Blurry Pictures with an Agfa/Ansco Cadet

[john_reichenbach]

I recently purchased B-6 Cadet made by Agfa. The camera is in mint

condition. I shot a test roll of Agfa Optima 400 through it and got

a very strange result. Although the subject is in focus everything

around the subject is blurry. I use quite a few older cameras,

mostly Brownies, and I've never encountered this before. Any

suggestions?

 

John

[john_shriver]

<p>According to <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/mattdenton/photo/cameras/agfa_cadet.html">this page</a>, the shutter makes a separate exposure on the up and the down stroke. Perhaps you double-exposed?</p>

 

<p>Also, ASA 400 film is rather fast for a box camera. I would normally use ASA 100 or 125, at least in daylight. You may just be seeing side effects of massive overexposure. Perhaps halation?</p>

[j.w.]

John, open the camera up when there's no film in it, and take a look through the 'taking lens'; I don't know if the shutter has a Bulb setting, so this may be hard to do.

 

I suspect the lens is fogged or hazy, giving the appearance of an extreme soft-focus filter. It may be cleanable if the hazing is on an external surface.

 

The over-exposure issue may be a possibility, easily tested by using medium speed film (fp-4, plus-x, etc).

[michael_bean2]

I have a Brownie Hawkeye camera which I purchased at a yard sale. Even

after disassembling and cleaning, I have experienced the same problem

using FujiFilm Neopan 100 film. To test the lens, I taped a piece of wax paper

over the back of the camera, flush with the film path, and put the camera on

bulb setting. I found that as I looked at the image projected on the wax paper,

only about an inch circle (4 cm) in the center of the image was in focus and

the rest became exceptionally blurry. I wonder if it is possible over time if

these cameras are not taken care of that the lenses can warp or if some of the

cameras were simply cheaper and not meant for serious photography? Or

did I just find a dud?