John Seaman Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Here are two viewfinder cameras from the high plastic age, one from England, one from France. The Agilux Autoflash Super 44 takes 4x4cm images on 127 film. It was made in England by Agilux, from c.1959 to 1964. It's surprisingly stylish design seems somewhat at odds with the often rather prosaic if worthy offerings of Aeronautical and General Industries. A selenium meter controls the exposure automatically, with manual apertures available for flash. Film speed is set by a dial on top, marked in ASA and B.S. There is a flashbulb socket under a hinged cover on the top plate, with a detachable reflector behind. My example came in the original box, and has a smart clip on front cover. The Fex Elite (Fex = France Export) is a 6×9cm camera with a rectangular metal pull-out lens barrel. It was designed for 620 film and has a strongly curved film plane. Shutter speeds of 1/25, 1/100 sec. and P, and apertures labelled normal to intense, are selected by levers on the front. Earlier versions called Fex Ultra were all black with the shutter button above the lens – Rick Drawbridge has one of these: LINK --- Meet the Ultra-Fex This third version from around 1960 acquired a silver effect top plate, and a shutter button moved to the main body. It's also dual format, but the 6x6 mask inevitably is missing. It came in a very nice leather case. I thought at first this was one of those cameras which has a faux beaded exposure meter window for effect, but I was puzzled by a slot on the back behind this window. Peering into this revealed the answer – it's actually an extinction meter. That's it, and thanks as always for looking. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Can't see your attachments for some reason. Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 Niels, you should see them now I've finished editing the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 OOOH! AAAH! Talk about your "national style" in cameras! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin McAmera Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 I have taken a felt pen to my Industar 50: f/16 is now 'Intense'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Marvelous! What an extraordinary departure for AGI, as you've pointed out, John. I have a couple of Agifolds and an Agimatic, and they are definitely very plain-looking cameras, if not downright dowdy. The sexiest Bakelite camera ever made, in my humble opinion, is the Miom Photax. Who else but the French! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodeo_joe1 Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) My first enlarger was an AGILux. Made mainly in black Bakelite with a big red helical for focussing - very 1950s styling with a curved lamphouse and negative-stage that looked very streamlined. All totally let down by the non-interchangeable plastic lens! I wish I'd kept it though. If only as an objet d'art and a talking point. Edited February 22, 2021 by rodeo_joe|1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Seaman Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 Thanks to all for the responses. The sexiest Bakelite camera ever made, in my humble opinion, is the Miom Photax I had a Photax a while back, also a Wembley Sports, which is remarkably similar in concept, an all black Bakelite body with a screw out lens barrel which also allows for focusing. I don't think the Wembley Sports could be described as sexy, though. The very accurately moulded screw threads are a feature of both cameras I was surprised to learn the other day that AGI still exists, providing military and civil instrumentation and systems, having moved from Croydon to Poole, Dorset Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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