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.

Silverproof and split grade printing

Split grade printing will work with all multi/variable grade papers whether resin coated or fibre base. But will it? Silverprint a London based company produce a limited grade paper that is very cost effective but is only produced in small batches.

Silverproof paper is still classed as a multi grade even though it does not have the full range of grades of the major manufactures. The paper is marketed as a proof paper for contact printing. Which I initially used it for. Until I up graded my processing tank to a 16 x 12, it was the only paper on the shelf of the right size to give this new bit of kit a workout! ( mentioned in an earlier post). It was then that I discovered it was more than a proof paper. I liked the tones it produced; admittedly these were graded prints.

After spending sometime getting to know what the paper could do at different grades with dodging and burning (some hundred sheets later); I started to play with the idea that it maybe possible to use the split grade method with Silverproof paper. The next time I was in the darkroom I set about testing the idea. Before I started I had to make my mind up as to what grades should be used with this paper. I settled on the basic method (as described in an earlier post) of using grade zero and five as a starting point adjusting the grades if necessary.

 

With the soft test print floating in the holding tank, I had to study it carefully when looking at the segments - it looked like a standard grade test print. I did wonder if this would be the case. Unperturbed by this I looked to the highlights and made a decision to expose for 27 seconds and then changed the enlarger settings for grade five. I felt that I needed to carry the test to its conclusion to be sure that the split grade method would not work. Fifteen minutes later the hard test print was floating in the holding tank. It was quite difficult to see the degrees of contrast between each segment making the decision to choose 12 seconds a educated guess. Looking back it was not the best subject to use for the first test, as the light was striking the scene head on.

Once the print was developed I studied it against both the test prints and felt that the split grade method had worked well enough for me to go forward with a second negative. This time the highly contrasty negative of the trees was used. With this picture it was easy to see the split grade method at work. I was almost side tracked by the amount of contrast the longer timed segments were indicating. I had to remind myself it was about tonality and chose accordingly.

Conclusion:

When using this method with Silverproof paper you need to choose the negatives you wish to print on the paper with care as it can be quite difficult to see an advantage over straight grade exposure.

Related post:
Silverproof paper

updated 2021

Please note that since writing this article silverproof paper is no longer made but the method is the same no matter what paper is used.