Shadows and steam with an Optima Sensor
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2026 3:10 am
Point & shoot or scale focus? It's an Agfa Optima Sensor, the second one I've acquired for not much, requiring just a wee bit of TLC to get the shutter working. Humungous viewfinder, decent lens just plain cool looking. One of the lesser features of the camera is the sound the shutter makes (whether or not it actually fires) - it's like a sneeze.
To test the camera was working properly, I loaded up a roll of bulk rolled Lucky SHD100. I'm quite enjoying this film - it's on a clear base that dries extremely flat. Seems to go well in PC-TEA, Rodinal and 510-Pyro, though the best results seem to be with PC-TEA. The meter on the little Agfa seems to be pretty good, coping well with these shadowy shots.
Another black beauty was stationed at the railway station:
The lens is pretty good up close too:
And a few more from the roll:
The library has not long re-opened following extensive earthquake strengthening.
These are fun little camera with really distinctive styling and one of the biggest viewfinders you can get in 35mm. The rangefinder version (1535) goes for silly money, but I think this version or the prevision revision (535 or 1035) are the sweet spot.
Details: Lucky SHD100 (bulk), PC-TEA 1+50 for 12 minutes at 20c.
To test the camera was working properly, I loaded up a roll of bulk rolled Lucky SHD100. I'm quite enjoying this film - it's on a clear base that dries extremely flat. Seems to go well in PC-TEA, Rodinal and 510-Pyro, though the best results seem to be with PC-TEA. The meter on the little Agfa seems to be pretty good, coping well with these shadowy shots.
Another black beauty was stationed at the railway station:
The lens is pretty good up close too:
And a few more from the roll:
The library has not long re-opened following extensive earthquake strengthening.
These are fun little camera with really distinctive styling and one of the biggest viewfinders you can get in 35mm. The rangefinder version (1535) goes for silly money, but I think this version or the prevision revision (535 or 1035) are the sweet spot.
Details: Lucky SHD100 (bulk), PC-TEA 1+50 for 12 minutes at 20c.