A couple of weeks back I spotted a rather tatty folding camera case on the shelf in a local charity shop. The camera inside turned out to be an Isolette I and is actually in very good condition. The lens needed a gentle clean with a cotton bud dampened with white vinegar, but inside is clear of any nasties. Bellows good and shutter speeds (all 4 of 'em) good, diaphragm good. So, popped in a roll of Fomapan Creative 200 was popped and off I went. Light meter care of the mobile phone soon confirmed that I could basically leave it a 200th Sec on around f9..ish and all would be well. So with lens set to infinity I took a few shots to see how well a camera as old as me would work.
Lessons learned - yes it does do multiple exposures - no lock out on this base model....
An 85mm f4.5 lens is challenging when it come to what you can shoot and where.
The viewfinder needs cleaning somehow. Also, like the Pirates' Code it's more a set of guidelines than an accurate predictor if what will go on the film.
If you are going to use a 70 year old folding camera - make sure you remove any accumulated dust from the bellows chamber. The photos show the gradual reduction in dust levels, but I do need to give it a spring clean.
Results - well they're not exactly good pictures, but generally the image quality is not that bad and may be improved with a finer grained film - perhaps some Kentmere 100.
Scanned on Canon 8800F - and boy was getting that curly film into the holder a fiddle.....
April 7, 2023
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Very good.
I’m a great fan of old everyday cameras, and… any visible detritus in the end results only adds extra charm, in my opinion. No pixel peeping for me.I would have placed the images inline.
Thanks for posting.
oh… I currently have my eye on a couple of Agfas. lol
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Do you have a photo of the camera as well? Love to see it. I’ve always loved folding cameras.
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Agfas are fun, and have managed to stay quite affordable lately. Here's one from my Jsolette V
As well as the limited aperture, trying to use an f/4.5 lens wide open on 6x6 film requires very precise focussing. Flash shoe mounted rangefinders from the same time period are quite cheap these days, which helps
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Nicely framed, and the inclusion / capture of the second window works really well with this photograph, and format.
