miguel_curbelo Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I have just received my new agfa isolette III. I have gone through it and I think I know how everything works. However, after loading it I realized that I couldn't find the dial to set the film speed. There is a dial -I suspect it is the one I'm looking for- with some settings whose meaning escapes me, things like "col nk", "10/10", "17/10", and so on. Can someone enlighten me as to a) what is the function of this dial, and b) how do I set up film speed? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Well, unless your III is very different from the one I had, you don't. There's no metering in an Isolette III. You need to guess exposure using the 'Sunny 16' rule or get a seperate meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miguel_curbelo Posted October 7, 2003 Author Share Posted October 7, 2003 Harvey, I'm sorry if I didn't express myself correctly: what I want to know is how to set the film's asa, and what that dial I described might mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackers_. Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 What Harvey said. It's nothing more than a memo - no wires, no meter, no sensor; just a round metal Posti-Note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_james Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I think Harvey understood you perfectly. His point is that if there is a dial to set film speed on your Isolette, its only purpose is to remind ~you~ of the speed of the film you have loaded. The shutter speed and aperture settings are still entirely under your control. I have an Isolette with the type of dial you've described. I'll take a look and see if I can figure out what it's for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miguel_curbelo Posted October 7, 2003 Author Share Posted October 7, 2003 Sorry -it has suddenly become obvious. Thanks for the swift responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric friedemann Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 FYI, I just got a Super Isolette and I'm thinking of buying a new, but retro-looking, Voigtlander shoe-mounted meter for the camera. It would be way more accurate than buying some old Leica meter on eBay and hoping for accuracy: http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=details&sid=1065561031295292&sku=VTSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod g. Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Great meter Eric, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Isolette film memo: The inscription is quite German col nk should mean color negative tungsten. the 18/10 is the old way to write down the obsolete DIN film speeds. Shoting a Super Isolette a couple of years I believe this memo dial being quite useless, but maybe in the aera of different christmastrees on both film ends it was needed. And who knows what I'll need when I'll become as old as my camera already is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 It would probably be a good idea to exercise the dial once or twice a year to keep it from seizing up (dunno how likely this is anyway). That's what I do with the film reminder dial on my Rolleiflex. Otherwise the dial seldom corresponds with any film I'm using so I tape the box end onto the back of the camera as a reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winfried_buechsenschuetz1 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 The DIN (german standard) film speed indication is not that much obsolete. Although it was used in (western) Europe only, the DIN numbers today form the second part of the ISO (international standard) film speed indication (officially there is no more ASA or DIN film speed). An ISO 100/21 film is one which would have 100ASA or 21DIN. In older days DIN film speeds were indicated in tenths of a step (21/10 DIN). In the 50s (when the Isolette was released) photographers could just dream of ISO400/27 or ISO800/30 film, the highest speed available was ISO200/24. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antjam65 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 I've gotten into the habit of folding the tab from the end of the film box (the piece you'd put in the film reminder area, if the camera had one) and putting it in the flash shoe (again, if the camera has one). This can really come in handy for remembering what film is loaded, but of course it's not so handy if you want to use a flash or other shoe-mounted accessory. It is definitely useful if you're going to store the camera with film in it (yeah, I know, film flatness issues...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric friedemann Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Unfortunately, Hama makes a 35mm film box tab holder you could affix to a camera and remove without damaging the camera, but not a 120 film tab holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew in Austin Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 I think the reminder dial on the later Isolettes was a decorative touch. Earlier Agfas either had a depth of field scale or no separate dial. When I do use the film speed reminder, I set the dial to one fourth of the whatever speed I'm metering at. 400 becomes 100, 100 becomes 25, etc. The maximum speed on my reminder knob is 125. Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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