An Isolette, you say?

Over the years, I’ve used and handled a lot of Agfa Isolette folding cameras.  It’s been at least 20 years since I used my first one, and while these scale-focus cameras may not be to everyone’s taste, the 6x6 negatives on 120 film, made with a camera that can fit in a jacket pocket are something to be appreciated.  However, the problem with many of the Agfa/Ansco folding cameras is that the focus helical used a grease that in time, has solidified into something that is more like concrete.  In some, I have seen the focus ring turn, but with no connection with the helical.  On top of that, the paper bellows may have pinholes. So, yes  these cameras can have problems.

But not this one.

My friend Louise in New Hampshire sent me this lovely Agfa Isolette that looks as new as can possibly be.  It’s been CLA’d and checked over, and I have never seen an Isolette as nice as this.  I’m thankful that people think highly enough of me to send me such gifts.  Knowing that the camera was ready to use, I loaded a roll of expired Fuji Acros 100 film, and over the course of a few days, shot the 12 exposures.  

This is a fun camera to use.  It has B, 1/25, 1/50 and 1/200  sec shutter speeds with an Agnar 85mm f/4.5 lens. The smallest aperture is f/32! There is a PC flash sync port on the Vario Shutter, and the scale focus goes from about 1 meter to infinity.  You need to cock the shutter for each use, so it can make multiple exposures on a frame, if you so desire.  

In use, it’s pretty simple - frame your subject, cock the shutter, and press the shutter button, but only after you have figured out your exposure and distance.  I’m pretty good at estimating distances, as well as using sunny-16, so  I don’t need a rangefinder or a meter.  However, I dug out a shoe-mount rangefinder from my boxes of stuff, and it would be useful for anything under infinity.  So, I’ll try that out for the next roll.

This Isolette 1 was made from 1951-1958, so it’s a camera that is at least as old as I am.  I think that it’s probably in better shape than I am, too.  Maybe I can get a CLA for myself!

There is plenty of information about the Isolette series of cameras, so I suggest that you do some research before you go and buy one, because not all Isolette models have the same specifications.  Camera-wiki has a good bit of information.

The following images were shot on expired Fuji Acros 100, developed in Flic Film's Black White and Green developer for 12 min.  Scanned on my Epson V700.

Thank you, Louise!

Barns at Bailey Mountain Preserve, Mars Hill, NC

The I-240 bridge over the French Broad River

Rail trestle over the French Broad River - note the guy walking on it!

Nothing like being able to have a beer at 3 pm with friends at Hi-Wire Brewing in the River Arts District of Asheville

Falling Back Into Love With 6x7

A t-shirt that I have had for several years.

Almost 20 years ago, my mentor, Bill Brudon, gave me his Pentax 6x7 kit. He said it was too heavy for him to use at his age (80-ish), and as I was in my 40s, I thought the camera was just fine. At the time I was all over the place with my photography, trying to figure out what I really liked, and working through all those wonderful cameras that came my way. The 6x7 was large and heavy, and I lugged that camera around in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, thinking that I had the perfect camera for landscape photography.  I took it on a trip to New Mexico in 2003,  and took a few good photographs with it.

After a decade,  I hadn't used it as much as I thought I would, and lured over by the much lighter Rolleiflex and Hasselblad to a 6x6 format, the old 67 didn't see much use. At some point, and I don't remember when, the 6x7 had a mechanical problem, so I ended up selling all the 6x7 stuff I had. In 2014, I was selling the photographic gear of a deceased photographer, and ended up buying a Pentax 6x7 that lacked the battery cover (easily remedied with tape and cardstock).  The 90mm normal lens was all I had for some time, then I bought the 135mm macro lens for a lot less than I would have paid a decade earlier.  Over a year ago, I picked up a box of Pentax 6x7 accessories at a thrift shop for $10. Among the items were two Pentax close-up diopters for the 6x7, which obviously sell for a lot more.  This spring, I purchased the 55mm SMC Takumar lens - which is just what I needed to do landscape photography.  Now that I'm in the Appalachians, I know that the 55mm lens and the 90mm will be used quite a lot.  With the 10 negatives/roll of 120, I'll be more selective in my shots compared to using 35mm.  Yes, using a camera like the 6x7 does slow down my photography, and that's probably a good thing.

To be honest, the Pentax 6x7 is a beast.  It's a bit ungainly, but not as much as a Mamiya RB67.  It's weighty (5 lb 6 oz), and at 63, I know that it's not the camera that I'll take on a hike in the woods.  However, the negative size is perfect, and I am finding so many interesting things to shoot here in NC.  It's all about the negative, though, and the 6x7cm negative has a lot to offer. I'll never be a large format shooter - it's just not my thing.  A Fuji 6x9 "Texas Leica" has some appeal to me, but the Pentax 6x7 has great lenses from wide to telephoto, and the SLR has many advantages over a 6x9 rangefinder camera. Not that I don't love the 6x9 format - I do, but 6x7 is really nice, too. For close-ups and macro work, the 6x7 excels, and somewhere in my files I have transparencies of that early work that I did.  I just did a bit of a look through my negatives from 2003, and here's one from the Guadeloupe Mountains near Carlsbad, NM.

Nothing spectacular, but proof I was there, I guess.

At this point, I'll be selling some items to acquire some Pentax 6x7 accessories -- a waist-level viewfinder, for one. Low-angle shots really require one.  I used to have the 200mm lens, which is great for portraits, so I just purchased one on eBay. I already have a lot of 35mm Nikon gear, so all of my Minolta SLR gear will be on the auction block soon.

From 2002, UM Peony Garden, Fuji Superia

The Pentax 6x7 is definitely a camera that is well-suited for use with a tripod.  It makes it much easier to compose, and then use the mirror-lockup to not have to worry about mirror-slap vibration affecting the sharpness of the image.  I used to have that wood-handled grip, too, but I don't think I'll bother with finding one.   I look forward to spending more time with my Pentax 6x7 and getting back into the groove of using it regularly.

Recent 6x7 work:

Fomapan 100

Fomapan 100

Fuji Acros 100

Fuji Acros 100

Panatomic-X