Perkeo VS Isolette folders?

[rob_murray]

I have several Agfa Isolette folders with the Apotar lenses.

I have always wanted a Perkeo with the Color Skopar lens but

I never find them locally. Was looking at a Perkeo I with the

Vaskar lens but the lens only stops down to F16 and has only

4 speeds on the shutter and the lens is 75mm..The Isolettes

I have stop down to F32, have 8 speed shutters and have 85mm

lenses.

Just wondering if anyone has shot them both and which lens is

better? I would think the Apotar would be better on the edges

since it is 85mm. I shoot these on a tripod stopped down with

slower shutter speeds. I have serviced my isolettes and they

work properly now on all speeds.

I would like to have an Isolette with the Solinar lens or

Perkeo with the Color Skopar someday.

Thanks

Rob

[Andrew in Austin]

Hello Rob, I let go of a Perkeo E and Perkeo II when I culled my collection last year. The Perkeos with a Color Skopar are indeed sharp and contrasty.

 

They are truly a wonderful design, but as is often the case with Voigtlanders use a more complicated design. The front strut and lens standard is one such example. Hence, a good many Perkeo, which were probably handled incompetently, now have loosely mounted lenses when erected. The other problem that I'm aware of is the film counter on the Perkeo II can go kaput, but the camera will work fine otherwise. If you forget which frame you are on just open the rear window while winding and which ever number frame your on should slide on past. The winding stop will still work.

 

Agfas on the other hand, as you already know, have isssues with their post-war bellows and the camera build seems a bit more antediluvian. The Isolette series uses a much simpler, more robust, self erecting lens assembly. The big plus with Agfas is they really do lock down the front standard securly.

 

In addition to my deluxe Ansco Super Speedex, I've kept my humble Agfa Isolette III with a 75mm Solinar for three reasons. The uncoupled range finder has a very bright and contrasty focus patch compared to the Perkeo E. Next, the 75mm Solinar, not the 85mm Solinar, has a slight edge over the 80mm Color Skopar. The third reason is everytime I read a post on this web sit poo-pooing old folders, I take a look at a couple of 11 by 14's on the wall taken with the Isolette III.

 

By the way, if you are taking photos with the camera on a tripod with the aperture closed down, your Apotar should do quite well and you are getting better photos than I normally do. I use a monopod which is much less stable.

[Troll]

Stopping down past f:11 with a lens this short will give less sharp images due to diffraction effect.

[tito sobrinho]

I think, I'm lucky! I've received as a gift from a friend, a Perkeo 1 in excellent+ condition. The front standard is not out of whack, the bellows are perfect and best of all, it has a Color-Skopar, with the distance scale in meters. So, I'm not worried about a frame counter as well as a rangefinder, and it takes wonderful pictures! It is my pocketable Rolleiflex MX-EVS f3.5 Tessar.

 

If you look harder, I think you can find one Perkeo 1 like mine.

[cbettis]

Rob,

Contact me off line if you wish. I have a Perkeo for sale. Chuck

[tom_holum]

I was interested in buying a Perkeo II several years ago, because I grew up using a Voigtlander Vitomatic IIA and knew how excellent the Color-Skopar lens was. I had also read, in Matanle's text and on the web, how pocketable and easy to use the Perkeo was. But after watching eBay for several months to see how the prices were trending, I discovered that all of them in good working condition were selling for over $200, and often for $250 and more. I turned my attention to the small Ikontas made by Zeiss Ikon in 6X6 format, and found that they were typically selling on eBay for half the price of the Perkeo II, even though they also had four-element Tessars (basically the same as the Color-Skopar) and Synchro-Compur shutters and were roughly the same size.

 

I was able to buy two Ikonta B cameras (523/16), with Tessars and X-synched Synchro-Compurs, one for slightly less than $100, and one for slightly more. Each of them turned out to be in beautiful cosmetic condition, with spotless lenses and shutters that worked perfectly, and perfectly rigid frames. (I know, I've had my share of disasterous purchases on eBay, so I concede that these were a matter of pure dumb luck.)

 

Anyway, I'd recommend that you folks take a look at the 521/16 and 523/16 Ikontas, especially the latter with Tessar and Synchro-Compur. I haven't followed eBay for a long time now, but I know that the trend up to two years ago made these excellent bargains, especially compared to the Perkeo II. (They take excellent pictures, too. I'd post some of them, but I don't have a scanner.)

[rob_murray]

Thanks everyone. Now I am hunting for an Isolette with a Solinar.