joris_van_looveren Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 I recently bought an Agfa Isola medium-format camera in fine conditionat a flea market. It has an Agfa Agnar 75f6.3 lens and Singlo-2shutter. The first roll I tried (APX 100) was seriously underexposedso I threw it away, but what was on the roll seemed to look promising,so I will try a few more rolls. Does anybody have an idea of thequality of the lens and resulting enlargements? (I currently only haveexperience with 35mm.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj_bignell Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 The Agnar is the lowest-end lens from Agfa, but it's not that bad. Both my Ventura 66 and Ventura 69 folders (Isolettes) have Agnar lenses, and I don't have any complaints. I usually shoot HP5+, but I did run a roll of 400VC through once; it looked pretty nice. I've never had enlargments past 5x5 proofs, though. BJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_richert Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 If the lens is clean they will shoot surprisingly well. Most of these len's suffer from haze on the elements. Open up the back select "B" and aim the camera at a light source check to see if it's clean. I have had very good luck on a few images up to 14x14 but most look very good at 10x10. Check out some of my AGFA Images at http://davidrichert.com/AGFA%20Manuals/agfa1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elek Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 As the others said, the Agnar was the lowest-level lens offered. The Agnar occupied the bottom tier. The Apotar sat in the middle, and the Solinar was the top lens. As a small amusing note, if someone says, "It's not that bad," you can also infer that "it's not that good," either. HOWEVER, I think if you keep the lens to f/11 or smaller, you'll be quite pleased by the results, especially if you've only been shooting 35mm. The big negative is a huge benefit. The most important thing to check is that there are no pinholes in the bellows -- the Agfa medium format folders are notorious for this. My own experience with the Apotar (Isolette III) is that it's an adequate lens when stopped down. Even when shooting at f/16, images were never as sharp as they should have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 My Isolette has the 85mm f/4.5 Agnar (Pronto shutter) and is surprisingly sharp edge to edge, corner to corner, even wide open. A bit disappointing since I was actually hoping for softer edges and corners. The tricky bit is guess focusing. That's especially difficult shooting wide open. So I normally shoot at around f/11. I have taken some street shots in low light at f/4.5 but they were a bit blurry from motion (I shoot while walking) or because my judgement of subject distance was off. Otherwise it's a good lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew in Austin Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Sometimes you get incredibly lucky. I recently refurbished an Agfa Ventura 69 for a friend and the "quote" bottom of the line Agnar lens turned out to be sharper than most mid-level Apotars that I've dealt with. Had the camera been for me, I'm sure that the lens would have been a dog. Also, sharpness isn't alway the end all even in enlargement. I tend judge a lens by the contrast and tonality present in the final print. Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen peterson Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Like lex my Jsolette has a agnar 85mm f4.5(but in a vario shutter), and is very sharp. One of the best ebay buys I've ever made. The largest prints that I ever make in the darkroom are only 8x10, but I have cropped a small section from a negative(printed at 8x10), and it looked great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_mckeith Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 I often wonder why someone buys a 50yo camera and worries about sharpness It's probably at least as sharp as my 1924 Kodak #1, with a RR lens, and I really like those pics, and I'm sure it's as sharp as my Target Brownie Box camera and I'm doing a port. on box camera pics ,cause they're great- shoot some film,see how you like it,don't worry about sharpness,it's overrated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris_van_looveren Posted November 12, 2004 Author Share Posted November 12, 2004 I'm not worried, just wondering what I might get out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_sampson Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 When I was a child my dad's camera was an Agfa Isola with a 6.3 Agnar lens. After I inherited it I loaned it to a co-worker who used a Diana (they were the Holga of 20 years ago). She tried the Agfa but gave it back because the lens was "too sharp". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_bundick Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 It will make a good walking around camera. It's not going to get you max shaprness, but will make decent prints up to 8x8 if not 10x10. I have an Ansco Commander that shoots 6x9 with the Agnar f/6.3 lens. I keep it stoped down to f/11 - f/16. Edges are not super sharp, but if I crop to 6x6 things improve quite a bit. I use my 6x6 Isolette with the Apotar much more. The optical finder in the Isolette is much more precise than the flip up finder in the Commander.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rrrgcy Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 There are some incredibly gorgeous photos on Lomography forums by user chromagraphy circa 2018 and titled LENS: AGFA AGNAR 1:6,3/105. Just wow. Quite encouraging. As a new (yet untested) Agfa Billy owner w the same lens, I’m very much looking forward to any results (might need a cleaning first).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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