Skeletons From The Closet - April Results - Agfa Solinette II

April's SFTC camera was the Agfa Solinette II.

 

(Click Here) to read about my Solinette.

 

So, how did it go? Honestly, I'm getting tired of guess focusing. My last two SFTC cameras - the Zeiss Ikonta folder and April's Solinette are both guess focus cameras. It can be fun and refreshing to work without a rangefinder or through the lens focusing. However, I did come up with several images with both cameras that were just not quite sharp enough. That's frustrating, especially when I can see how good it could've been.

 

Here are some more images that I shot with the Solinette.

 

Spring is Here!, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

You may recognize the house below from one of my pinhole posts.

 

(Click Here) to see how it looks in black and white through my pinhole camera.

 

Thornton House, Manassas National Battlefield, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

Here's a quick grab shot of an early spring barbecue in preparation. I really like how the color in this shot came out. It's a trivial subject, but I think it shows how the Solinar can perform when you get things right.

 

Burgers and Dogs, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

I'll wrap this up with some shots of an activity that caught my eye - window washers on the gigantic curved glass structure where I work.

 

Spring Cleaning #1, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

These shots were easy, since there was plenty of light and I could shoot at about f11. Of course, the guys working on the glass wondered why this crazy guy with an old camera was taking picture of them.

 

Spring Cleaning #2, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

Spring Cleaning #3, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

I like ths shot above especially. I like how you can see the guy on the left clearly, while the guy on the right has made an interesting pattern of cleaner on the window in front of him.

 

Spring Cleaning #4, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II 35mm Folding Camera

 

The fact is, this little folder is capable of making some nice images. I really like how the Solinar lens represents color. With a maximum aperture of f3.5, applications in low light are very limited. In today's word, f3.5 seems so slow. However, the truth is that a wider aperture would make guess focusing even harder, due to the reduced depth of field that would result.

 

I actually had trouble finding the right circumstances to shoot this camera last month. It's not that there aren't plenty of places this camera does fine in; there are just many more where a little more aperture, or some type of focusing aid would have made it more useful. So, I found that I couldn't really rely on this camera to be anything like general purpose. I made it a point to carry it all month, but found limited opportunities to use it.

 

In May, I'm shooting my Minolta Autocord. This is also an f3.5 camera, but has the benefits of the big 120 medium format negative, and gorgeous ground glass focusing capability. We'll see if I can get more use out of that.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet - Results From April's Camera - Agfa Solinette II

I've only shot one roll of film through the Solinette so far this month. I've gotten a little behind in my writing for this feature as well. But, I did get a few images worth sharing, and I'm hopeful that I'll get some more film through the Solinette before the end of April.

 

My wife and I went to Dayton, Ohio recently. Here are a couple of shots from that weekend.

 

Springtime Portrait, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II with Solinar 50mm f3.5 Lens

 

While in Dayton, we visited a museum in the Carillon Park. I liked this mechanical detail of a generator at the museum.

 

Mechanical Detail, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II with Solinar 50mm f3.5 Lens

 

I have a few more images to share, these taken around home. First, the old manor house at the modern biomedical facility where I work still has spring flowers come up each and every year. These must have first been planted many years ago when the manor house was occupied. I think it's interesting to see these remnants of the lives that people spent living in this beautiful old house.

 

Daffodils at the Manor House, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II with Solinar 50mm f3.5 Lens

 

I grabbed this shot on the way to work one morning. I just had to pull over and catch this sunset.

 

Sunrise, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II with Solinar 50mm f3.5 Lens

 

 

Finally, this scene of a tulip magnolia tree at work caught my eye. I always enjoy when this tree bursts into bloom, and usually photograph it a few times per year. This year, I liked how the shadows of the branches above connected with the fallen petals on the ground. It's a little different, at least. I'll include two examples.

 

Tulip Magnolia Petals, by Reed A. George

Agfa Solinette II with Solinar 50mm f3.5 Lens

I've enjoyed shooting the Solinette so far, even though guess focus is challenging for me. The little Solinar lens is pretty darned sharp in my opinion. The colors are a little muted, but I'm not sure if that's due to the lens or the cheap color print film I used. Either way, I think they look decent.

I've got a new 36 exposure roll of Fuji 100 print film loaded up and ready to go. I think I'll carry the Solinette around tomorrow and see what I can do with it.

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Skeletons From The Closet - April's Camera - The Agfa Solinette II

Agfa Solinette II, April's Skeletons From The Closet Camera

 

April's camera is the Agfa Solinette II, a 35mm folding camera from the 1950s. I actually have two of these - the one pictured above with an Apotar 50mm f3.5 lens, and another with the higher end Solinar 50mm f3.5. I decided to shoot with the Solinar this month.

 

This is a guess focus camera, with no type of rangefinder for estimating distance. There's no battery or meter, either. The Solinette is a very basic, sturdy little camera. Both of mine look like brand new. I think I got both of them on eBay, for around $25 each.

 

Another month with a guess focus camera is challenging for me. Let's see what I can do.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com