made.
You are so right, Ribsy. I use a 6x6 Nettar but recently bought a 6x9 Ikonta which I personally think is the best compromise. The built-in rangefinder is so clear and bright and makes it truly pocketable, as where the Nettar needs an external rangefinder. With an external rangefinder the camera won't go in the case or in my pocket. The quality of the pictures is amazing, I've shot two rolls with it (you only get 8 shots on a roll) and each roll has delivered a Flickr "Explore" award, amazing for a 70 year old camera! Like yours, my rangefinder is uncoupled. I know the Super Ikonta has a coupled rangefinder but it also has part of the mechanism at the end of the lens and I worry it will get knocked out of alignment, I think the uncoupled rangefinder is perfectly good.
built in rangefinder is key!
Thanks, Ribsy. Now I have to find one!!!!
haha you def should
Thank's for the video. I could not agree more. When I was a student my grandpa gave me a Hapo 66 folding 6x6 camera and boy I loved it.
Thanks for watching!
I have the Isolette II and i love it. Perfect for shooting medium format outside while e.g. hiking 😄
yea definitely agree!
I picked up a nice little Ikon Nettar med format online for cheap. No rangefinder though so it does add that extra element , which is one of the reasons I started shooting film (I came to photography as a digital thing). Really enjoying your videos too, and seeing people shooting in familiar places is always good.
thanks for watching
This is the dream medium format camera I have been wanting.
get on it!
@@ribsy working on it. 😎
Great video! Folding cameras are marvels of engineering.
My smallest one is a Konishiroku (Konica) Pearl III, which shoots 6x4.5. It has a coupled rangefinder and an very sharp Hexar 75mm f3.5 lens and I love it.
They are such a marvel!
Another great video. I regularly shoot with my grandfather's Agfa Record II, a 6x9 folder. The negatives are amazing, especially b/w works well with those old lenses. And it's cool to shoot the same camera as he used 70yrs ago. Try the Isolette with Delta 3200. Using the Agfa was my reason the buy a Fuji GS45Pro, a "modern" folder.
That’s the best part - they are so old!
I inherited a Kodak Tourist II and I love it. Took it out for (my) first light in September at Yellowstone. There are DEFINITELY quirks to operating one but I love taking pictures with it and the huge 6x9 negatives are amazing.
very cool!
When I eventually get a Medium Format, this is exactly the type of camera I want.
Better hurry. Prices on these are shooting up.
Definitely ! Jump in
Cool videos, Risby. I tune in every week. I agree about the folders. I have a Zeiss Ikon and a Mamiya 6.
Thanks for watching
I just found one of these agfa isolette cameras in a vintage shop for around 10 dollars, found this video to hear about what I bought and now I'm honestly hyped for getting this working and learning to use it.
(Bought it mostly because it looked awesome and had a little leather case to hang around the neck)
I have two of those. I liked the first one and brought another in case I wanted to shoot B&W AND color, or to compare films, etc.
My 1st medium format camera was a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16 and it was quite a huge step for me from an 35mm SLR I have been so used to because the process was so different. But I liked it. Now I also have a Certo six which doesn't only have a coupled rangefinder but parallax control and I love it. Same for its little sister, the Certo Super Dollina II, which shoots 35mm and is really tiny. Both cams come with a beautiful f2.8 Tessar, 80mm and 50mm respectively. Can strongly recommend all three cameras.
Such great lenses!
Thanks for the video! As a boy, I had a cheap TLR and I’m in the middle of fixing an old Nikon 35mm, but the medium format sounds really interesting!
Yea medium format is a lot of fun
Pretty Isolette! I've been a big user of folding medium format cameras over the years ... From the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta (in 645, 6x6, and 6x9 formats) to the petite and beautiful Balda Baldix 6x6, had a bunch of them, all very enjoyable and produced lovely photographs.
My current one, the one I kept after having all the others, is a Voigtländer Perkeo II - 6x6, probably one of the best build quality of them all, very compact and light, and a superb, coated Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5 lens. Scale focus only, but I have the clip-on Voigtländer rangefinder for when its needed. I also have the Voigtländer Kontour accessory finder for it, which make viewing and framing even with glasses on a breeze.
Scale focusing (that is, focus by estimating the distance) simply takes practice. I've done mostly portraits and close ups with the Perkeo, usually don't carry the rangefinder, and focus via the DoF scale and judging the distance. One can become extremely accurate with practice. This photo was made in a wine tasting room at the Vena Cava winery in Guadalupe Valley of Mexico, April 2021 ... I had HP5 in the camera, rated at EI 320, and set f/4 @ 1/2 second exposure. The distance was about 5'. I stabilized the camera on a table... flic.kr/p/2kZ3syq
I love shooting with this camera ... on that trip, I took this camera and a Polaroid SX-70 (and my iPhone). It was all that was needed. :)
Keep up the good work! I enjoy your videos a lot. G
this is great. the perkeo sounds amazing
Yes sir! I have a Kodak model A (shoots 120 at 6x9) from 1918, love it! Bargain cameras and suprising detail for triplet or doublet lens arrangements on medium format. I repaired the bellows with some acyrlic paint from Amazon, worked a treat. 👌
Oh yes! The older the better 😀
Yess! Love my Isolette III. It's my go to for medium format when I am traveling. Can't beat it.
Yea it’s such a good option
I love my Agfa Isolette iii for all the reasons you outlined. Mine had been refurbished with new bellows so should be good to go for a few years yet!
oh nice!
While not as compact, I love my Fujifilm GS645. Now you have me looking at another camera. Uh, oh. Found your channel whenn researching Neg Lab Pro and enjoy every video of yours I've seen. Subscribed and alerted.
oh yea thats a great folder!
I love my GS645 as well - it would be tough to beat by most any other folder. Mine is actually off to get a CLA - could be its first. ;)
Wonderful video and super images. Agree with your take on folders. I've got 4. A Kodak Retina IIIc that was my dad's (35mm). Last year I picked up three: a Wester Autorol, a Super Fujica-6 (both 6x6), and a Moskva 6x9 (have had a roll developed yet on this0. I have these mostly, as you say, they are super cool cameras, especially the 6x6. Super convenient and portable (they are not Pentax 67) and they take great photos. Can't discount the nostalgia either.
Thanks for the info 😀
Damn...those prints came out nice.
Thanks! yea I think I nailed the color on those
Great work with this camera. Awesome images. I have one, not the same brand, but it was given to me in 1968 and I have shot hundreds of rolls through mine. Keep posting your great work.
Thanks for watching 😀
My first medium format camera was a folding camera from my grandma. Perfect travel camera.
Perfect travel camera indeed!
I used one of these (Zeiss Ikon Nettar) during my conscript year because it fit the vest perfectly and could take the freezing cold and beating. Plenty of rolls of HP5 and Portra 160 went through it. Metered at sunny16 of course, no light meters ;)
Oh wow! That’s pretty cool
Great video. I have a few medium format folders and love them. Mine are all rangefinders but there isn't a huge size difference between the RF models and the viewfinder models. I have the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 532/16 (6X6 format), the Mamiya-6-V folder from the 1950s (takes 6X6 or 6X4.5), and the Super Fujica Six (maybe one of the best MF folders ever made, in my opinion). Love them all. I also love the 35mm folders, like the Kodak Retinas and the Voigtlander Vitessa (with the "barn doors"). Very tiny cameras and easily carried in a pocket.
tiny and capable!
Hello Ribsy, I'm so glad that I came across your site as I've just bought an Isolette III and I'm finding it a steep and intimidating learning curve. I'm an experienced digital photographer but I haven't shot analogue for nearly 50 years. I used a twin lens Mamiya for a couple of years in the 1970s but fell out of love with the square format and changed to 35mm.
My dream would be an 18x24 plate camera but that's never going to happen in terms of cost and I'm far too old and unfit to cart around a heavy camera and tripod.
Like you, I fell in love with the look and romance of it and I am determined to use it for "special" shots but my workhorse will always be my Leica Q which is, for me, the perfect camera. A steep initial expenditure, I'll grant you, but after that digital is cheap. On a full day of serious shooting I might make 400 exposures and there is no way I could afford to do that with film.
18x24 plate sounds cool!
Dude your videos are fricken awesome! You definitely played a big part in me buying my Yashica D. I swear if you keep up this quality the sky is the limit. I was using your "darkroom printing AT HOME" video while choosing chemicals the other day. Can't wait to see you get the recognition you and your channel deserve
PS 4th photo at 5:03 was my favourite, the contrast is incredible and the juxtaposition of serene water against the busy town is perfect
Thank you for the comment!
I have the Isolette II and love it. I reskined the leatherette and installed new bellows which will keep the camera shooting for anothef 50years.
Sounds amazing
I've just seen one of these that I'm very tempted to buy and this video has told me everything I need to know about it. In particular, that it is an uncoupled rangefinder and it has a great quality lens. Thank you! As for the bellows test, just look through the back of the camera in a darkened room and shine a bright torch on the outside of the bellows. It will save a film. My Kodak No2 Autographic Brownie is riddled with holes!
Enjoy
I agree.
My Agfa Isolette III has two problems though. The leaf shutter opens every time I cock the shutter, so I have to remember to cover the lens when I do that. My shutter button is very tight and easily causes camera shake, so I prefer to either use a cable release attached to the shutter (not to the shutter button) or just pull sideways on the arm that connects the shutter button with the shutter underneath the bellows. Both ways I allow me to also do double exposures, if I want to.
Ahh gotcha. At least it still works!
Very timely video. Thank you. I recently picked up a nice Agfa Isollet, a Zeiss Netter, and an Olympus 6 all folding cameras. I especially like the Olympus because it came with 6x4.5 internal frame mask.
Yea can’t really go wrong!
Folding cameras are a great way to shoot medium format. inexpensive and excellent quality of image for such a small lens. I like them so much .I own 4 6x6 and one 6x9 . Take a small table top tripod and a pocket full of film and a folding camera and you can go anywhere and get amazing photos.
yea def - its a great way to start, and honestly often its the best choice
Yeah Ribsy! Good to hear from you. Glad you discovered the folding wonder camera. Nice images.
Yea! I’ve had this one for a minute - I love it
Gorgeous prints, dude!
thank you!
Love my 1959 Mockva-5 6x9 (Soviet clone of the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta.) Very sharp and contrasty lens for the period. Coupled rangefinder makes it.
Great video as usual!
sounds very cool
Thanks Risby. I have a couple of Agfa Isolettes. You have inspried me to get out and use them. cheers geoff
Yea def go out and shoot!
Ok I've only just come on this. I had a Mamiya C33 which I gave to my daughter (but she doesn't use it so I may reclaim it) which is 6x6 and chunky, converted to a Brownie 620 which does lovely 6x9 negs but is a bit limiting and now have just bought (in a jumble sale) a 1934 Lumière folder (also 6x9) which I'm looking forward to putting some film through (when the weather cools enough for developing). I love 6x9, poor man's large format!
I have a few folding cameras, a couple from Germany and a 6x9 from France. I love how compact they are. It strikes me as weird that so many will pay $4500 and up for a Mamiya 7 because its a compact medium format camera. These folders are even more compact and I have picked up a few on Ebay for around $50. Even the top of the line, most sought after folders are around $300. The craftsmanship is amazing on most of these folders.
Yea it is weird how big of a price difference
Dope! I can’t wait to jump in!
Yea!
I have a Zeiss Ikon Nettar (518/16) and I must say, for the price it's really good. Great video!
such a good price for the value
my favorite medium format camera is my Zeiss Ikonta-A. it's an early copy (estimated 1932) of the first 6x4.5 (on 120) camera in the world. since film back then didn't have 6x4.5 markings, there are two red windows to split the 6x9 spacing. It folds down to about the size of the average 35mm point and shoot.
yea the portability is key
I use Agfa jsorated 1936 to shoot a picture. This camara is older and some of leather bellow is broken and adjust system in lens is stuck. When i got after set to CLA and take to some shoot in 4.5x6 it's have a great photos. very sharp and and feel good for old aponta uncoatind lens. And this this is the lightweight to carry and eazy to put in my pocket after usd.
So this is a good camara for someone who don't want to carry some a bit more weight camera and this easy to put into pocket after usd
Totally agree! Perfectly lightweight
Nice video. The folding 6x6cm camera shooting 120 roll film was a creature of the 1950s. It's design weakness is that if the front (lens) of the camera is hit hard when open, it can bend or break the struts which hold the lens aligned with the film. After that issue, the image will not focus properly on the film and any repair is far more costly than replacing the camera. I happen to have an Isolette III exactly like his here. I paid $15 at a swap meet with a case. (Note that these cameras have no lugs for a neck strap, so if you want to use a neck strap, you have to use a case.) Mine had sluggish focusing and stiff lens focus. I cleaned and relubed the lens focus threads. I popped the top deck and removed a ton of old grease filled with beach sand (yuck). I discovered light leaks in the bellows from pinholes, lots of pin holes. I tried sealing the holes with "stuff", and that worked, sort of. One day I discovered an old, trashed Ansco folder in a photo shop junk bin for $5. Ansco was owned by Agfa, and Agfa relabeled their cameras as "Ansco:" for sale in the US. The labelled Agfa Isolette III uses a cheap, plastic bellows. When sold as an Ansco, they used a high quality leather bellows, which was perfect on my junker. One bellows swap later, and my Isolette was in "like new" condition. Frankly, the Isolette III was not a high water mark in quality camera production. The shutter was the slower, cheaper model put on low cost cameras to save money. The lens is a triplet (3 element), which was even then being phased out in favor of the better Zeiss Tessar (4 element) lens or one of its many copies. However, the Apotar, with a longer 85mm focal length, and its slow 4.5 aperture, does a great job if, as he says here, you stick to small f-stops (8.0 -16) and keep your subject out there over 15 feet or so. If you want to go "all in" for a camera like this, look for an Afga Super Isolette or a similar Voigtlander model. Thereafter, there is the Zeiss Super Ikonta B or one of the several versions of Mamiya 6 (the newer the better). These have all of the features and highest quality lenses, but except for the Mamiya, they demand a collector's price, many times as much as an Isolette which can deliver nearly the same photo.
Yea I’ve been eyeing the super models but those have gotten pricey 😅
With Zone focus cameras I actually use the handheld range finder which can also be mounted in the cold shoe if the camera has one. I have a Kodak Pony 135 which is a 35 mm camera what is strictly Zone Focus. If you're taking a photo of something close up accident awkward spot. I would recommend taking a few pictures just in case you must focus on one of them. I missed focus on some flowers that were close to the ground and it kind of looked like an abstract painting. That was kind of a happy accident. The other photo of the flowers wearing Focus.
yea focus isn't everything 😀
great video. Have such a piece somewhere in the closet, have to put it out again now.
Yup! Def should
Ne ho comprata una dopo aver visto il video... fantastica! Grazie
😃
I have around half a dozen different folding medium format cameras. My favorite is the Olympus Chrome Six RFIIb with its f2.8 lens. My second favorite is quite a bit larger but gives a spectacular film format: A Kodak 3-A (despite over 100 years old with a coupled rangefinder), remodeled to accept 120 film and thus providing extralarge 6x14cm negatives.
They are so good!
Justo mañana ensayaré esta cámara. Has creado un nuevo seguidor. Un gran abrazo desde Suramérica!
Gracias! Bienvenidos
Folding cameras are beautiful. I've always wanted an Agfa Super Isolette but not with that kind of expensive price. I ended up getting a Mamiya Six Mod.V, it's a beautiful piece of engineering
yea the super isolette is amazing
I love folders! I have a Fujika6, a Mamiya Six folder and a Bessa I that shoots 6X9. A lot of fun to shoot.
Niceeee
I have an old Zeiss Ikon 520/16 from 1937, it is the low end model from the line with a max shutter speed of 125. There are higher end versions of this one that can go up to 1/500 but harder to find and more expensive.
It's a 6x6, with Novar lens and aperture can go from f4.5 to f32. Shorter distance is 1.2m
The pictures are great, with a kind of twirl/round bokeh but otherwise really sharp.
I love this camera. For the moment I used it mostly with XP2 since it's a film that can be really forgiving and can handle technically from iso 50 to 800.
Yea the bokeh can be really interesting
I love folders. I have a Bessa 6x9 and the Ansco version of the Agfa Isolette III.
Niceeeeee
@@ribsy I love your channel, by the way great info!
I bought an Isolette II on eBay. It's a gamble. I did take a bright flashlight into a pitch black room, opened the back of the camera, and shined the light all around the bellows. Seems to be light tight. Now I need to load it with film and try it out.
good luck
Love my super ikonta. Beautiful cameras. Work of art in themselves.
Yea those are the cream of the crop
I agree with your assessment of the beauty of these folding cameras. I shoot with a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 517/2 (6x9) and it is in my top two or three favorite cameras to shoot. I do put a range finder in the cold shoe to aid in the zone focusing. It is a bit large for hiking so I bring a small 35mm camera for this but I am considering a 6x4.5 folder for hiking outings.
Yea a separate rangefinder works well
I got the old Isolette I from my dad. It works. Not super sharp, but a good camera from 1937.
Nice!
Folders are banger. When I bought my 6x9 I was so hyped when I saw the negs.
Yea those giant negatives are pretty amazing
Have an old Certo Dollina folding camera, beautiful thing
Sounds lovely
Thanks for this great primer to folding medium format cameras. I'm using, and highly recommend, a super ikonta 532/16 (6x6) with the 2.8 8cm Tessar lens, and in mid f-stop it's as good my Hasselblad. I'm also using a Kodak Medalist ii 6x9 converted to 120 format. These produce images well beyond my 35mm negatives, including my M with 50 sonnar. Thanks again for opening up this option to many people.
oh yea the super ikonta is legit!
Great Vid Ribsy :) I quite recently bought my first folder, was very lucky getting hold of a Konica Pearl 4 just serviced for a decent price. They are quite rare from what i have heard and finding one just serviced and in such great condition was awesome. Just like you i kind of fell in love with it right away, just holding it is fun fun fun! I only shot Rolleiflex before that when it comes to medium format, so having such a portable option with that much "power" felt almost unreal :) mine is 645 so getting double the amount of frames as well is also a treat to be honest.
I have only shot 3 rolls through mine as of now, tried 2 rolls of Kodak gold which was a wonderful combo, so happy with it. And then a ilford HP5 as well also looked so vintage in the final result, love it.
I have a rangefinder in mine but i got told by the guy i bought it from that i wanted to compensate a bit with the shutter speed to get sharper images. But i havent been that bothered with it, the images i got was acceptable for me at least :) Sure it was not pinsharp but just like your camera stopping down made the images really sharp, especially the landscapes i took :)
Its now one of my favorite cameras for sure.
Have a great time with yours!
/Martin the Swede.
Ps, you got a new subscriber ;)
tak Martin the swede!
Man, that's the exact camera model I took my first picture with!
Oh very cool!
@@ribsy Hope my parents can dig it out somewhere after 35 years. At an age of 7 I certainly didn't have an idea of how capable the thing was. Have to say though, I became hooked with SLRs soon after - just made so much more sense to me to see what the film plane was seeing.
Definitely with your view on folding cameras. I have a Zeiss Ikon Nettar and it is a great camera. Folding cameras make you work a bit harder for the image but the quality is worth it.
Yea the manual process is worth it!
bro. i had my gas fulfilled now i see this video drop...
Hahaha at least this one is cheap
I love folders. I have a few Nettars 6x6 and a 6x9 Agfa. Also have a folding Kodak Retina in 35mm.
yea i want to get more!
Great work! Love this! Love your work and personality. Looking forward to more!
Thanks for watching
Nice video, I've just bought a mint condition Zeiss Ikon Nettar according to the serial number it was made between 1935-36 and got it for £30.
Wow amazing!
Greetings from Acapulco, Perú, new to Ribsy. Glad to find another so photographically obsessed. I agree with your assessment on the portability of folders. I long for Kodak 616 film. I am always fascinated by where in the world youtubers post from. A window into another's reality. On a selfish note, may I suggest you talk a bit about the locale you find yourself in? The name of the village (I may have missed you saying), it's history maybe and where you ate while there? A voice-over while viewing your photos? It's a picturesque place. A good presentation Ribsy.
Thanks for watching!
I started MF with an Agfa Isolette II with a Solinar F/3.5 75mm lens. I have added a Mamiya C3 with a few lenses. You can guess which one I take hiking ;)
Haha yup
Hello from Cornwall. great video
Ribsy you have to check out the Agfa Record III which basically is a 6x9 version from the same era. My Record III came with the TOTL Solinar lens which eqals the most expensive Voigtlander and Zeiss lenses. Lovely camera.
Sounds like a great deal!
Thank you for this, I've picked up a Horseman 985 Rangefinder with most of the bells and bits it came with the 120/220 film back and sheet film back and 90mm lens too. I've taken pictures and have not had the time to develop yet..
Sounds like a great package
Rigsby, I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for a good job on covering this camera in depth. I have been thinking of getting a vintage folding camera and your video convinced me to go online and purchase an Agfa Isolette III like the one featured in your video. I am excited and can't wait to get it. (It's coming from Korea to California where I am located) and run some film through it. I am curious what your film stock was for your images. The images look great!
Hope you got one and are enjoying it
My choice for thse? The Fujica Super Six, with the Konica Pearl IV a close 2nd (better finder). Both have frame counting and stops, coupled rangefinders, and 75mm F3.5 lenses. The Pearl is wayyy up there in price now due to the amazing finder, so I sold mine for the Fujica and pocketed the cash. Great vid Ribsy!
Oh I’m gonna have to look these up!
@@ribsy IMO it really does help with the usability when you don't need to worry about frame stops and little red windows;)
Thanks for this video! Always wanted to dip into medium format but seemed too heavy and expensive (both cameras and film). My only fear of old folders were the bellows but you have addressed that one so no excuses left!
na def get into it!
Give Fuji GA645 pro a shot, I had it for several rolls and it was fantastic
Damn good video...I sure love all my folding cameras, and that Solinar lens is equal to any Tessar lens!
thanks for watching
Nice! The plaubel makina 67 is top of my want list… loving my Ikoflex atm though, it’s a joy to use.
oh yea that one is a beast haha
I have a Moskva V 6x9 and a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta (526 I think). And I almost pick the Super Ikonta out every time. Just cannot deny the love for folders (I have Kodak Retina IIIc as well, for 35mm format)
Very cool!
I had a Voigtlander Perkeo 1 with colour Skopar lens ! But Voigtlander Bessa 2 is the best 6/9 camera with Heliar lens which is used in Linhof Technika cameras.
Yea that camera is a beast!
I have a Perkeo I with the Vaskar and it’s honestly given me really good color results! I’d love to figure out a way to upgrade the shutter, though, I have the basic one that does 1/30-1/200 but I think it’ll be perfect with Gold.
Just a quick warning on the Agfa isolettes, the grease that they used tends to age into a green concrete and freeze up the front focusing element. This can be remedied with 90% isopropyl alcohol and mild heat, it should start to seep out, then you can clean it. Also, be sure to check the bellows, the isolettes were made from pretty shoddy material. All this said, I have an isolette I that needed a bunch of TLC, but it is a great, portable camera. Just a quick buyer beware if you're picking up on Ebay, it may need some work.
Yea def gotta be careful
@@ribsy Guess I buried the lead, so to speak! Great video as usual Ribsy! There are some really amazing folders out there, that are capable of producing great results. I've had my eye out for a Voightlander Perkeo in decent condition for a bit now. They are underappreciated, and excellent for people just getting into photography or medium format! Thanks for continuing to make great work with good info for all us photo nuts.
Love my Zeiss Ikon Nettar, though I'd say anyone getting into 120 folders should definitely be comfortable shooting 35mm on manual first as the learning curve is steep! Separate optical rangefinders or even laser measurers for DIY/construction can be really helpful in nailing focusing distances too! I have a rangefinder in the flash cold shoe on mine and it's a godsend for anything closer than infinity focus!
I had never considered a laser measurer, have struggled to find an affordable range finder and maybe that's the answer - thanks for that!
i disagree. i think it is quite reasonable to learn on one of these. zone focusing isn't as hard when you are taking your time ... aka not candid street photography
@@joaomor10 yeah, I saw it on a channel about 1st AC focus pullers in the movie industry. I think you can get a DeWalt one for about £30 in the UK so maybe $35 USD that'll do out to 16m (~50ft). They do a much pricier one that'll do out to 30m (100ft) but anything more than 16m you're probably best just going to infinity anyway.
@@ribsy if that beginner is really interested in the technical processes of how film cameras work, maybe with an interest in getting into large format photography in the future or if they've shot DSLRs fully manual a lot and understand that process well, then yeah a 120 folder could well be a great option as a first film camera. If that beginner, as most beginner film photographers are, doesn't know a lot about cameras and is much more interested in just creating the images themselves than they are in how the camera actually does this, they're probably going to find a folder incredibly frustrating compared to a good 35mm SLR with a meter. If you're used to autofocus and auto exposure, it's a *lot* easier to learn all the processes of shooting fully manual if you've got real-time feedback from the camera's focus screen and meter telling you if you're in focus and if your exposure is correct or not, rather than shooting a whole roll of mistakes because they misunderstood something and only finding that out when the film's developed!
Great video presentation. I have an Agfa Isolette and love it, but I think the Kodak 66 Models 2 and 3 are even better (I have one of each). I shoot B&W and get amazing quality with all of those early folders.
Yea those sound pretty legit
I recently found and restored a Kodak Jr Six-16. gotta be from the 20s. it uses 616 film (easily adaptable to 120) and takes insane ~6x10cm negatives.
I actually put a roll of 35mm through it for some extremely wide panoramic images
Oh yea that sounds like fun!
I mean, technically, you could draw a size distinction between your 6x6 folding camera and a smaller 6x4.5 folding camera. I have a larger 6x9 folding camera and, while it's relatively light and compact, I would not really consider just putting it in my shorts pocket or jacket pocket. That would not be comfortable.
I have a 6x9 as well and it def fits in the same pockets! Haha
Another nice video Sir, i have two Zeiss ikon nettar’s a 58 year old 6x6 and a 87 year old 6x9. I love them so cheap one was £5.00 the other £15.00
That’s a good price!
You should go for the one with the Solinar instead of the Apotar. The first one is the much better performer overall. Also, as a beginner do not go for a folder as your very first camera because of the lacking parallax correction. This can cause a lot of frustration after long shootig-day. Just take a Rolleicord instead. These're also cheap and're much easier to handle. If you get more confidence after a certain time using vintage gear then you definitely should try out an folder. They're really great cameras for their size.
I disagree I think this would be perfect for a beginner. The parallax isn’t even a huge deal - that can be learned after a roll
Great video. Picked up an Olympus folder a few years ago on eBay, but the lens had significant haze/fungus. May have to try an Isolette some day, very classy looking and solid imager. 👍😎
yea they are super classy!
For those considering buying a folder, most if not all will have issues with the bellows due to just how old they are. Most will have light leaks and/or cracked bellows. This will generally cost you $300+ to repair so make sure you are ready for this cost when buying one
That sounds way too expensive. PPP did it for far less
If your folder doesn’t have a rangefinder you can always use a separate rangefinder that fits in the flash shoe.
correct!
Bought an RB67 to do street portraits and I REALLY overestimated how strong my 23 year old back is. So I was looking at folding cameras and was looking at some of the voightlander bessas with the rangefinder and they are so expensive. For the price this camera is extremely enticing
Hahah yea that added weight isn’t always necessary
And I own the rarest of all: the Isolette III solinar version 75mm f3.5 ....super sharp.
Sounds legit!