Agfa Billy Black modello 51 Analogue camera

AGFA BILLY CLACK mod.51 - 1936. Built in Germany from 1936, the Agfa Billy Clack mod.51 is a folding camera for 120 roll film, capable of 16 exposures in a 4.5 cm x 6 cm format. Essential to the point of Spartan simplicity, yet simple and effective, the Agfa Clack opens with a press of the button on the top, near the film advance dial: a pantograph lever system, connected by simple pins and gears, aided by springs, opens the front of the camera immediately, placing it directly in working position. The Agfa Clack has two viewfinders, clear and detailed, for framing the subject: with the camera in horizontal orientation we get vertical framing and vice versa, since the film is a half-format compared to the classic 6x9 cm commonly used on cameras of this type, which has horizontal framing with a horizontal camera. The very simple rotating shutter provides a fixed shutter speed of about 1/100 second and the B exposure adjustable with a lever next to the viewfinder for horizontal framing: at the symbol “dot” corresponds the 1/100 s, at the symbol “line” corresponds to B exposure. On the opposite side of the Clack we find three levers: one for inserting an integrated yellow/green filter, one to lock the shutter release which also functions as a PoseT, and one to support the camera in a vertical position over a flat surface. There is also a tripod mount with 3/8" thread. The lens is a Jgenar 7.5 cm, a meniscus-type single-element lens, with maximum aperture f/8.8. The diaphragm has three positions: f/8.8 - f/11 - f/16 adjustable on the front panel, below the lens. Film loading, the classic 120 roll film, is simple: the frames for the take-up spool and film can be pulled out from outside the case to aid loading. Focus is fixed and, aided by the relatively stopped-down diaphragm, allows decent sharpness from about 4/5 meters to infinity. The Agfa Billy Clack mod.51, although a basic camera of its era, is well made, with good chrome and precision mechanisms. Weight is 470 grams; dimensions are: 14 x 8 x 3.8 cm when closed.