Agfa Isolette II or Ansco Speedex - f4.5 Apotar - Serviced & NEW BLUE Bellows !

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 50 to 80 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 or 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 listing !! Thanks for understanding.


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2024 Addendum........


For those who have followed my auctions for renovated folders the past 25+ years..., I no longer offer a continuous stream of folders on eBay as I am now concentrating on repairing folders sent to me rather than buying and then reselling those same now renovated  folders on eBay. However, I still have a couple of Isolettes on the shelf and will very occasionally still list one of these refurbished / serviced folders on eBay.

 So basically, I now primarily service mostly Agfa, Voigtlander, Zeiss, Certo Six, or a very few other classic folders that others have bought on eBay's market place and sent to me for service instead.... and that I still have parts for.

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This ISOLETTE   on offer is a model Isolette II this time in Ansco Speedex guise...  in very excellent+++ condition. Lens is is the Agfa f4.5 / 85mm Aoptar set in an excellent and serviced " upmarket "  PRONTOR-SVS  shutter !!

The Apotar is excellent lens, an excellent performer !!


 

Obviously everything works ...or else why would I list it! The exciting thing is, unlike 99% of Isolettes offered on eBay, this Isolette carries a replacement NEW  BLUE bellows, because... after all, ALLLLLL original Agfa Isolette bellows have more pinholes than stars in the constellation "Gemini" !!!
 

After repairing over 1300+++ Agfa Isolettes & Records, pinholed bellows are no meer idle speculation or sales pitch, but the hard fact and honest truth as evidenced by my once yearly ( until 3 years ago !! ) $3,000 bill for new replacement bellows for Agfa Isolettes and Records, and also some other makes & models as well !!

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

Agfa f4,5 / 85mm Apotar lens is clean and clear....serviced! I should note for the uninitiated, an Isolette II does NOT have a rangefinder, thus focusing is either by estimating the distance, or... using an accessory rangefidner mounted on the accessory show such as were offered by Watameter, Medis, Voigtlander, or a few others.

  The SERVICED PRONTOR-SVS shutter speeds are crisp and accurate... 1sec to 1/300 plus B ! 

 

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 Isolettes on eBay ( or anywhere else ) ... and a " funky " self-timer to boot !!  

 

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.

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 1000 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 = DESTRROY ) 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 & Safe  2024 !!

Attention: All YOUR Questions should be answered below…
 

 Number ONE... if you have questions, please ask !!! Typographical errors are NOT unheard of !!!!


 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 - 70 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 can go wrong... even if they have been serviced…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! My eBay descriptions are correct for the functionality of each folder listing. 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 possession, not after they have left my hands. 

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, and I will replace or repair
 
your camera.  I do NOT ship items that are not functional!! It may be that you do not understand or are familiar with the folder you have bought and decide that you don’t like the camera and its features or how it operates, so please be sure you know what you are buying and that buying a half century old mechanical object encumbers the buyer to have a fair amount of tolerance for something that will not be “factory perfect” and in all aspects, function “as NEW”  !!!

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! Tiny marks on a lens, such as specks of coating loss or even minute scratches will have absolutely no impact on photos taken. Anything more serious than that I simply do not sell !!