Agfa is one of the storied companies of film. Most of the time, Agfa produced affordable consumer cameras to promote its extensive line of film. This particular SLR from the early 1980s is relatively rare and was designed by a famous German design company, Schlagheck & Schultes. The body is black, but it sports the trademark orange button. I also like that the Chinon-made camera has an easy-to-operate double exposure slider. The Agfa is very suitable for double or multiple exposure images and can operate with all Pentax lenses.
Schloss Augustusburg in Bruehl. Fuji 200.
I have been using a standard Pentax 50mm lens. The Agfa Selectronic 3 is the best of the three cameras made by Chinon for the German company. It is a rebadged Chinon CE-4. I enjoy the unusual design, especially since I was also able to get my hands on a vintage AGFA strap and appreciate the AGFA effort to offer something special with this camera.
Classic camera, classic view: The Cologne cathedral with the Leicaflex SL 2 (Kodak Gold 200)
The camera that nearly broke a company. The Leicaflex SL2 is heavy, solid, clunky. But combined with Leica glass, it’s a marvel of German engineering. The attempt to capture the SLR market might have failed, and Leica might have gone belly-up with this product. Clearly, the Japanese camera companies had gained the edge by this time, producing acceptable quality at a lower price. Leica designers and engineers did not want to compromise and lost the bet. Fortunately for film aficionados nowadays, a Leicaflex SL2 is not out of reach. It still represents a happy marriage between German ingenuity and wonderful sharp lenses.
Kilkenny, Ireland (Kodak Gold 200)
This was my first foray into the Leica universe. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the body was cheaper than the lens! Any Leica-lover will know what I mean. The 50mm Summicron is simply fantastic. Try it out, and you will be amazed at the crisp sharpness. It is as if you were seeing the world in a new light.
Cologne Central Station, detail. 135mm Elmarit-R (Kodak Ektar 100)
This is another solid camera, made to last. The workmanship is supreme, no plastic here. The controls are where they should be. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate but simply designed to appeal and to convince. Fully manual, all-mechanical. The Leicaflex SL2 is heavier than the Japanese competition. It is a brick. But what a pleasure to attach one of these magical lenses and lug this brick around.
Evening sunflare on the banks of the Rhine river (Kodak Ektar 100)
The shutter sound is loud and comprehensive. It is impossible to accidentally expose a frame. The film advance is long and significant. You can sense that the designers cared for their customer. No simple solutions, but mechanical pleasure. Metal-based satisfaction.
The Dom in Aachen as seen through the Summicron lens. (Kodak Portra 400)
This camera conveys a sense of seriousness. You go out and feel you need to capture the world, fix a moment in time on the emulsion of choice. Funnily I never think of loading expired film in the Leicaflex. It seems like blasphemy, as if the camera would be offended. Leica demands the freshest and best available for your budget. What might be next for this gem?
Slightly too much sun: the moat around Schloss Augustusburg in Bruehl (Kodak Potra 400)
No, the Leicaflex SL2 so far has not been my go-to camera for experimental shots. It is the elegant grande dame of my collection. The one you spoil with extravagant outings and exotic locales. Not for her the nitty-gritty of street-art and multiple exposures. Take it with you for the stately homes and the cathedrals of the world. Use it for portraits of your loved ones. It will repay you with the cleanest, sharpest vistas imaginable.
My home is my Schloss: Leicaflex SL2 in Augustusburg. (Kodak Portra 400)
I also have a 135mmElmarit-R lens for the SL2. Yet another superb piece of glass. Sometime I think what if I sell a bunch of other cameras and invest in Leica glass? Then I calculate and find out that even if I sold all of my cameras, my car, and plenty of other possessions, my ability to afford Leica glass would be slim. Ok. Moving on. Maybe adapters.
Even in a democratic republic, some names bear witness to the imperial age: The Hohenzollern railway bridge in Cologne (Kodak Portra 400)
Anytime I venture out with the Leicaflex SL2, I am proud of the hard work that went into producing an artifact like this. I am conscious of the history that went into the development, the research, the craftsmanship, and even the marketing. Sometime I think of Oskar Barnack, the pioneer of camera design, and the Wetzlar employees today continuing a long tradition. IN retrospect, the Leicaflex SL2 might not have been the epitome of photographic innovation. But it sure feels good in your hands.
Rain and rust will not destroy our love (Kodak Portra 400)Fishing nets on the Heider Bergsee. (Kodak Ektar 100)The 135mm Elmarit-R at work: Detail of the Cologne Cathedral (Kodak Ektar 100)
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