The Agfa Compact was launched in 1981 as Agfa Optima 935 and shortly
later renamed Agfa Compact. It was the last of the Optima Sensor series
and even the last camera model produced in the Munich factory. Later
Agfas were made by OEM firms in the far east. The camera was extremely
compact for those days and a design novelty. An early point and shoot
without autofocus.
A working model is rare today. Obviously there were quality problems, most cameras do not work, so choose your seller carefully. I own 3 non-working cameras that were sold as working. If the camera works, it is nice to use.
It's main features are:
Agfa Solinar S 2,8/39mm lens, 4 elements in 3 groups, F2,8 - 22, manual focus, min. focus 1m Automatic
electronic shutter 1/45 - 1/1250 s, no information about the speeds and apertures available Size 113 x 64 x 34, Weight 255 gr. manual ISO 25-400 ISO, dedicated flash available, underexposure LED warning in the finder, motor wind
Lens and finder are well protected behind "dust covers".
Top. Rewind knob uncovered. Has to be turned counterclockwise until it
engages, about a quarter turn. Rewind beginss and stops automatically.
Seen
from the back. Bright finder with parallax marks and LED underexposure
warning. Towards the left: slider to open the back cover and battery
compartment. Takes 2 AAA batteries. Film counter near the top on the
side of the camera.
Seen
from below. Film wind indicator. No tripod socket, no slow speeds. The
little slider to the right uncouples the wind spool in case that you
have to remove a torn film. This has to be done in absolute darkness or
in a sleeve.
Camera
open. If you slide the big slider down, the finder is uncovered and the
lens moves out. ISO setting via the inner ring on the lens front.
The lens moved out. Set to infinity. As there is no distance indication
in the finder, remeber to reset distance if you took a close photo,
otherwise the next photos maybe out of focus. Seen today's film prices
that's not funny.
Seen from top. On the lens barrel: manual distance setting, set to 1m. The famous
red "sensor" shutter release. If you keep it pressed, the camera keeps
shooting at 1 picture per second rate.
Camera
back open. The cartridge spindle swings out. The film leader has to be
hooked with its second or third hole to the winding spool. The camera
has to be on for film loading.
When the leader is hooked, press the shutter release shortly until the
film is wound a bit further. Close the back and lift the spindle back
and film will wind to the first exposure.
Camera with original pouch and neckstrap.
Pouch open.
The Agfa Compact is a
nice and easy to handle camera. It's compact and
takes sharp images, but has no slow speeds. It's sought after for its
novelty compact design, as said above, there are few working cameras on
the market. It's a point and shoot without autofocus and certainly a
collectors item.
