Agfa Isoly Original (a.k.a. Agfa Isoly I)

In the period 1960-1971, Agfa offered a series of simple cameras for shooting 16 exposures of 4x4 cm on 120 film. (That is, as with the Diana, the exposures are not the full height of the film.)

The different models are distinguished by their lens & shutter specification. The Isoly Junior has a simple meniscus f/11 lens and a one-speed shutter; while the top model Isoly IIIa offers an f/3.5 Color Agnar lens in a Prontor shutter.

Agfa Isoly Original

Situation in 1960

Single cameras

In the 1950s, simple cameras still used the 6x9 format, primarily to make prints easily accessible with contact copies. Since the trend in the price segment between 150 Deutsche Mark (DM) and 300 DM very soon went towards 35mm film, entry-level models also required smaller dimensions in order to be considered modern. The way there led on the one hand to more compact housings and on the other hand to smaller formats, from 6x6 to 24 mm x 24 mm (Agfa Rapid) or 28 mm x 28 mm (Kodak Instamatic). Isoly found itself in the middle of this development - the argument of contact copies soon played hardly any role.

Technical possibilities

Modern plastics made it possible to break new ground with simple cameras: until around 1960, more complex cameras had a die-cast aluminum housing, which, however, had to be painstakingly reworked in the factory and was therefore out of the question for simple models for reasons of cost. At first you could only use a sheet metal construction, but the first plastic housing appeared as early as the late 1930s with the Trolix box. However, these were still very fragile, and it wasn't until the thermoplastics of the 1950s that a usable material was available. So you could keep the Clack quite compact. Further advances then allowed more complex shapes and thus made it possible to replace the aluminum housing.

Another aspect was the choice of film: 35mm films required a counter that could be saved with a roll film. For this reason, the conventional roll film of type 120 was used for the Isoly, which, however, was exposed in 4x4 format, which resulted in 16 exposures per film. As early as the 1960s, type 127 roll films had disappeared more and more from the market, which is why the more common type 120 roll film was used for the Isoly. Of course, the optics also had to be positioned more precisely for smaller formats, but large-scale production was now so precise that it was possible to do this without expensive adjustment work. A sales argument for cameras with 4x4 format at the time was the possibility of getting slides in the so-called "Superslide" format, which are approximately 1.7 times the size of conventional 35mm slides and thus offer approx. 95% more negative size.

Camera

Basic construction

The Isoly used a plastic housing with a pull-down back. There was a large lever on the bottom of the camera that could be turned to unlock. This housing was later adopted only slightly modified by the Optima Ia and the Silette models derived from it. The roll film made it possible to do without a mechanical frame counter, for this there was simply a window in the back wall, which showed the frame number printed on the paper of the film. The transport wheel on top of the camera had to be turned until the next number appeared in the window. One film enabled 16 recordings.

In contrast to Clack and Click, the Isoly looked much more modern, with its flat housing that ended with a metal cap. A special feature of the Isoly I and Isoly Junior was the slightly curved film plane corresponding to the Click and Clack models, in order to accommodate the one and two-lens lenses. The Isoly II, III and Isoly-Mat had a film pressure plate.

All Isoly cameras had a hot shoe with electrical contact.

Removed Rear Wall

Isoly Original or 'Isoly I'

The Isoly I for 37 DM was the entry-level model until the appearance of the Junior, it only had an achromatic f / 8 lens with a 55 mm focal length. The shutter offered two times plus B for long exposures at 1⁄30 s and 1⁄100 s.

  • Introduced in 1960
  • Later cameras have the name Isoly I
  • There is a version with distance symbols with meter scale
  • Lens: Achromat f/8, (f/11 aperture opening is possible)
  • Shutter: everset leaf shutter with speeds 1/30 and 1/100 +B
  • Film guidance is bent for exact sharpening of the photos
  • Isoly was the model of the plastic toy camera Diana which has become, in the meantime, a cult.

 

Referenced website: 

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agfa_Isoly

https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Isoly_series

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Agfa

Specifications:

The first in the Isoly series. Basic with a 1:8 lens, 2-speed shutter and 2 hole apertues (8 and 11).

  • Production period :                        from 1960 onwards
  • Lens :                                                Achromat 1:3.9 ??mm
  • Shutter :                                           Everset type, speeds 1/30 and 1/100 sec.
  • Double exposure prevention :      Yes
  • Flash synchronisation :                 Hotshoe on top, left

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