Old school.

I updated my avatar with the first camera I ever shot with. I've spent some time restoring and cleaning it as it has been sitting in my dads basement for maybe 30 years. The camera was my dads but as he had moved on to better cameras, he let me use it all the time. I must have been maybe 9~10 when I started taking pictures with this and it's the camera that instilled my lifelong passion for photography. I didn't know what I was doing at the time but it taught me things like DOF, focusing, and what I later came to know as the sunny 16 rule as it had no built in metering.

The camera is an Agfa Karat 36, a fine example of German engineering. It was manufactured some time in the late 40s and the camera still works today. It has some great features such as a wonderful f/2.8 lens, shutter speeds from 1 sec to 1/500, a DOF calculator built in on top and a rangefinder focus system.

The camera still works and I'm going to take it for an outing this weekend to take a few pics. Anyway, here is a larger shot of the camera.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Vintage...this may be a stupid question but, does it have a light meter on it?

Edit: Nevermind, just read your post again.

scot079 wrote in post #4683078
Vintage...this may be a stupid question but, does it have a light meter on it?

Edit: Nevermind, just read your post again.

No auto anything. Manual from the get go. I still remember my cheat sheets as I tried to figure out what a f/stop was. Lets see, ASA 100, set shutter to 1/100, its sunny so set to f/16, but I want to stop motion so that means I have to set to 1/200 so the f/stop becomes what again? F/11? Why not F/8? Yea, I remember that crap.

I love having a manual camera. My leica makes me first look at the ASA, then the aperture i set on the lens, then i figure a decent shutter speed. I check the meter, and yep, im spot on! Its great practice

mknawabi wrote in post #4685322
I love having a manual camera. My leica makes me first look at the ASA, then the aperture i set on the lens, then i figure a decent shutter speed. I check the meter, and yep, im spot on! Its great practice

That was my second camera. It's an old Leica IIIc SN/471524. I still have that one as well but I have not yet been able to make it work. It seems that the shutter curtain is stuck. I was hoping to get that one working as I also have a Elmar 9cm (90) f/1.4 and a Seiki-Kogaku 13.5cm (135) f/1.4, and the standard Elmar 50mm f/3.5 and it would be a blast to go out shooting with it.

Hey John

Cool piece of German engineering.

Sort of my past too.

I have to smile when someone that's never shot a frame of film asks if you understand the basics of photography.

Thanks for the explanation--I had noticed your avatar but it's nice to know the story behind it.

I well remember the sunny 16 rule... I was only 16 and no way could I afford a light meter. After a while I got one of those wheel calculator things, and eventually after a lot of saving a handheld meter! I can remember lusting after an Exa 1A, it was an SLR but didn't have a pentaprism built in, you focused looking down onto a ground glass screen.

things have changed just a little.

It's a rangefinder, so VERY quiet & great for concert & low light pics. You should check & find out what it's worth. I bought a Nikon SP black dial decades ago for $30 & it's worth $800 now.

Bill Roberts wrote in post #4689890
I well remember the sunny 16 rule... I was only 16 and no way could I afford a light meter. After a while I got one of those wheel calculator things, and eventually after a lot of saving a handheld meter! I can remember lusting after an Exa 1A, it was an SLR but didn't have a pentaprism built in, you focused looking down onto a ground glass screen.

things have changed just a little.

Yes, I didn't know I was getting taught the sunny 16, but that's what it was alright. My dad tried to teach me a bunch but I hardly remember them anymore. I do remember the rule of thirds though and also to try and always get the aperture around f/8. He had a little saying, something like f/8 and it'll be great, but I don't remember what it really was.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #4693552
It's a rangefinder, so VERY quiet & great for concert & low light pics. You should check & find out what it's worth. I bought a Nikon SP black dial decades ago for $30 & it's worth $800 now.

I don't think I'm gonna sell this one. I finally have the camera fully functional and all cleaned up so next weekend I'm headed out to give it a try. I was thinking for old school to pick up some old Tri-X or something, but I'll have to settle for some Kodak Gold 100 as thats what I got lying around the house.

Well, if you ever decide to sell that elmar, lemme know I think if you send the camera to DAG for a CLA, he can give you a quote and probably fix it right up. My Leica is an M6 ttl

I love this thread. I learned on the much later Nikon FG with a meter, but those things were built like tanks!! ASA always sounded better than ISO.