There is a plate covering the take-up spool with guiding arrows telling the photographer where to put the film. It’s just really cool, and again saved the Agfa engineers quite a bit of space, which aids the smooth, minimalist design.Ī third engineering feat is the quick-loading system. Don’t ask me how it works, I’m sure there are a bunch of little gears in there. Where most cameras have two separate levers to control film advance and rewinding, the Agfa’s clever gearing means the same crank both advances and rewinds, depending on the position of a small button next to the shutter. With this little feature, Agfa’s engineers managed to make their camera quite a bit shorter, and I’m genuinely surprised that I haven’t seen it on other cameras.Īnother cool design feature is the combined advance/rewind crank. After putting film in the camera, this bottom plate pops back into place, holding the film steady. When you lift the latch to open the film back, a section of the bottom plate pops open as well. But anyway, back to actually handling the camera. The advance lever even looks a bit like the lowercase “B” in the Bauhaus font. It’s plastic, yes, but it doesn’t look or feel cheap. There are no hard edges on the Optima, and there’s something about the material that makes the light hit it nicely from any angle. The entire thing screams Bauhaus, and it really appeals to the graphic designer in me. The entire camera is made of textured black plastic with rounded edges and simple, sans serif fonts. How was I supposed to fit a roll of film in this thing? I’m being dramatic, as always, but it was abundantly clear that this camera had been designed meticulously and with purpose. When I pulled my first Agfa from the box, I was blown away by how small it was. Seems like a good fit, and $45 isn’t such a bad price for a test. It’s a compact, plasticky wonder with excellent design, a 40mm f2.8 Solitar lens, and “manual” focus. Not a great name, but a recognizable one.
Agfa optima sensor flash manual manual#
I also wanted a prime lens, preferably with some kind of manual control. Bag space was limited, so I wanted something small and light. So naturally, when I was planning a trip to Costa Rica in 2018 I wanted to have a cool camera by my side. I guess that’s part of why I write for CP. I’m a big appreciator of the design and feel of a camera, and a big believer in the idea that if you’re a good photographer, you can make good photos with pretty much any gear.
I loved (and still love) to try new cameras, figure out their quirks, and then be either excited or disappointed with the results. I’m happy to report that most of the people I gave them to still use them actively, though. Now they’re typically selling for more than $200. I gave those XAs away to people like they were candy on Halloween, thinking I could always find more at that price. I’ve found multiple Olympus XAs for less than thirty dollars, and in the process, basically ruined myself for almost all other cameras. From Minolta X-700s to Fuji point and shoots with plastic lenses, I was a proud Goodwill scavenger. I would frequent second-hand stores, and buy basically whatever cameras they had. There were plenty of options out there for a clueless amateur like myself. But this was 2016, and the film camera industry was still a bit of a wildcard. I learned to shoot on a quirky Zeiss Ikon SLR that didn’t even have instant mirror return. When I first started shooting in late 2015, I had no idea what I wanted from a camera. It just took me a while to figure out that the camera I was looking for was right under my nose. Or, I should say, I think I found it in 2018 when I first owned (and lost) the Agfa Optima 1035 Sensor. The reason I tell you this is because I think I’ve found it in the Agfa Optima 1035 Sensor. But ideally, one that also can take great photos when I am trying to take photos. The “the best camera is the one you have with you” camera, as the kids like to say. I’ve been looking for the camera I want to have when I’m not necessarily trying to take photos.
I’m not looking for the perfect camera, or one that can do everything, just one that suits my shooting style and isn’t a pain to carry around all the time. I’ve been on a journey for the past five or so years to find my ideal “bring everywhere” camera. How it Took Me Two Years in Four Countries to Realize I Love the Agfa Optima 1035 Sensor