eBay

Description

Please pardon this redundant introduction to my auctions, but the eBay experience dictates that I include it.........

Folks, thanks to eBay, there is almost no such thing as rare anymore... except for the more esoteric stuff that was rare even when new 50 years ago!

99.9% of cameras you see on eBay are NOT rare ! WHAT IS RARE ...is a 70 to 50 year old camera that is functioning properly, not just as a decoration, or worse... a fleamarket orphan… but as a useable photographic tool !!

Please read the Description carefully and completely to fully understand what you are buying!!

Please note, I often use the same of similar descriptions for like camera models, changing only those points particular to the specific item in the auction. , there is little need to reinvent ( or retype ) the wheel for each new !! Thanks for understanding

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This ISOLETTE on offer is a late model Isolette II in very excellent condition. Lens is is the top of the line Agfa f3.5 / 75mm SOLINAR set in an excellent Prontor-S shutter !! The Solinar is every bit as good as the vaunted Tessar by Zeiss... I just happen to think the Solinar is even better!!

Obviously everything works ...or else why would I list it! The exciting thing is, unlike 99.999% of Isolettes offered on eBay, this Isolette carries a new replacement BLUE bellows, because... after all, ALLLLLL original Agfa Isolette bellows have more pinholes than stars in the constellation "Taurus" !!!

After repairing over 1200+ Isolettes, that is no idle speculation, but the honest reality of it !!

Condition of the camera is much better than excellent ++. nothing used and 65+ years old is ever mint ( like me ), but it is very very NICE. Lens is clean and clear.

The SERVICED shutter speeds are crisp and accurate!

Heck, the point is, you are buying a serviced - CLA'd camera that is warranted to perform as it should... NO stuck/frozen focus rings! NO shutters with haphazard speeds! And especially NO Leaky BELLOWS, which are the norm for Agfa folders on eBay ( or anywhere else ) !!

Should you have questions on this or other folder renovations, please email and or visit certo6 on the web... you'll find a couple of instructions for folders there as well as pictures taken with folders by my customers.

For the Reserve price on this piece... basically ask yourself:

a) what is the cost on eBay of an Isolette II in excellent "looking" condition that the seller says is "excellent" with a light tight bellows ( which they aren't ! )

b) has the desirable f3.5 Solinar lens that attracts a lot of serious photographers

c) now add the price of the obligatory CLA to remedy the littany of age induced maladies most 50+ cameras have, especially Agfas

d) now add the price of a replacement bellows that 99.9999% of Isolettes with original "plastic" bellows must have ( $90. !! )...

e) add the eBay and PayPal fees that every auction listing generates for the seller

= add those all up and you will be significantly above the reserve price on this listing !!!!

The following is for bidders new to my auctions and is my general discourse on folders and what you can expect from my folders. If you've read this before... just skip it....

As many of you already know, I offer rehabilitated folders... like this one. Every folder I list on eBay is not just a flea market find, or an eBay "let's pass it on to the next sucker" item. Every folder had been cleaned , lubricated, and adjusted... and as often as not, had broken parts fixed or replaced.

You've probably had the same experience as I... the good looking folder on eBay arrives at least partially unusable. Either the focusing is frozen, the slow speeds are "slow" ( which means all the rest are ALSO!! ), rangefinders don't line up, are out of adjustment, or just not viewable. In short, not a camera that's usable. Now on rare occasions you get lucky and the camera is pretty nice... but even here, at the very least, that fifty year old shutter does need a thorough cleaning. I see my function as one who offers these venerable and well engineered old folders to a new ( and some times the same ) generation of photographers who enjoy the simple pleasures of photography that these old machines bring out in us.

Yes, they are slower than a digital P/S, but they give a whopping huge digital file ( scanned ) and with today's films, even what were THEN, medium rung lenses give astoundingly excellent results. Often times people are disappointed with the results from their folder. However, that is almost universally the result of one or two ( or both ) factors: i.e., slow sticky shutters, focusing adjustment needed OR, USUALLY... a bad bellows. Bellows are OFTEN advertised on eBay as being good and light-tight. Well, not to disparage anyone, but 50% of the folders ... and 100% of Isolettes ... I have bought off eBay ( about 1100 of them now ) NEED NEW BELLOWS !!! Needless to say, if your bellows has even the slightest pin hole, it will make your pictures look like it has a bad lens!!!

And for heavens sakes, PLEASE do not use that stupid "fabric Paint" or some other internet concoction that some Joe discovered to fix ( actually = DESTROY ) his grandma's Kodak Tourist ( whose bellows by the way almost always have more pinholes than the entire number of stars in the Milky Way !!! ). Want to ruin a bellows quickly, put some of that goo on / in your bellows !!!!!

Only a legitimate overhaul, will make that "Old" camera take wonderful pictures again.

Thanks for looking and Have a Great Summer 2018 !!

Attention: All YOUR Questions should be answered below…

In my auctions, “ what you see is what you get “ ( EXCEPT FOR OBVIOUS PROPS ! ). I may sometimes err on descriptions, but I always post the pictures of the item up for auction. Also, please note 99.99% of the items I sell are used - and VERY OLD - that means they are not new, they will show signs of previous ownership and use. Anything that is not at least excellent ++ ( and that means "nice. I wouldn't mind having that!" ), I will either not sell or clearly state that it is not "pretty," shows scratches, etc. If your intent is to find a NEW item that is 20 - 40 years old, please don't hassle me about something so trivial as fingerprints or rub marks that naturally come from handling an item.

To cut to the chase, if you want a new 20 - 69 years old item for you to look at on your display shelf...DO NOT BID!!

For more information on folding cameras, please go to my website certo6 . I do warrant my folders with a repair or replace policy. As these cameras are almost all 50 years or more old, they of course cannot be guaranteed... they are old, used, and stuff goes wrong...its that simple. However, out of courtesy, if a folder I sell needs further service (within a reasonable time of course!), just send it back and I'll take care of it.

Unless REALLY unusual circumstances, like War, Pestilence, Nuclear Holocaust, or the like... I do not give refunds...it is replace or repair only! For all other types ( non folding ) of cameras / items (they are all used!), I can only take responsibility for my description while the item was in my hands, not their continued longevity.

My first and foremost mission is to renovate these old classic cameras for a new generation of USERS / PHOTOGRAPHERS.... NOT for "collectors" to salivate over a "NEW" 70 year old camera!

However, I too am not infallible and if there should be a problem with your camera, please contact me before you leave a malicious ( there are NO OTHER KINDS ) negative feedback.

People still email me to ask about fungus, mold, or what not on the lens... I throw such lenses away...I do NOT sell them on eBay! Some may question why my classic folding cameras cost more ( set reserve ) than the same ( Well, not really ) camera that sells on eBay or the local yard sale for $20! Basically, to repeat...

I don't just take the yard sale folder , rush home and put it on eBay. About 20% I will simply throw away ( most of those bought off eBay ) or just use for parts, because they are pure junk...and the rest are literally renovated and prepared for their next owner who can now use it to actually take pictures instead of moaning about being ripped off again. So, obviously, my reserve has to be higher than the "junkyard dog" that is the too often offering on eBay. About 90% of reserve reflects cost, labor, and materials to renovate or CLA a folder. It's really that simple.

For those who didn't know, eBay does not provide a free service... they make plenty of money from each of my, and millions of others, on this web site. My average listing costs are from $11. to $55. per item... depending of final sale price of course. But, just to list an item costs between $3. to $7 dollars, even if it doesn't sell! So, please, do not ask me for free shipping just because you did the Buy it Now thingy!!! eBay does not give me a break because you bought it "Now!" ( In fact every now and again I get a call from eBay telling me they'll give me special rates if I offer free shipping... when I tell them what my real shipping costs are, they are dumbfounded... they must think everybody on eBay sells baseball cards that ship for .44cents to Podunk, Alaska !!!

Please note, contrary to eBay’s wishes, I simply can’t afford to offer free shipping on all my offerings. However, as it turns out, I subsidize most of my shipping costs by about 10 to 20% out of pocket anyway!!

… and 95% of the time I ship within one day as payment is received.

Shipping & Handling to be paid by winning bidder, insurance included.

Shipping for most things in the USA will be between $8. to $18.

Foreign shipments for cameras to Asia & Europe average about $46. - $50. For INSURED POST… Uninsured First Class is about $27.

Canada averages $15.( Uninsured FIRST CLASS ) > $33. ( Insured Priority Post )

Please look at my other items for sale! Since at least 90% of folders bought on eBay or garage, & flea market sales that need to be serviced, I also service these folders . Simply send me an email concerning your camera