The Optima II with a Color Apotar f / 2.8, 45 mm and a Prontomator shutter cost 258 DM, the Optima III with the same lens but a Compur shutter that reached up to 1 ⁄ 500 s, 298 DM Both models were also available with a coupled rangefinder, namely as the II S and III S, but the latter was already 358 DM, which seemed expensive for a camera with a three-lens lens.Īfter the III S on the export models had always been sold as the 500, matching its shortest shutter speed, it was generally transformed into the 500 S in 1963 when it finally received a suitable four-lens lens with the Solinar f / 2.8, 45 mm. Your Prontor Lux shutter also worked between 1 ⁄ 30 s and 1 ⁄ 250 s. It was a cheaper model at 189 DM, which only had the simpler, but also three- lens agnar instead of an apotar, with f / 2.8 and 45 mm focal length. It made sense to combine the function of the magic key with the trigger function and to move to the right front of the chassis, which as early as 1960 with the Optima I did. In contrast to this, the new technology sold so well that the production number already exceeded 1 million cameras after three years. The Optima was preceded by the Automatic 66 medium format camera, a fully automatic machine in which the exposure time automatically adapts to a set aperture value. In 1959 Agfa was able to introduce the first camera with this system. Arrived at 1 ⁄ 250 s, when the brightness was increased further, the aperture closed up to the maximum value f / 22, which was also sufficient for very sunny weather. That is why the Agfa Camerawerk Munich invented the automatic program: As the brightness increased, the shutter began to reduce the shutter speed from 1 ⁄ 30 s to 1 ⁄ 250 s, with the aperture remaining open to the maximum in order to counteract blurring with the shortest possible times.
#Agfa optima sensor flash free
In order to capture all situations that could be recorded with a free hand, it was not enough to just adjust the aperture with a fixed shutter speed rather, both values had to be influenced. Evaluations in Agfa's own large-scale laboratory then also showed many incorrectly exposed images.Īt the end of the 1950s, the technology was so advanced that it could relieve the photographer with automatic control. In contrast, the use of color slide film could not be recommended, as this material generally had to be exposed correctly. Black and white film with its large exposure latitude of several f-stops easily led to good results, color film less so. However, all simple cameras only use one or two exposure settings that only roughly matched the given lighting conditions. The importance of shutter speed and aperture value could practically not be conveyed, which is why wealthy people also used a box camera in the 1930s to avoid the complicated operation (see box camera ).
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In the case of a not very bright lens, an approximate setting was sufficient, which is why this point was not particularly problematic, especially since the process was easy to convey - even the layman was able to estimate the distance from the camera to the subject and set it on a scale. The distance setting could be omitted with a fixed focus lens, which, however, required a low light intensity.
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That left the settings before the recording. The film loading was least problematic, as it could take over at the film department of the photo retailer. The difficulties lay in loading the film, focusing and adjusting the exposure. Agfa made a special effort to offer cameras that are easy to use, in order to encourage even those with no technical knowledge to take pictures and thus to increase film sales.