Agfa Ambiflex III |
Version française |
Manufactured or assembled in Germany from (Circa) 1960 to (Circa) 1966.
Index of rarity in France: Infrequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 4082
See the complete technical specifications
Chronology of cameras Agfa
The Agfa Ambiflex is a single-lens reflex camera with interchangeable viewfinder and lens, and a coupled light meter, produced by the German company between 1958 and 1963. It is equipped with a central shutter Prontor Reflex, offering B setting and speeds from 1 second to 1/300.
In the basic version, called Ambiflex II (Agfaflex IV in the United States), it is equipped with a waist-level viewfinder and a 50mm Color Solinar lens with an aperture of F:2.8.
It is called Ambiflex II (Agfaflex IV in the United States) if it has a prism viewfinder and the same lens, and becomes Ambiflex III (Agfaflex V in the United States) with the prism viewfinder and a 55mm F:2 Color Solagon lens.
The Color Ambion 35mm F:3.4, Color Telinear 90mm F:3.4, and Color Telinear 135mm F:4 lenses were also available.
The selenium (photovoltaic) light meter is sensitive to aging, especially if it remains exposed to light. It is therefore recommended to protect it, for example by keeping the camera in its bag. The light meter needle is visible in a small window on the top of the body, near the shutter release and to the right of the viewfinder. The film sensitivity is pre-displayed (red engraved scales, in ASA and DIN, on either side of the aperture scale), and by adjusting the aperture and (or) shutter speed, the exposure is correct when the light meter needle is aligned between the two marks.
When used with the prism viewfinder, the light meter is not visible in the viewfinder. The advantage of upright viewing is partly spoiled by the need to leave the viewfinder to check the light meter. On the other hand, the waist-level viewfinder allows you to control both framing and the light meter together, but the inverted image is not always appreciated, especially by amateur photographers.
The film is advanced and the shutter is cocked using a lever. The film counter is a manual reset decreasing counter (located on the back and near the base).
When the camera is at rest (not cocked), the mirror is up and the shutter is closed. During cocking, the mirror drops, a curtain closes the image window, the shutter opens, and the aperture opens to full aperture. The image is visible in the viewfinder until the shutter release.
A notable feature is the depth-of-field indicator, consisting of a more or less visible black sector in a notch on the distance ring, depending on the focus and aperture setting. However, no visual control is possible in the viewfinder, as the aperture remains fully open during viewing.
Also note that the lenses do not have an aperture adjustment ring; it is integral with the shutter unit and transmits the selected setting to the lens by a system of levers and cams.
The Ambiflex III (Agfaflex V in the United States) features a pentaprism viewfinder and a 55mm Color Solagon lens with an aperture of f/2.
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