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Agfa Billy Record II - Frankastein


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I don't know how many of have tried this, but I've been experimenting

with swapping lenses between some of my bottom drawer 6x9 folders. All

of which I acquired in 2003 for under $20 a piece and are a bit rough

around the edges.

 

The camera in the photo is a $15 Agfa Billy Record II, which not only

had a leaking set of bellows, but a Steinheil Apotar with most of its

front and rear coatings wiped off. The shutter worked, so it was

donated to a Record III.

 

Enter an $9.99 Franka Rolfix fitted with a 105mm Radionar and working

Prontor S shutter, but more importantly a nice set of bellows.

 

The Agfa and Franka produced a gorgeous Frankastein version of the

Billy Record II 6x9 folder, but the results from the Radionar were way

too soft for my taste. Dissappointed, the camera goes into a display

case for six months.

 

Enter $53.00 Record II, with oxidized dials and leaky bellows. Also,

its the ugliest camera I've ever laid eyes on, but it had a nice Agfa

Apotar and Prontor SV in perfect working order. Record II and Billy

Record II smerge to become Billy Record II, the third incarnation.

 

Time to get the Billy Record II out its display case.

Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX
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After reading a post about how poorly these "third rate" 6x9 folders performed, I wanted to try this one out again, know that I'd probably be dissappointed. So, I took the camera to a local scupture garden on the day Tropical Depression Ivan arrived in Texas.<div>009gT2-19905484.jpg.cd75ea8ec6de8ff119fcef056bed6ded.jpg</div>
Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX
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Not bad. :-)

 

I made my own Frankenagfas. I took the Solinar and Compur-Rapid shutter from one camera, and mounted them on a newer Record II body. New bellows from Jurgen Kreckel.

 

Another Record II had a simple Pronto shutter in bad condition, so I took a Prontor-S shutter from a Weltax. I had to swap the trigger arms to make it work. The one in the Weltax Prontor was too short.

 

No test shots yet, though.

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Thanks for the kind comments. I've been trying to get used to 6x9 format as opposed to 6x6. Camera shake can be a killer in this format, focusing isn't as forgiving as either my 75mm Solinar or Xenar and to tell you the truth I haven't been too thrilled with the contrast of my Record III which uses an f/4.5, 105mm Solinar. In short, at the moment, I prefer this particular Apotar over the 105mm Solinar.

 

By the way, the above location is the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens.

Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX
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Since these are usually zone focus, I guess the lens distance from the film is probably not critical...that was my main concern about doing this with mine.

 

What kind of rangefinder is that on the Billy II-2? It's elegant-looking. I have a plastic Soviet Blik one that seems accurate enough.

 

I have an Agfa Ventura 69 with an Agnar that was so frozen I finally threw it in an ultrasonic cleaner (lens only) with flux remover...I was shocked to see the entire lens unscrewed (all elements!) later, and the paint too, but I had given up.

 

It works now, but I have to use a shutter release because the shutter release is too wobbly.

 

I've been afraid to mutate a Moskva V (it seems the rangefinder would be useless without it's body complement) and just put money into a CLA on a Vollenda 620 6x9.

 

Murray

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Murray, unless you wish to shoot at f/16 or f/22, I wouldn't want to rely on zone focusing on a 6x9 camera. The attached range finder is Voigtlander whose increments are in feet. It works quite well.

 

The Billy Record II with its transplanted f/4.5 Apotar does remarkably well with Kodak 400TX developed in Microdol-X. I was quite surprised

 

The Blik range finder is an undeniable bargain and quite accurate. You just have to be able to multiply by 3.3 to get the number of feet.

Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX
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I have been shooting at f/11-22 with a tripod!

 

I really should do some things closer to wider open to see what soft corners look like, in case I ever want it, but I'm afraid the combination of soft corners and zone focusing will combine & I won't know what I did wrong.

 

I guess people lived with these for many years and did OK.

 

Murray

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Murray, depending on your style of composition, the corners will crop out on an 8x10 print. In addition to being easy to handle, what I really like about the 6x9 frame size is there is loads of wiggle room when cropping as opposed to 35mm. Also, I've been getting by with a monopod in low light or bracing againsts trees, walls or what not.
Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX
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