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This is an Agfa Karat 6.3 from about 1937. Its a 35mm bellows camera which takes 12 pictures 24x36mm in size. It is not a conventional folding camera. Instead it uses struts to extend the bellows for picture taking. The bellows can then be collapsed back into the camera body when not in use.

Specifications Lens Type 3 element (uncoated) Igestar Anastigmat Focal Length 50mm Maximum Aperture F6.3 Film Type 35mm film in Karat Cassettes Picture Size 24x36mm Shutter 3 speed Agfa readyset + B Flash Sync None

This picture was taken with a Epson PhotoPC 650 digital camera.

This particular one is an export model, probably for the UK market. On the back it is marked "MADE IN GERMANY" and the focus ring is calibrated in feet instead of metres.

Unfortunately it is in poor condition cosmetically. On the other hand, whilst the black paint work has been damaged and poorly retouched, the Art Deco front panel is virtually unmarked.

Functionality wise - the camera is not in working order. There is definitely a problem with the shutter, and possibly a problem with the film interlock. Click HERE for some pictures of the work in progress on this camera.

This camera was the first in a line of Agfa Karat cameras and was accompanied by the introduction of a new easy load system called the "Karat Cassette". For this you needed 2 cassettes, one empty and one full. During operation the film was wound from one cassette to the other by means of the sprocket holes. The cassettes do not have rotating spools or indeed any moving parts, unlike rollfilm and other 35mm cassettes.


 

Karat cassettes were reintroduced after the war as Rapid cassettes and were popular in point and shoot cameras during the 1960s. They were eventually discontinued sometime in the 1980s.

This is the Agfa Karat advert from the 1938 edition of the British Journal Photographic Almanac. In this edition the camera was also reviewed. It was said to be "tastefully designed" and the Agfa Igestar lens "giving excellent definition". Price given (pounds, shillings and pence) was £5 5s 0d, the neck-sling was 3s and the ever-ready case was 12s. Value today would usually be around £25-£50, depending on condition. This one cost less because as well as poor condition the shutter does not fire either.

A very good page on all the Agfa Karat models can be found at:
http://www.die-karat.de

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