Agfa Billy Record II. 1950's Folding Camera From Munchen
- Kamera Ostalgie
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
Well, it is snowing today, here in the frozen wastes of Northen England, so lets stay in and have a close look at the Agfa Billy Record II, a very nice looking and workmanlike camera from 1952. Often overlooked, (maybe the 'Billy' name does not help), often completely forgotten, but if you are looking for a lightweight medium format camera that will give you top quality results and not break the bank even after a service, then the Billy Record II must be a contender.
Forget the terrible name, just look at the quality of this camera, this is the real deal, come on lets take a look.
Usually the case of a camera will give you a rough idea of the quality of the camera before you even open the case. This is a good quality very well made case, very nice leather, the case bears a makers name and you would expect the camera inside to be a good quality item, which is the case here! No pun intended!
The maker of this case is embossed on it, it is DM, not one I know, but this is a seriously well made case using top quality hide and yes as expected inside is a real quality camera.
So, on the outside of the camera we have the Agfa logo near the top, on the door is embossed Agfa Billy Record II and underneath Made In Germany.
This is what we find when we open the camera up. A 105mm Agfa Apotar f4.5, marked Steinheil Nr 315484. The shutter is a Prontor - S which is quite well speeded. With 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, and B.
Stienheil was a well established lens manufacturer also based in Munich or Munchen if you prefer, so It looks like they produced the Agfa Apotar lens for Agfa. VL stands for Verglash which means basically that the Apotar lens is a coated one to reduce any flare. The Apotar was a well regarded lens in it's day and this camera is still a capable bit of kit.
The Billy Record II takes 8 images of 6x9cm on a 120 roll film, I've seen images on the internet taken with one of these cameras and the quality is superb, so today this would make a great medium format camera to use, without having to lug the bulk of a large conventional medium format camera around and still get high quality images.
Just look at the size of the negative you would get from this camera, and the Stienheil 105mm Agfa Apotar has the means to cover this image with no dramatic fall off in quality. The Billy Record was also available with the Agfa Solinar lens, which is regarded as even better. The camera stops down to a tiny f 32! Can you imagine the depth of field you could potentially get with this camera sat on a tripod using a cable release and taking a landscape at f32! Mind blowing for a folding camera.
Of course this model does not come with a Rangefinder, however unlike many old folders it does have a great quality accessory shoe built into the alloy viewfinder housing, so that you can mount a rangefinder on top. Sit a good rangefinder on it and you have the means for some first rate images.
The cast alloy viewfinder is a belter nice and clear, I can even see all the corners with my glasses on and there is always the little reflex viewfinder to fall back on if you prefer. It swivels so that you can use it with landscape or portrait formats.
The Billy Record focuses from 1 meter to infinity and the lens is marked off at 8 (infinity), 12, 6, 4, 3, 2.4, 2, 1.5, 1.2, and 1 meter. Amazingly for an aging Agfa from the early 50's the focus adjustment ring is as smooth as the day it left Munchen seventy four years ago, quite often the focus on old Agfa folders seizes up solid, due to the grease they used drying out and turning solid over time. How this has not happened here I'm not sure unless it has been serviced sometime in the past.
The mega observant among my millions of subscribers will have noticed that this camera is marked in metres not feet, which is strange as usually cameras bound for England were marked in feet. This one belonged to my late father and he had owned it for many years, it is not a recent purchase off German eBay ! So the meter engraving is a little odd.
There is a further clue on the camera back, lets take a look.
A neat little transfer with the words Foto Kofler Villach in German!
Well, lets do a little digging, it turns out that Villach is a City in Austria, in the Carinthia region in the Alps near the Slovenian border. Digging a little deeper, until 2005 there was a camera shop in Villach called Photo Kofler GesmbH on Barnhofstrasse 15. So it looks very likely that the camera was sold from that photography shop in Villach in 1952, how it ended up here and into the possession of my Father is not known, but he owned it for years, so it must have come over here pretty early on in its life. It does however explain the focussing being in meters! So that is one little mystery solved.
I like this camera, it is a good looking folder, very solid and sturdy, the bellows are still light tight, which is a plus, these plastic Agfa bellows are usually full of pinholes! It just looks a capable piece of design and I suppose it has just evolved from the early 1930's when it first came out.
The history of the Billy Record can be read up on here, though the museum does not have this particular model.
The Record is recorded separately, and is very similar to the Billy Record.
Both sections are worth a read, as is the whole site if you are into Agfa Cameras!
The shutter release and winding on red warning reminder. The shutter release is large, it's very easy to release this shutter smoothly unlike many folders of the time.
The little red disc reminds you to wind the film on to its next exposure. Even if you don't take the hint the camera won't let you press the shutter until you wake up and wind on.
The large knob is for winding on the film in direction of the arrow.
The button opens the camera door, the bellows pop out into position!
The viewfinder casting incorporates the accessory shoe, it is a really nice quality casting.
And, if you are a fan of the little Reflex
Viewfinders then you have one here, which
swivels for either landscape or portrait
orientations
I suppose the problems from using one today would be the seized up focusing and the bellows with pin holes plus possible lens clean and shutter service. Most decent repairers should be able to clean the lens and service the shutter. I recommend this firm,
They did a great job for me on a folding Balda.
Bellows for the Billy Record ? Give these a try, I have heard good reports about them.
Certo 6 specializes in Agfa folder repairs, he is just on eBay, well worth contacting!
So all you have to do now is go out and find one and give it a go! I must try my example out this year too!
Remember, forget the silly camera name, this is a serious bit of 1950's kit!
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Take care,
Phil
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