Agfa Isolette II - CLA'd - NEW Brown Leatherette & Classic Red 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 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 late model Isolette II Mark II in very excellent++++ condition. Lens is is the top of the line Agfa f3.5 / 75mm SOLINAR set in an excellent Prontor SV shutter !!

The SOLINAR is an excellent lens and was always used in Agfa's top of the line cameras from the 1930's through the 1980's !!


To make this classic Agfa Isolette II even more appealing, it has been recovered in new, and MOST handsome Cinnamon Brown Leatherette. The photos speak for themselves on this one  !!
 

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 Classic RED  bellows, because... after all, ALLLLLL original Agfa Isolette bellows have more pinholes than stars in the constellation "Gemini" !!!
 

After repairing over 1500+ Agfa Isolettes & Records, pinholed bellows are no meer idle speculation or sales pitch, but the hard fact and honest truth as evidenced by my yearly $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 exceptionally NICE.  HOWEVER,  I should note there is a small dimple next to the accessoru shoe as you can see depicted in one or two of the photos.

Agfa f3,5 / 75mm SOLINAR lens is clean and clear....serviced! I should note for the uninitiated, the 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 SV 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 ) !!  

 

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 99.99% aren't ! ) ... 
     should you even find one !... especially one fitted with the REKNOWNED  SOLINAR lens !!!!

b) has a serviced fully functional  shutter
 

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 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 2023 !!

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 !!

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 25% I will simply throw away ( 97% of my folders are bought on 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 note... first class international is uninsured and therefore the buyer must assume any liability for loss or damage if you choose first class Mail !!!

After all the foregoing, If it is determined that a folder must be returned for refund, the buyer pays the return postage!!