Agfa Optima (first version) with automatic program from 1959
- Kamera Ostalgie
- Oct 25
- 6 min read
Yes, it is another Agfa Optima ! This is the first one of 1959. As I was checking out another box of cameras that had been part of the sales table stock from the 1990's I pulled out this little beauty, it had it's sales ticket still attached and must have been sat in that box for about 30 years! Well I'm glad it did not sell then, as it means I can check it out now, when to be honest I can appreciate it more!
Whilst I have the later Optima II still handy, as I have just put a film in it to try it out, we can photograph them both and see how they differ.
So lets look a bit more into the history of the Optima. It was brought out in 1959 and was
claimed by Agfa to be the first automatically programmed camera. I'm not sure if they meant just Agfa cameras or all cameras, but lets just call it the first automatic Agfa to be safe ! It must have been really advanced in 1959, a camera where you just pressed the button and the camera sorted out the shutter speed and aperture for you. What a brilliant concept.
Agfa did not rest on their laurels here, no chance, they took the concept and ran with it, quickly producing the Optima I, where the magic button was moved to the other side. This had the cheaper Agnar lens. The next Optima was the Ia, also with the cheaper Agnar lens, then the Optima II and the Optima IIS both with the better Apotar lens, like the original Optima.
The IIS is worth a further mention as it was fitted with a coupled rangefinder which must have made it the Optima to have in the early 1960's, unfortunately most of them were sold in America, even the Germans could not get hold of one. They had to make do with the Optima III, which had a faster shutter, but no rangefinder!
Luckily the Agfa development did not stop there, but the boys from Bavaria gave us the Agfa Optima IIIS, oh yes, with Compur Special shutter with a 500th top speed and a coupled rangefinder. The IIIS was definitely marketed in Great Britain as it is shown in various Agfa Catalogues of the time along with the top model the Optima 500S. In the Agfa catalogues of the period, the prices are: Optima I: £28 10 6, Optima II: £39 16 4, Optima III: £49 17 0, Optima IIIS: £59 17 6.
To finish off, in 1963 came the best of the lot, the Optima 500S, similar spec to the IIIS but with Agfa's top quality Color-Solinar lens, what a camera that must have been! Automatic exposure, Rangefinder, Solinar lens! Wow. The prices for the high spec Optima 500S was a whopping £65.00! Big money for 1963.
But if this is not enough variety in the Optima range for you, we have this, the Optima that is not an Optima. The Agfa Selecta -m- ! But that maybe is a story for another day!
Okay, that is a quick history of the Agfa Optima Range, lets have a look at the first Optima model in some detail!
One of the most obvious differences between the first Optima and the later versions is that the shutter release, or magic button as Agfa liked to call it, is on the left side where all other versions of the Optima it is on the right. However in the case of this first version of the Optima, the leaver or button is not the actual shutter release! Yes really! It just lets you know if there is enough light to take the picture. So you press the lever down with your left hand, then if it is okay to take the picture you get the little green disc in the viewfinder and you press the shutter release button, which is on the right side of the top plate with your right hand !
I know, it sounds a bit complicated, but actually it is not that bad in practise. The awkward bit is that the magic button or lever that you press to get the green light seems to have a really long throw, you press this down for ever, hold it there, then you have to feel for the shutter release with your right finger! It is at best awkward, at worst it could really put you off the camera, but it does become better the more you practise it. If you are going to use an early Optima, really practise with it before you put a film through it!
It could be worse, in order to improve things on the later models the magic button or lever is the light meter check and the shutter release combined, which really should be an improvement, it is in a way, but now you have this long press to get the green signal, then you keep going past it to eventually fire the shutter! It also seems to take forever and you need a fair bit of pressure to trigger the shutter, which can lead to camera shake if you are not careful. I have been out using the Optima II today and it does get a bit irritating trying to press far enough to fire the shutter, by the end of afternoon it was getting slightly tiresome. Apart from the shutter issues I really like the Optimas. I thought it may be me, but long term Camera Blogger in the USA, Jim Grey also has come to a similar conclusion in one of his posts. You can read it here:-
Well worth a read, Jim Greys Down the Road series of articles.
I think he is a bit more critical of the Optima than myself, but it is true in what he is saying, Agfa made this camera quite cumbersome to operate. I have a slightly more forgiving take on things as I love the rest of the camera and it's 60's German style! But would I use it over one of my old Exas for example? No not a chance the Exa wins every time. However I still can't wait to try the original Optima out with film too!
What I like about doing this camera blog is that some of my millions of readers take the time and trouble to add information, correct mistakes and even provide pictures to make these posts better and more accurate. The following bit of information was passed on to me by a kind member of the blog. On the front plate of the original Optima opposite the Agfa badge is a strange circle, which is slightly recessed, but looks rather odd. I could not for the life of me work out what it was for. I had not got a clue. Well it turns out it is a cover, like a little door hiding or protecting the flash contact! If you turn the round wheel below it and take the camera off Automatic and spin this wheel gently around, passed the black dot, until you get to the flash sign, when you look up, the door will have opened to reveal the flash contact. Brilliant.
Illustrated in the picture below.
For some reason this post was difficult to write, checking all the facts about a camera that you don't really know that well and have not used much takes a bit more time and I am grateful to regular readers of the blog who have given me pictures and information to use in this post. I think it was worth writing as there is very little information about any of the Agfa Optima cameras on line, not many recent blogs about them, or articles about using them either today. So if you get chance try one out, they are readily available and usually quite reasonably priced. Just be aware of the odd shutter releases! They may test your patience! It will be interesting how the results from the Optima II turn out, I have my fingers crossed.
Take care,
Phil
Further reading :-
