Agfa B2 Speedex?

[mark_hahn]

found a pristine Agfa B2 Speedex in a box and wondering if it is worth the effort to CLA it. Just the Agfa Anastigmat

85/4.5. Anyone shooting one?

 

thanks.

[ralf_j.]

What type of Anastigmat is? Apotar or Agnar or Igestar? I have been using a an Agfa Billy record, Art deco recently with a 7.7 Igestar and the results have been pleasing. The igestar has poor reputation, however when it comes to photography, I like to form my own opinion. What's the shutter in your B2?

 

I say give it a try.

[mark_hahn]

all it says is "Anastigmat" for the lens (85mm f4.5)... the shutter just says "Agfa B2 Speedex," (it's not the Junior)... speeds T,B, 2-250th... I'm just looking for advise like... "charming old lens" etc. or "piece of crap, don't waste your time."

 

I did clean up the lens and reset the focus.

 

:)

[John Seaman]

If you have cleaned the lens and adjusted focus, this is probably all you need to do to take pictures. There are a number of potential faults, one is that the focussing siezes up due to the type of lubricant used - this doesn't seem to be a problem with yours. The second is the bellows which on some Agfa's is made of a synthetic material which is prone to forming holes at the corners - make sure you check for these before putting a film in. Another issue might be the shutter not working, or not working on slow speeds which are rarely needed anyway.

 

I think the lens will give very good results especially stopped down to f11 or so. Why not try it & post some results?

[r.c._booth]

I have one with an Apotar lens. It was filthy but cleaned up nicely. I dismissed it as a user because of its lowly triplet lens. I finally did put film in it and was quite impressed. Shooting with TriX in the afternoon the aperture was mostly f11. Glad I bothered to take the time to use it.

[mark_hahn]

hmmm... it's a cute cheap camera, I thought that there would be someone that really liked them and used them.

 

I learned from past experience not to shoot any real film after adjusting a camera's focus before shooting a test shot to confirm that I actually did it right (why doesn't my ground glass always agree with my film?)... so next day or two and I will film test 4 (!) old folders I've been monkeying around with... if I'm lucky two will have been adjusted correctly and be ready to shoot... if this is one of them, I'll post some shots soon.