An Agfa Isolette has laneded

Recently a package arrive from a friend that was giving away a number of Agfa  Isolette cameras. I put my name down for one, not quite expecting to have my name pulled out of the hat. As it turned out not that many people were interested. The cameras were advertised as not tried and tested so you could end up with one that may not be in proper working order. However they are easy to repair if there is a problem.

 As it turns out, the one I have does not have any faults that I can find apart from needing a major clean. It has the dustiest insides I have seen in a long time with the bellows being full of fluff.  I have carefully cleaned it out using compressed air and a damp cotton bud. Having first earthed myself to reduce the static in my body. The lens was slightly dirty which has been gently cleansed with lens fluid on a cotton bud.

 

The Agfa Isolette was introduced in the 1950. It produces a 6x6 negative making it a member of the 120 medium format family. The camera pictured is an Isolette 2 With the press of a button the front flips open to reveal an 85 mm Apotar 1.4,5 lens that shuts down to F22 and has a shutter speed range from B to 200 hundredths of a second.  For a completely manual camera it is well designed and sophisticated, even by today’s standards. It has a number of features that shows its quality, firstly with a film holder that flips out of the camera back to allow the easy installation of a new roll. A shutter lock on the winding mechanism that can only be removed by advancing the film, helping to prevent double exposures. Although the lens has a focus ring it is not a range finder and therefore distances have to be guestimated. A range finder device was produced as an extra that clipped into the shoe on the top. It's compact size makes it just right to slip into the pocket of a gentleman's jacket, although the all metal construction makes it a little bit heavy for comfort.

With all the cleaning and checking done, all that remains is some good weather so the camera can be put through its paces.

Dust, dust and more dust.

Dust! Don't you just love the way it manages to settle on to your equipment just as you make that all important exposure? The more you fiddle about picking every speck off, those bits 'standing in the wings' charge in at increasing speed  towards  your lens, negative and light sensor; so begins a  never ending battle fought everyday over the same territory! Should someone   come up  with a device that will send those particles packing you'll feel your prayers have been answered.

 

Welcome the Zerostat gun! one shot and those pesky particles are de-charged and falling from your lens etc. But come on! Can this really be true? Well No! after a few days of using this device I discovered that it attracted more dust than ever before! It was a nice idea while it lasted. Needless to say that this pistol has been consigned to history.

Really the only way to keep these little white specks from appearing on your final pictures is to be methodical in your approach. Checking your camera, lenses and enlarger regularly. But before you start this process it is a good idea to de-charge yourself by touching something that is earthed this will take the static out of your body and stop to some extent the static building up in the item you are trying to de-dust. Whatever you do don't use a cloth to clean your film strip, the static this induces will attract every bit of hair and dust in the universe turning it into a hair ball. If this happens its time to find another negative to print. I find that a puffer brush and a Kinetronice antistatic whisk brush work the best- in most cases removing the particle/s and hair in one go without a lot of fuss. Less fuss means more pictures printed with less spotting once the photograph is dry.

 

Remember never touch the bristle of your brush with bare fingers this will transfer microscopic particles of grease which will then be deposited to whatever you are trying to clear, making the job more difficult and in the case of old lenses will attack the coating.

Dust in the darkroom.

If you look at a beam of light whether projected from your enlarger's negative carrier or a shaft of light shinning across a room you will notice lots of particals floating in the air. Dust over the course of time will settle on the upper surface's of your enlarger and lens.

It does not take long for a considerable amount of dust to build up on the surface of your lens greatly reducing the brilliance of light passing through it. You should make it a rule that once or twice a year you clean the lens thoughly. It is also a good idea to cover the enlarger at the end of each session with its cover if it has one or a black plastic bag this will greatly reduce the dust build up.

If you have a window in your darkroom that needs to be blacked out it is not a good idea to use curtains as these are dust traps. You are better off using a wooden shutter made of hard board painted matt black or a roller blind made of light tight material that has some way of being sealed along the sides.

What you have on the floor is also important. If it is carpet it needs to be removed, as this is a dust trap too. It should be an easy clean material like lino if you have floor boards or garage floor paint for concrete floors these keep the dust at bay making it easy to mop the floor with water, it also means that you do not have to vacuum very often leaving more time to print.

Drying cabinet.

The safest and one of the quickest ways of drying your film. The cabinet has a built in heater that gently blows warm air over the negatives lessening the amount of time that particles in the atmosphere can attach to your valuable film. They can be dry in fifteen minutes.

If, like me, you only have a small darkroom then a cabinet may not be practical within the room itself. You could place it outside but the problem I have with that is it looks like a gym locker, making it a blot on the landscape wherever you put it! Oh! and they're not cheap! Make your own mind up!!