Camera Talk

After 6 years of getting a badly beaten Agfa Automatic 66 at bargain price, finally got to shoot the camera in manual mode. The automatic exposure was not fixable, because the galvanometer was kaputt, and no replacement could be found or improvised. But manual mode is not too bad, and the Solinar lens delivers.



A few from my usual subject, fishing boats in Buceo harbor.







Film was 400TX in home-brewed D76 1:1.

Nice! Have never seen one of those. Glad it's still a worthy shooter in manual. Nicely done!

Thanks Scott! The camera is similar to the more common Super-Isolette, both cameras share a lot of parts, including the lens. However, the Automatic 66 is larger and heavier than the S-I. The Solinar lenses in both are some of the nicest Tessar-type glass that I have ever used.

Nice!

Super sharp too it seems. It'd be fun to try some slow speed, super fine grain film in it.

P C Headland wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 26, 2025 4:55 am

Nice!

Super sharp too it seems. It'd be fun to try some slow speed, super fine grain film in it.

Indeed, good idea for next supply of 120 film. Currently I have only 400TX, which is sharper than I expected but no match for slow, fine grain films such as PanF+ or 100 Tmax.

In the product lineup, does the Agfa Automatic 66 sit above the Super Isolette?

I agree that the Solinar really performs well here. I'm looking forward to retirement so I can spend less time doing things that I don't like (Excel, Outlook, etc.) and more things that I do like (photography).

IMHO the Automatic 66 and Super-Isolette share so many crucial parts, among them lens, bellows, film transport, and RF mechanism….both are virtually the same thing when operated manually. The Automatic 66 is larger and a bit heavier, and the shutter goes only to 1/300 instead of the 1/500 in the Super-Isolette. No big issues to make a difference.

Mike, hope that you can retire soon and enjoy it, doing more of the things you like best!