Agfa Readyset Royal 1a - Who was it for?

[david_weiss2]

I was going over a folder my wife picked-up for me at a yard sale - the above mentioned camera. Seems to

be a 6x9, but what I cannot imagine is who this camera was marketed to.

 

Can the thing be focused? Not in anyway I can tell - would you move the bellows back and forth? (there is no scale

for that).

 

How about controlling the light hitting the film? There are no f stops but you can change from "instant" to "time"

which reduced the aperature by half.

 

How about shutter speed? Nope, only one speed - seems like 1/10 to 1/20 of a second.

 

The only glass is in front of the shutter, seems to be two elements?

 

Okay, it is essentailly a 6x9 Brownie. Anyone know anything more about this beast? Was it meant to make group

shots or landscapes? Year of production?

 

Dave<div></div>

[james_ollinger]

<p><a href="http://www.oldtimercameras.com/stock/Model.asp?

Model=552&ModelPage=true">Oldtimercameras.com</a> says it's 1929, which seems reasonable to me. And I

think you're right--it's a very simple camera for someone who wants a folder but doesn't want to have to set it. Good

for "here's Barb and Me out in front of the Grand Canyon" shots.</p>

[john_shriver]

Just like a box camera -- fixed everything, but it folds up. It was cheap, it was simple, you put the sun over your shoulder, and your subject squinted at you, and you took the picture. Lots of pictures of my mother and her sister taken that way, but they had a camera you could focus. (One step up the price scale.)

[peter_naylor1]

Hi, Dave Yes, you're right - this is basically just a folding box camera spec-wise. However, when you fold it up and compare its dimensions with the equivalent Box Brownie, say, you can see why folks would prefer to pay the little bit extra it would have cost. There must have also been some element of snobbery involved, in that a box camera is inevitably basic and shouts "cheap" to anyone watching you take your family pic with it. However, a folder could be much more high-tech. An observer would have to get really close to spot that it's got only very basic features and not, say, a Zeiss Tessar lens and Compur shutter. An other aspect in its favour over a box camera is that the single "I" shutter speed would be less prone to camera shake in a folder.

 

McKeown's dates your AGFA to 1931 and values it at $50 - $75, which might seem a bit on the high side compared to other simple folder but the unusual finish came in different colour choices and that invariably adds more $$$s to the picture. (Pete In Perth)

[david_weiss2]

Thanks to everyone for the comments. What I like about it is the somewhat "art deco" front to it - that might cause someone to think that it was a higher end model. It must have been common practice to use it with a tripod and shutter release even to get a decent picture with that slow shutter speed. I know cheaper lenses came in triplets - does anyone know if it was common at this time to less than a triplet (a doublet?). Of course, I don't know the number of elements for sure. I was thinking of trying to use it just for fun. It seems strange that it would be worth as much as $50.

[Troll]

The front standard appears to be brought forward on a set of rails (as distinct from a folding mechanism ala Ikonta), so it must/could have had some focusing method based on positioning the lens.

[Rick_van_Nooij]

I'm sure it's set up as a meniscus lens where everything over 5-10 feet would be in focus and the biggest aperture would probably be around f/16 for instant exposures and f/22 or f/32 for the timed exposures.

 

I found 400 ASA film works okay in my Model F No.2 Box Brownie on Instant in hazy sunlight to slightly overcast. I thought the shutterspeed looked slow (1/30th or so), but after seeing the pictures with 50 ISO film I figured it was closer to 1/100th

I've not suffered from camera shake with on the Instant setting yet. Just hold the camera up to your chest/midriff and exhale slowly as you fire the shutter. Though shooting with a tripod isn't such a nuisance.

 

Regards,

 

Rick

[canfred]

As the name says" Ready Set " no need to fiddle with contols.

[patrick j dempsey]

Looks like the Agfa version of a Kodak Vanity camera. Marketed specifically to women, probably originally came in a snazzy case. The "Royal" in the name here probably being the analog to the Kodak "Vanity". There are dozens of folding cameras, especially American-made ones with limited controls. The American camera market STILL demands cameras that require no thinking to take the photos but looks good coming out of your pocket. Some things never change.

[Andrew in Austin]

This particular "Readyset" precedes the Agfa / Ansco link up. The Readyset had been in production for more than a decade when this handsome folder was made. It's an all an all American folder, meniscus lens and all.

 

It may not seem such a small format today, but back then contact printing with Velox or some other brand of gaslight paper was the norm. This was the compact format. I would think that the Readyset's fixed-focus, meniscus lens was good enough for a 2 1/4 by 3 1/4 inch print.

[chuck_foreman1]

Hi,

 

Indeed some things never change.. don't we still sell the point and shoot concept. Who wants to fiddle with aperture and shutters and other do-hickeys...C'mon I just want a pciture.

There is probably a proposed "film" inside the camera. You could probably find info on that film that might guide what film to use. I recently shot an Agfa 6x9 pre-war box camera. I used Ilfprd 50.

Seems right on if a bit too contrasty. Iwas looking at the shutter and imaging using guitar strings to make a faster or slower shutter! Just an idea to fix another box camera that has a broken shutter!

An intersting find ..with that covering... I never get lucky!!