I had intended to do a full review of this camera, but thought that it’s inclusion in this Keppler’s Vault about Rapid film might be more appropriate.

I stuffed varying lengths of Tri-X Pan into the Rapid cassette, and “adventures in the dark” began. My findings? If you stuffed too long a strip of 135 film into the Rapid cassette, it would bind, the film would tear, and film chips would damage the camera. Eventually, I returned to the exciting world of the 35mm SLR, but the Minolta 24 Rapid is somewhere in storage, ready to be an interesting compact film camera again.;) As a budget offering, the results you get from this Fuji-made Agfa 200 film were always absolutely fine, at worst. A lot of people even thought they went over and above what you’d expect for the price. Agfaphoto APX 400 is rated ISO 400 but with the potential to be pushed to 1600 without a significant drop in quality.

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At the time of writing, there actually is a shop near me that still sells it at the price they always did, but at that price I preferred the results I got with the ColorPlus anyway. The ones here are from the Agfa.

Similar to the Karat 6.3, the Karat 4.5's most noticeable difference is the use of brushed aluminum top and bottom covers. This model has an improved lens when compared to the two earlier models. But there’s also a joy of film photography. The chance shot, the authenticity – you just feel more hands on with a film camera. But it is more work, there’s no denying that.

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Once again, not willing to be outdone by their biggest competitor, AGFA responded with their own competing format which they called AFGA Rapid film. Curiously, rather than design a new and easy to use all in one solution like Kodak did, AGFA simply rebranded their original Karat cassette to cassette system with only one minor change, which was a small tab on the outside of the cassette to identify what speed film was in the cassette. As the name implies, AGFA Rapid film is supposed to be faster to load. The Silette LK of 1958 is a cheaper variant of the SL, with a Color Apotar 2.8/45mm lens and a Pronto LK 15-250 shutter. Launched the same year, the Silette Automatic (named Silette SLE at the beginning) is better, with the meter reading visible inside and a bright-line viewfinder. Once upon a time, the answer to that question was almost anywhere. Nowadays, unfortunately, it’s going to be almost nowhere. Post-war Karats are equipped with Karat-Xenar Schneider lenses (5-element in 4 groups), that did not use the normal Schneider lens serial number sequence, using instead a low five digit number (14000-) as the factories were restarted. The Karat 36's top engravings varied significantly over the years. Initially it was similar to the Karat 12, but the last model did away with the AGFA diamond logo and has script Agfa Karat 36 across the top.

In 2004, consumer film production ended. [2] A management buy out of the consumer imaging division was made to form the company named AgfaPhoto, soon after AgfaPhoto files for bankruptcy [3]. Some of the factories and machinery from Leverkusen were sold. AgfaPhoto is now a holding company and licences branding to other manufactures. It being made by Fujifilm explains why it got killed off, as the company announced in 2017 they’d be discontinuing most of their C-41 colour film lines. When I compare my results with those I got from Kodak ColorPlus 200 and Fujicolor Industrial 100, I’d say the Agfa Vista Plus 200 gives a more neutral look. The film transport has a tiny adjustment screw for the clutch under the film receiving spool that can be used for adjustment.The Karat 2.8 was the first of the second series of Agfa Karats. It was later called the Karat 12 to differentiate it from the newer Karat 36. The lens standard and bellows arrangement are basically identical to the Karat 3.5, while the body is entirely new. The Karat 12 has a combined viewfinder/ rangefinder and a lever wind. The unusual split-image rangefinder, different from most, shifted the entire upper and lower halves of the viewfinder image when focusing and focus was achieved when the images coincided. This arrangement is very comfortable for use and allows focusing not only in the center. You could go for an ISO 400 colour negative film, but then you’d be paying more and getting away from the advantage ColorPlus has and Agfa had, which was their low price.

One variant of the 1958 basic Silette has a different, elevated top plate that announced the style of the later models.Karat film used a simpler cassette without a central spool that was easier and cheaper to manufacture, and since cameras that used it did not require the ability to rewind the film, Karat compatible cameras could be made cheaper as well. The downside however is that it wasn’t compatible with established cameras like the Leica and Contax, and due to the way the film advanced, no more than 12 exposures could be loaded at one time, down from 36 in Kodak’s film. Strap on your Halcyon angled-glass goggles, because we’re about to condense a hundred-and-fifty years of company history into just three small paragraphs. That’s fast. Nowadays, the only real Agfa film – made by Agfa and branded as such – is produced for B2B aerial photography use. It is available at a consumer level, but under the Rollei label, just to muddy the waters even more. One of the most common faults on the Karat is that the focusing mechanism seizes. The grease used turns to glue. Forcing the focus lever spreads two legs that stabilize the lens and mechanism. On early Karats, the link to the rangefinder on one of these legs is screwed from underneath, making it necessary to partially remove the bellows, but on the 36, the screw is from the top making it easy to disconnect the rangefinder. It is then possible to undo the mechanism retaining ring inside the camera and drop the mechanism and lens out, leaving the bronze focusing mechanism exposed and possible to free up. One recently required heat from a hair drier to loosen the two pieces, but most just require oiling to free up, then cleaning, then re-greasing. Agfa Ansco View Cameras (field cameras in quarter-plate, 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10-inch sizes; strictly Ansco cameras)