View allAll Photos Tagged Optima
Made in Germany , 1974-1977 . For 110 cartridge . Automatic exposure control , manual focusing by rotating the dial on top . Quick film transport by shortening and lengthening the camera . Socket for magicube flash .
(picture transferred from "Still Cameras" )
Agfa Optima 500 Sensor
Velvia 100
Epson V750 Pro
I was surprised by the results of this little camera with auto aperture/shutter speed, controlled by a sensor that should use a mercury cell but I replaced it by an alkaline without adverse results, and out of date film.
Here is the camera I've used
Made in Germany , 1978-1981 . Automatic cameras for 35mm film . Different lenses, and different top shutter speed : 1/300 for the 335 , and 1/500 for the 535 .
461-013 na vozu 13154 ,,Optima express" Edirne - Villach prelazi Novi železnički most
eng: 461-013 on tgrain 13154 ,,Optima express" Edirne - Villach crossing New railway bridge in Belgrade
Belgrade, Serbia
At first glance, this appears to be just another typical AGFA 35mm from the late 50s/early 60s - ie, solidly-built but maybe a bit ugly courtesy of that familiarly-tapered and bulbous top cover, beloved of so many West German camera makers in that era.
However, there's more to this camera than meets the eye. This is an original AGFA Optima of 1959, complete with F3.9 Color-Apotar S triplet lens and Compur Special leaf shutter. So what's so unusual about it, you ask? Well, folks, this was the World's First Fully Automatic 35mm Camera, that's what's so special!
It's a fairly heavy lump of metal at 750 gms and cost around 30 Pnds here in Oz - quite a lot back then for the first 'Point And Shoot'. (In the USA, it sold for just under $80.) For around that same money, you could get an Aires Viscount, Minolta A5, Voigtlander Vito B or Yashica Minister - none of which offered automatic exposure, of course, but I thought you'd like to get some cost comparisons with manual stuff of the era. The Optima's selenium photo-electric cell gave you literally the 'Green Light' in the viewfinder when its shutter speed and lens aperture control reckoned things were OK, and you then just hit the shutter button.
A red light naturally meant too little light was available, but in extreme situations maybe there was too much light - such as here in a hot Perth summer, at the beach. All that reflected glare could occasionally be too much for the Optima's combination of f3.9 - f16 apertures and shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/250th sec, even for the relatively slow films of the day. However, for most situations the Optima could Do The Job.
OK, so although this was an automatic camera and you didn't need to know about its lens aperture and shutter speed range, that's not quite the whole story. You did still have to handraulically set its 3-position zone focussing and also reset its metering gizmology by holding downwards that large lever at top right, after advancing the film and setting the shutter via a conventional thumb-crank lever at the rear. The shutter release is via that slightly recessed button on the top cover, outboard from the accessory shoe.
This sequence maybe sounds like some kind of joke today, but back in 1959 it was indeed a Great Leap Forward, especially for colour slides and prints - because it really WORKED!! You actually got very nicely exposed photos over a wide range of situations, without having to know a single thing about those confusing F stops or shutter speeds. Back in those days, colour film was both expensive and unforgiving in latitude, but here was a camera that could do all the dirty work for you. AGFA sold millions of 'em, and the age of 'Press Here, Stupid' had finally arrived. However, AGFA were smart enough to make their Optima look no different from their conventional non-automatic Silettes of that era, so other folks wouldn't take you for a photographic dumbo - even if you really were ...
This first Optima model was soon updated, removing the need for that awkward separate exposure-setting lever. Now everything was done by the single advancing of the film wind/shutter lever and depressing the shutter button, with the same green/red light warning system Of course, within a few years Olympus brought out their 'Olympus Trip 35' which did more or less the same sort of job, but at a cheaper price and half the weight - and with a lot of advertising support from the likes of renowned fashion photog David Bailey et al. But give AGFA their due - they were the first cab on the PHS rank. Many other Optima models followed, both in 35mm and Rapid format, but all with that consistent theme of automatic exposure. Amazing to think this is all well over 50 years ago now!
Agfa Optima Sensor compact 35mm camera
Specifications:-
Type: 35mm compact camera
Size: 104 mm x 68 mm x 54 mm (W x H x D)
Image Format: 24 x 36 mm (W x H)
Lens: Agfa Solitar, 40 mm f/2.8
Diaphragm: Automatic f/2.8 to f/22
Focusing: Manual scale pictograms on top of the focus ring/ meter/feet scale on bottom, focusing 3ft/1.09m - infinity
Shutter Speeds: 1/500 second - 15 seconds
Viewfinder: Large direct finder with parallax marks for near focus
Film Loading: Manual
Film Transport: Manual single stroke lever, also used to rewind film when the 'R' button is depressed and turned
Film Speeds: 25 ASA/15 DIN to 500 ASA/28 DIN, selected on a ring around the lens
Flash Contact: Hot shoe, aperture selected manually with flash
Cable Release Socket: On left hand side of the camera body
Tripod Socket: 1/4 in. on right hand side which doubles as camera strap attachment
Battery: 3 V625U batteries, located by opening the camera back
from Leisure Arts "Extra-Special Doilies"
by Mary Werst
Ilse-Wolle Optima 10 Crochet Cotton
color: 31 Peach
12 inches
using a size 7 (1.65mm) steel crochet hook
Made in Germany , 1960 - ... . 35mm viewfinder camera with programmed auto-exposure control .
I have 2 models in my collection ; this one has a small lever with a flash symbol to the right of the lens plate (seen from the front) , the second one (to be seen elsewhere in this photostream, and of which a detail on the lower right) does not have one . Another minor difference is the 'filling-in' of the heads for the close-up symbol . According to the serial number in the flash socket on top of the camera , the one with the lever is the older one . A Flickr and Google search for this camera yielded mainly pictures of the model without the lever .
Agfa made some very fine cameras. Like Kodak, the reason was to help you purchase and process more of their film. This Optima is not spectacular on any level, except in its application of chromed parts, but I felt deserved a place on my display shelves.
NOTE: The camera does not have a hot shoe. The Tully flash unit on top of the camera came with the purchase. It needs to have a PC cord to the front of the camera. None was provided. So, there must have been some extra shoe with a cord at one time to take flash photos.
This little cutie is tha Agfa Optima Parat, a scale-focus half-frame camera from Agfa featuring an excellent f2.8 Solinar lens in Compur shutter. It features metered auto-exposure with manual aperture control for use with flash, plus B. With a top metered film speed of ASA 200, film choice is a bit limited, but it should be capable of excellent results. The back removes for film loading, and with all-metal construction of the body, this diminutive camera is surprisingly hefty. The finish of the metal is absolutely gorgeous, much better than the zinc alloy used on earlier Agfa cameras.
Made in Germany , 1976 - ... . Automatic camera for 35mm film .
Variations in text on battery compartment .
I picked this up at an auction at the Photographic Preservation Society meeting in SA. It appealed to me - the 1960's feel, with the mirror coating on the viewfinder, worked in its favor. It still seems to work, although I'm not confident that the shutter is still accurate, so I'm running a roll through to see what happens.