Agfa Clipper Special f6.3

[gary green]

I was lucky recently to come across a fine condition PD16 Agfa Clipper Special camera.  I had seen scant references to it in the past but it had never really piqued my interest enough to initiate a hard target search.  However, having spent the last year restoring old folding cameras with their leaky and/or disintegrating bellows, I was ready for a change.  Most online references to the Afga-Ansco Clipper are in regards to the simple, single shutter speed version with a fixed-focus, fixed-aperture meniscus doublet lens that is basically a half-frame, collapsible box camera.  The evolution of the camera culminated in the Ansco Color Clipper which appears to be the only version of this camera that anyone has bothered to review (probably because it natively accepts 120 film whereas the older versions took the now-discontinued 616 film).

While the simpler versions of the Clipper camera are rather pedestrian in appearance, excepting some of the older models with decorative faceplates, the Clipper Special is a thing of beauty in its black and gold trim.  I was fortunate that mine came with the original box, instruction manual, and original lens cap.

With all this beauty, you also get a f6.3 anastigmat triplet lens, a decent range of shutter speeds from 1/25 to 1/100 second, plus B & T, apertures from f6.3 to f22, and a tripod socket on the bottom of the camera.  Also, the lens focuses down to 4ft (marked).  This combination, along with 100 or 400 speed film, depending on the weather conditions, will satisfy a wide range of outdoor picture-taking opportunities.  Lastly, on the back of the camera, you get a gorgeous depth-of-field table that, interestingly, includes all apertures except f22.  Unfortunately, the camera has one glaring deficiency ... there is no cable release socket.  I don't understand why any company would offer an upscale camera with B and/or T settings and not support a cable release (or at least a built-in self-timer).  For long shutter times, you'll need to use a lens cap to time the shutter to avoid camera shake.

The PD16 Clipper Special was introduced in November, 1938 just in time for the holiday shopping season.  When initially announced, the list price was $17.25 - about three times the price of the basic Clipper camera.  However, the price quickly dropped to $15.50 and subsequent advertisements that I found show a further drop to $12.46.  I haven't been able to verify the dates of manufacture but it appears the camera was in production from late 1938 up until the start of WWII in 1941 (for the U.S. at least) when the U.S. Government took control of the Ansco company and severed the relationship with its German parent Agfa.  Here is an early catalog entry for the Clipper Special and its baby brother, the Clipper Unifo (universal focus meniscus lens).

It should be noted that all of the Clipper cameras were actually manufactured at the Agfa-Ansco factory in Binghamton, New York.  After the war, Ansco did not resume production of the Clipper Special.  Only the basic Clipper cameras were made and, while Agfa and Ansco resumed their partnership, the subsequent cameras were only sold under the Ansco name.

The Clippers are basically half-frame cameras for the 1A negative size (using 116 or 616 film) that was popular at the time. The 1A negative size is 6.5 x 11cm or roughly 2.5 x 4.25 inches while the Clippers support a negative size of 2.5 x 2.0625 inches.  When adapted for 120 film (I use 616->120 adapters I found on eBay), the usable area of the negative is roughly 56 x 52mm which approximates to a 11:10 aspect ratio.  This not-quite-square aspect ratio allows you to squeeze 13 frames on a single roll of 120 film.  However, this is not as simple as it sounds because the film counter windows on the back of the camera are aligned with the 6x4.5 frame numbers on 120 film except that the negative size is larger than 6x4.5 so you can't simply center the frame numbers in the windows.  Since I use Arista 120 film, which provides 3 dots on the paper backing between each frame number (for 6x4.5), I was able to come up with the following number scheme to fit 13 frames on a roll.

    Film frame #        Actual frame #
        1                           1
        2.1                         2
        3.2                        3
        4.3                        4
        6                           5
        7.1                          6
        8.2                         7
        9.3                         8
        11                           9
        12.1                        10
        13.2                        11
        14.3                        12
        16                           13

Where, for example, "2.1" is the first dot on the paper backing after the number 2, "3.2" is the second dot after the number 3, and so on.  It's not very convenient but it works and you soon get the hang of it.  Also, I use this scheme on the "B" window only and leave the "A" window permanently covered.

When I purchased the camera, it was dirty and had some surface rust on one of the film rollers but otherwise was in extremely good condition for its age.  I suspect the camera spent most of its life in its box.  After a thorough cleaning and focus recalibration, I loaded up the camera with some Arista film and headed out to take some test shots.  Overall, the camera was very easy to use but I do have the following observations:

1. The shutter release design is not conducive to shake-free images.  I recommend using a two-fingered approach where one finger is placed under the lens panel and the other finger on the shutter release and then gently squeeze to trip the shutter.  This method gave me good results.

2.  The lens, while sharp, is prone to vignetting even at moderate apertures.  This was most noticeable in pictures where large portions of sky were present.  This can be mostly corrected in post-processing.

3.  The lens is very sharp in the center but gets a little soft at the edges.  However, because the viewfinder shows less coverage than the lens actually delivers, you can usually crop the image to your liking.

Here are some sample images.  All images were handheld and were shot on either Arista 100 or 400 black & white film and developed in caffenol-C.  For the last image, I have included a magnified view of the central portion of the image to show how sharp the lens is in the central area of the image.

That's all folks!  I hope you enjoyed this review.  Thanks for looking and have a happy and safe New Year!

Gary

[chuck_foreman1]

Wow.. I am always impressed with your results... Very Nice!

 

[Julio Fernandez]

Thanks for this complete and informative post. You always get excellent results from relatively simple cameras! This is a nice rescue, including the conversion to 120 and the winding table.

The lens seems quite capable, and the telescoping lens should be more robust than bellows. The out-of-focus areas look good, too. 

 Beautiful winter series in your test roll. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by Julio Fernandez
Korrect bad zpellin

[bruce_z._li2]

Hi Gary, very informative write-up and nice quality pictures out of it. I look forward to reading more of your experience with other folding cameras you are restoring.

[John Seaman]

What a good looking camera I'm impressed with the lengths you have gone to to get those nice pictures out of it. Thanks for posting.

[gary green]

@chuck_foreman1 @Julio Fernandez @bruce_z._li2 @John Seaman

Thanks guys.  I enjoy fixing up these old 116/616 cameras because they aren't in high demand and there are some real jewels out there.  Also, unlike the 620 cameras, I don't have to respool film to use them.  Getting 13 images on a roll and not having to mess with sealing bellows makes the Clipper stand out among the crowd.

[rick_drawbridge]

Great looking camera, Gary, and excellent results. I particularly like that fine textured leatherette that Agfa used on this and many of their early folders; it gives the cameras a classy finish and seems to be more durable than many other coverings of the era. Thanks for an interesting post!

Edited January 2, 2023 by rick_drawbridge

[john_shriver]

116/616 half-frame always struck me as one of the strangest film formats. However, at that time 116 was probably more popular than 120, giving larger contact prints.