1928 Agfa Standard

The Fellsphoto Vintage 6x9 Gallery

Agfa Standard 1926-31

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I didn't start out to collect these Agfa's but I've really taken quite a liking to them.

left: Deluxe 120 film 6x9cm format with f6.3 10.5cm Agfa Anastigmat Trilinear lens s/n 445831 and 5-speed shutter

centre: 116 film 6.5x11cm format with f6.3 13cm Agfa Anastigmat lens s/n 252057 and 5-speed shutter

right: 120 film 6x9cm format with f4.5 10.5cm Agfa Anastigmat lens s/n 245256 and 5-speed shutter (c.1928)

Agfa Standard 8-speed Trilinear (R)

new addition 2008 (for more see end of page):

120 film 6x9cm with f4.5 10.5cm Agfa Anastigmat Trilinear lens s/n 486725 and 8-speed Compur shutter

pictures taken with the above camera with the f4.5 Trilinear lens and 8-speed Compur shutter:

signpost and snow covered fen	pond on Red Shoot Plain, New Forest	St Wendreda's Church

other peoples pictures: photographs of an oak tree with f6.3 Anastigmat on Retrography

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more about the cameras:


1928 advertisement	Standard Deluxe with the later type viewfinder

with the back open we can see the excellent swing-out film spool holders

note also the later design fold-away viewfinder sight in its closed position

the spool holders swung out for easy loading

the back of the 116 format camera showing Agfa's unique square film window and the early type viewfinder sight

That viewfinder sight was an unfortunate piece of bad design. With its narrow hinge and fixed only with two tiny rivets it was vulnerable to being broken off. So, it's not surprising that many (if not most) have been lost - including the one from my 120 f4.5 Standard. Clearly Agfa became aware of this as they later replaced it with the substantial well-designed fold-away sight seen on my Deluxe (above) and the Compur shuttered version below.

(Because there are two alternatives it's good practice, when listing one of these for sale on ebay, to include a photograph of the viewfinder side.)

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Below: late model fitted with 8-speed Compur shutter and Trilinear lens.

The only one I've ever seen fitted with a Compur shutter

Agfa Standard 8-speed Trilinear (R)

Some minor restoration was needed:

The focusing was seized (as usual, due to Agfa's renowned green grease). Of course, ideally it should be stripped down, cleaned and re-greased. However, softening the grease with gentle heat followed by a little WD40 on the helix got it moving. (For full explanation see here)

The bent focussing lever and baseboard pointer needed to be bent back to shape. Naturally, I was very concerned that, in doing this, the lever might break. Thankfully, it proved to be malleable and there was no problem.

close up of bent focussing lever

How did it get like this? My guess is that the camera had been used, or perhaps, more likely, left standing open for some time, with the focus set to 10m and there it had seized. The owner must have deliberately bent the lever to get the lens assembly back into the body!

Which leaves the lens being cloudy. But I can live with that. In the age of Photoshop we can easily correct for the loss of contrast.

All in all a rare prized addition to my collection.

(A year later the focussing is still free moving and smooth in operation.)

my method for How to free an Agfa camera's seized focussing

link to: Agfa Standard manual
on cameramanuals.org

"The beginner in photography should carefully study a handbook such as the Agfa Manual for Beginners, given away with every Agfa camera."