Agfa Super Silette

Found one of these in a junk shop today, has a Prontor-SVS shutter and Color-

Apotar 1:28/4.5 lens. Can the serial number be used to date it in the same way

as Russian cameras? This one is AO6764, from its looks I'm thinking either the

first 2 or last 2 digits may be year of manufacture?

Law of Google - the answer you want will not appear until after you've posted the question on a forum. Apparently the Super Silette with that shutter and lens combination was started in 1959 and discontinued in c1964. So, is the 64 in the serial number a coincidence or does it indicate production year?

I think it is just coincidence. I have a Super Silette with the Apotar 3.5/45, serial number BO2525.

What do people think of this camera? Is it any good? It's the first non-Soviet rangefinder I've acquired. It's a tank, but somehow not as nice to look at and handle as a Zenit.

Pros:

Well made,

Okay lens,

Very quiet shutter

 

Cons:

Hard to focus in low light.

Top speed is only 300 (on mine).

Film advance lever is very awkward to use.

 

These are my personal observations and opinions. I have other rangefinders and zone focus cameras from the same time period that I would much rather use.<div></div>

I saw "sillette" and thought of my 120 Agfa Isolette which has an 85mm 4.5 lens and is nicely made and the lens is fine, but not up to a 120 voigtlander in quality. What made me post was the question in my mind "where did agfa find the names?"

I had a feeling it wouldn't perform as well as something like a Zenit - the build quality and design is more point-and-shoot than SLR, so to speak, and it has one of those hazy double-image focusing aids that never seem to work perfectly. But I say this without having used it yet.

 

One thing that's not ideal is that the aperture ring and shutter speed ring are very tight together - there's meant to be a little tag on the aperture wheel to hold it still while you change shutter speed, but it's broken off and you have to use your thumbnail - not great for quick shooting. But it cost ?3, so I won't worry too much about it.

Justin.... "Ette" was a very common suffix for 35mm cameras. It is a french suffix meaning "small" and "Sil" is maybe short for "Silent"? They are very quiet cameras. I would quess that Isolette comes directly from the dictionary definition for "isolate" as "separated from others" and is probably meant to convey distinction. In both cases the name is a play on words. This is very common in camera names and gets even more ridiculous with the lens name... which is usually some combination of manufacturer name or camera name + AR or OR... my personal favorites being any lens with the ending being "TAR".... and the funniest of that family of lenses being the "Biotar"... c'mon... BIO-TAR. Not only is it funny, but the name conveys the exact opposite meaning that you would want a lens name to convey!

Have just 'mended' the aperture ring thumb tag with a 5mm length of paperclip. Smooth :)

AE,

 

Don't worry too much about what others think about the Super Silette. Go out and take some pictures with it and then post them. The end results is all that matters. If you're happy with it, then you got a good deal! The great thing about collecting AND USING old cameras is learning that each one has its own little quirks and some are better than others. Just like modern day cameras.

The best model of the Silette has the Solagon lens. They also came with a Solinar lens which is a step up from the Apotar. Some versions have a built-in selenium mater. I agree about the wind lever. Another fault: many models have no strap lugs.

"Can the serial number be used to date it in the same way as Russian cameras?"

 

This holds true for most russian cameras, but NOT for the FED cameras. Their serial numbers start with four-digit numbers (for the first hand-made samples in the 30s - if you find one for less than a few hundred USD buy it!!) and have up to six digits towards the end of production. The last serial numbers actually start with 5x but this does not relate precisely to the 1950's year of manufacturing.

Hi, Arfur (?) After collecting AGFAs of all types, going right back to several Standards from the late 20s, through Karats pre and post WW2, and Isolettes and Silettes and Solinettes ad infinitum, I've come to the conclusion that there is no chronological sense whatsoever to their camera numbering. That's to say, no APPARENT sense - it may well be that the secret dating code is contained in the first two prefixed letters, rather than the numbers themselves. However, until Dan Brown writes a follow up on the lines of "The Super Silette Secret Saga" to his best-seller "The Da Vinci Code", we're just gonna stay in the dark.

 

Certainly your Super Silette looks far earlier to me than 1964 - more like 1955 in fact. (I've got the same model along with an IB dated August 55, so I'm not just guessing!)

 

Regarding using, although the f2 Solagon version is undoubtedly the best of the species, I'd go along with Stuart's post that your Apotar f3.5 job ain't half bad either. For $3 as well, all you need is to stoke it up with film and go for it, mate! At f5.6 or f8, you'll be surprised at just what a well-designed triplet can do.

Peter, the photo above isn't of my Agfa (which does look earlier than what I've got) - I'll look for a photo online or take one and upload it later.

Aha -

 

http://www.chromeagecamera.com/Silette.htm

 

Mine is the one on this page marked "Super Silette (1959)" as opposed to just "Super Silette."

Hi, Arfur Sorry, mate - I hadn't been following the thread as closely as I should have, there being an argument developing on another post. Yes, you're quite right, yours is the later model with the higher top that looks a bit like the early Optimas. However, if it's as heavy as an Optima, well ..........maybe you should be looking out for another $3 bargain in one of the earlier 55-ish Silettes, now you've clearly got the AGFA bug. One with an f2.8 Solinar would be a nice find, but it doesn't have to be a "Super" model with CRF. Guesstimating distances isn't as difficult as folks make out, and you can always carry an accessory rangefinder just in case.

 

That guy's "chromecamera" website is amazing! I thought I'd already earmarked all the Good Un's as favourites, but that's definately a new one for me and well worth consulting. Thanks for the tip, mate! ~~PN~~

I'm shooting some film with this camera at the moment, using my rule of thumb that wide open apertures should be avoided when using an unfamiliar old camera. Will post results if they're any good.

 

Agree about the Chrome Age website - annoying numbers of enviable wish list cameras!

I'm mainly a collector of Voigtlander Vitessa-T 35mm rangefinder cameras, of which I now have 68, with number 69 one the way here from Canada. (It's a long story about all these, but for now, back to the Agfas.)<p>

 

Along the way, I recently began buying Agfa Ambi-Silettes. I now have five with number six on the way here from the Pittsburgh Camera Exchange.<p>

 

These are all exquisite rangefinders, of quality that approaches some of the classic Leica stuff of that era, and made in about the same years as the Vitessa-Ts that I collect. I started in on them because I picked up a hint from the Compur shutter manual that the Ambi-Silette came with the same CN-1110-030 Synchro-Compur shutter as all the Vitessa-Ts use. I thought I could use some of these for purposes of scavenging the shutters for use in some of the more decrepit Vitessa-Ts.<p>

 

Then I had a chance to look over the Ambi-Silettes. Their rangefinder system, with its three separate framework images visible in the focus viewing window, seems most unique and easy to use. The film advance, shutter cocking and linkage system is smooth as anything I've seen, unless you are missing a key part as I am on one of these cameras. So, the Ambi-Silettes will mostly be keepers and not distress merchandise on eBay. I even have a set of those most-rare 130mm Telinear lenses and its own 130mm rangefinder unit which is slipped onto the mounting shoe.<p>

 

That part I'm missing is a thin sheet metal U-shaped open-end washer with tabs on each side, which locks the rewind knob to the main film rewind control post.

 

I also have one rewind knob with the extended handle busted off long ago by some foolish owner. Makes it difficult to rewind, especially against all that spring tensioning.<p>

 

Anybody have any spare little parts like these, please let me know. I can email a picture of what it looks like. All the Silettes seem to have the same kind of rewind knob. Which means that immediately underneath that rewind know is a U-shaped open-end washer such as I described above.<p>

 

Arnold Harris<br>

Mount Horeb WI

Hi, Arnold Interesting post, mate - but you'd probably be better off reposting it as a fresh one, under its own title, ot get some better response about those bits you're looking for.

 

I'm quite a fan of the Ambi Silette too, having a very nice one with IB and various accessories including lenses, but not the rare 130mm Telelinear and viewfinder. You've definately got me dead jealous there! Nice cameras, greatly underrated with the collecting fraternity IMHO, and as you said, with that so very clever multi-frame viewfinder.

 

The one thing that vexes me about the Ambi-Silette is that its standard lens was only the f2.8 Solinar. Nice lens though that is, you'd have to wonder why AGFA couldn't have gone the extra mile and offered it with the F2 Solagon, eh? ~~sigh~~

Well, in case anyone's still reading this thread I'd like to say this little Agfa performed a lot better than I had a right to expect. Like many old flashless cameras it's not great indoors or at wide open aperture, but stopped down or outside the pictures are nicely sharp, with good contrast. Pleasantly surprised. Not bad for three quid!

<p>Well, firstly I am a newcomer to this forum. I do not consider myself a knowledgable pgotographer, although I have had a positive compliment or two from my best friend who is an acclaimed professional, no names mentioned. <br />However I do not go out and seek subject matter and I live in the North East of England where light is largely at a premium eight months of the year ( with exception), and I say light, because this is what its all about. <br />I take pictures for record largely, with a modecum of creative experimenting. I do try and frame the image as best I can though. <br />Perhaps when I am retired I will be able to make an appointment with the weather and at 5am go and get some real street stuff in the town.<br />I have just purchased an Agfa Super Silettte from a charity shop for £7.50. Included was a Sekonic 85 light metre and manual. Bargain? I think so.<br />I bought my Agfa Super Silette camera because I thought it looked nice! Good quality of build. Comfortable and easy to use and nice looking. OK it doesn't have a huge 1:1.4 lense but it worked.<br />The viewfinder is bright, yet no frame lines, but the focusing falls easy to the finger and the finder is bright and clear. I know little of contrast and the technology to provide this with more elemnts and better lens coatings etc etc, but I do know this....<br />I bought my last motorcycle because I liked it! I married my wife because I liked her! I bought several sailing boats because I loved what they did to appeal to me. And so on. I avoided like the plague what the magazines wrote about motorcycles, and bought a Moto Guzzi Daytona Racing. Not a Honda? <br />Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. If you are looking for the best, pay the most, and you will not be too disappointed. If you want to extract the features of a camera, analyse and compare in order to get the best for hour money, then fine. I paid £7.50 for my camera, which included a Seconic light meter. The camera works fine and I will take some pictures with it, then probably sell it on ebay, as you do. I have Nikon's, Yashica's and Canons. I love my G10 digital, and you know what...the pictures that mean the most to me, will mean nothing to you, or anyone else for that matter. <br />I am constantly reminded of the monochrome image taken by Robert Cappa of the dying soldier. The most famous crap picture ever taken. Crap if you consider sharpness, contrast, exposure, etc. However, the picture captured the moment. It left detail to the imagination, and thats fine with me. Great Image! Paintings can inspire so much emotion but yet do not come close to the accuracy of a modern photograph. Does that mean that the painters brushes were not made by Leica?<br />Some of my most memorable pictures were taken with my first camera. A "Zeiss Ikon bellows camera". I still have it! Even more poignient, are the pictures my father took sixteen years earlier....with a "Zeiss Ikon bellows camera". 1955 Singapore. I still have it! Different camera!<br />Moral of the story................ go and take some great pictures with your Agfa Super Silette camera. Pictures of your family, wife and dogs and anything else you come across and wish to remember. Thats what Agfa meant for you to do when they built it!........... Or did you think they had something more grand in mind? Take on Leica perhaps?<br />Actually, I think I am becoming attached to my Agfa Super Silette. It speaks to me and says " please do not sell me me on ebay" Hmmm?</p>