Agfa Optima 500 User manual

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 The lens fitted to vour camera is a product of the Agfa camera werk
 and has been computed.and manufactured.in conformity with the most
 up-to-date scientific methods,
 This lens readtes a standard of performance neper preaiousry attained
 in lensesof equal speed haaing the same number of elements.Its &ief
adaattages lie  in  its great depth of  field, extremely high resoluing
power, etcellent definition and outstanding reproduction of detail.
The total of these cltaracteristicsmakes this the ideal lens for miniature
photography uith  bladc and. ushite or colour film.
In ad-dition, eoery lens is thorough\: tested before leaz:ing our factory
by the most up'to-date methods and is guaranteedby us lor its'quarityand pefiormance.
                                  A G F A - G E V A E R T A G
                                    Camera-Werk, Muenchen

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EXPLANATIONS              C O N T E N T S
OF ADJACENT                                                    PAGE
ILLUSTRATION                 Ropidtronsportlever                                    .  2
Operolion, poges 2-5              Focusingsymbols
@ Ropid tronsporl lever              Holding the comero,viewfinder                ^
@ M o g i c r e l e q s e b u l i o n                           Green signol-releos i n g                  5@ S e i i i n g m o r k
      f o r o u t o m q t i c m e c h o n i s m          Three points for good phoios                     o
@ S e t t i n g m o r k
      f o r  f o c u s i n gs y m b o l s
@ Setting ring for symbols            Filmtypes
Technicol seclion, poges 7-15          Looding ihe comero                                              . 819
@ Cotch for comero bock             Film counter                                                                                 l 0
@ D I N / A S A s c o l e
    for setting the film speed            Settingthe film speed                                                 ll
@ L i g h t p r i s m                     Without the outomotic mechonism           12
      f o r  r e d q n d g r e e n s i g n o l           Floshiechnique                             1 3
@ Accessory shoe                              Agoinstthe lighi ond c l o s e - u pe x p o s u r er e o d i n g s 1 4
@ Rewind knob
                                     Filtersond occessories                    15@ D i o p h r o g m r i n g
@ F l o s h c o n t o c t                  Rewindingthe film                           1 6

You ore now ihe proud owner of q technicollyperfect comerq-the
fully outomotic Agfo Opiimo 500 which does not require ony com-
plicoted monuol operotionsond so leovesyou free to concentroteon
the subject.Whot o sourceof boundlessloy thot isl
From your photogrophicdeoler you will hove leorned how simple lhe
Agfo Optimo 500 is to hondle.Shutterspeedsond operiureswhich once
hod io be worked out, meosuredor set ore now of your beck ond coll.
The fully outomotic mechonismis something of o mirocle, your in-
visible slove to colculote,think ond oct for you-iust o iouch of the"mogic       releosebutton" suffices.
You will probobly wish to get fomiliorized with this mosterpieceof
precision.On poges 2 to 6 you will find brief operoiing instructions;
technicol odvice ond useful phologrophic hints ore given on poges
7 Io 16.

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with the ropid tronsportlever of your Opfimo.
Just swing the lever forwqrd to move ihe film
on one frome. The film counterot the lower
reqr edge of the comeroshowsyou how mony
exposuresyou still hove left.
 lf the ropid tronsportlever will not move,the
comerqis olreody set for the nexl exposure.
The shutterreleoseond film tronsportore fit-
ied with o lock to prevent blqnk or double
 exposures.
 lf you releoselhe ropid tronsportlever before
 compleiingthe full forword stroke it will re-
 lurn to i,tssiorting posiiion.ln lhis event you
 should swing the lever forword ogoin os for
 os it will go.

Howfor owqy is your su.biect?

There ore only lhree focus settingson the      With your Agfo Optimo you con
comero.Accordingto the distoncefrom the      photogrophot  oll distoncesbe-
subiectyou merelyset one of the three sym-     tween 3tla ft. (1 m) ond infinity.
bolson the lensmounlogoinstthe whitemork:

                                        Subiecl disionce
AQ    ctose-ups  5fr.ro 7ft.5in.
       Groups    7 ft. 5 in.to '15ft. f\{                                     .|5ft.           Distqntviews          to infiniiy,A(\     -
     l'l"l                       (londscope)
lntermediotesettingsore olso possible,if re-
quired. lf you wish to focus the comero on
objects only 31/aft. owoy, turn ihe lens mount
until the 3y4 ft. F m) settingis in line with the
white mork obovethe word "€ompu/'.
To ensurecorreclly exposedphotogrophsit is importonl lo set lhe correcl film speed on
lhe cqmerq(seepoge ll).

Toke the first pressure. . .                    www.orphancameras.com


  When photogrophingit is importont io hold the comerq
   steody. You should therefore toke your Optimo in boih
   honds ond broce your orms ogoinsi your body. Ploce
   ihe index finger of your right hond on the mogic releose
   button. When you look through ihe viewfinder you will
   see o luminous frome which surroundsthe subiect ond
  shows you ihe exoct picture oreo.
   For close-ups(3y4 ft. setiing),the two lines below the top
   morgin of this frome indicoie ihe upper edge of ihe pic-
   ture oreo.
  To toke uprightphotos,oper-
   ote the releosebution with
   your thumb or index finger,
   os illustroied.

Green signol ... releqse


                        Note !             The ligl*ing is under conslonlcon-ililililil|rililtIlil                       The ouiomqtic          lrol qs soon os you ociuote the
                      mechonismis con-      ropid tronsportlever. Sight your
                         nected when the A     subiect.Wiih the signolol green,
                       ond the white mork    pressdown the mogicreleosebut-
                         ore in line.           ton to the pressurepoint.Thenkeep
                                                                      in this posirion ond
                                                               lh;::"'"
                      Green signol:
                                "All                                 cleor" for       The red signolmeonsthere is not
                          your photogroph     enough light; time exposuresor
                                               flqsh will then help you (see po-
                                        ses 12l13).

                                                                                       lf no exposuretokes ploce, remove
                   Redsignol'          your finger from ihe button. Then
                       Stop-                  re-sighithe subiectond pressdown
                     do not photogroph   the button ogoin to the pressure
                                                     point; finolly press righi down to
                                             exoose.

Threepoints                                     www.orphancameras.com


           which you con quickly moster suffice io obioin
            perfect Pictures'
                     l.  Set the focusing sYmbol.
              2. Line up your subiectqnd iqke the first
              pressure.
              3. Green signol in viewfinder' Press releqse
               bution righi down.
   Afterwords prepore the comero for the next phoiogroph
   by operoiing the ropid tronsport lever, so qs noi to miss
   on oction shot.
   Thot's lust how eosy photogrophy is
                                 with the Agfo OPtimo 500'
   But you will probobly wont to know more   so toke the
   cqmero in your honds

Photogrophyis more .fun


when you hqve mosieredthe three points mentionedond
ore lhoroughlyfomilior w i t h y o u r c o m e r o i o o .
Firsiof oll, somethingobout filmsond how to choosethem:
Firsi use Agfo lsopon F, l7 DIN (40 ASA). It is o fine-groin
blcck-ond-whiiefilm of good contour shorpnessond con-
sislentquoliiy.
For sport photogrophy the ropid Agfo lsopon ISS film,
2l DIN (,l00ASA), is iust risht.
With Agfocolor films you con explore ihe world of col-
our. Thesefilms hove been firm fovouritesfor more thon
twenty-fiveyeors, becouse of their noturol reproduction
of boih postel ond brilliont colours. In oddition, their
high speed hos mode the living snopshot in colour q
procticol reolity.
For shorp, brilliqnt colour tronspqrencies:
                       Agfocolor ReversqlFilm CT'18.
For wonderful olbum colour prints:
             Agfocolor Negotive Film CN 17 or CN.l4.

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The film con be looded in doy- drow oui rewind knob firmly  Block: ondBlockwhiteondcheckswhile filmlight, but olwoys in the shode-  with left hond os for os pos-
moking use of body shodow.   sible.                     CN = Colour negotive film
                                                          CT = Colour  reversol film,
Firstopen the comero bock bY Now set the film type indicotor DAY    doylight  tyPe
sliding cotch in  direction of by turningthe milled edge Pro- CKA     :  Colourliqht lypereversol(incondescenlfilm, ortificiolorrow.                        iruding ot the bottom of the           lo.-rnps'6f3400o Kelvin)                                                                                               iPush locking buiton of rewind rewind knob until the desired CF   :  Colour reversolfilm, ortificiol
knob in direciionof orrow ond settingoppeorsin the window:   F     floshlight tYPe (3800o Kelvin)
                                                 I

                                                       I
                                                           i

Insert new film cosseltewiih Turn loke-up spool by its mill- firmly, so thot the lug engoges
       hole lowords rewind knob.   ed disk until the brood slit ond  in the secondfilm perforotion.
                                         film perforotionlug ore upper-
      Pushbock rewind knob, if nec- mosf.                 Now iurn the toke-upspool on
       essory turning slightly bock- Drow out ihe film from the slighily in the direction of the
      words ond forwords.          cossette lowords the toke-up orrow, os shownin figure F, un-
                                   spoor.                                        til iust under holf on inch ofi                                      lnsertihe end of the film in the the full film width proiectsfrom
I                                                slit, holding the toke-up spool the cosseite.

I
I

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      for the firsl exPosure





                                posuresstill left on the film'
Everytime the film is moved on the rewind knob roiotesin the oppositedirectionto thot
shownby the orrow, " t""1lg"  thot the film is properlyloodedond tronsported'
               imPossible      exposuresDouble                                                                   iwo                                                     do nottoke                                                         thot you                                         ensures                    "*oJrrr" prevention.mechonism           double   ingeniousAn                                                          on exposure                                                                             uniil                                           be tronsported                                    the film connoi                     ""niiiu".in"oial,ion            one          onphotogrophs
hosbeenmode.

lmporlonl:                                           for qll films
Rememberto set the speed of the film         from ll-25 DIN (10-250ASA)
looded on the comerolo be sure of cor.                                  When you pressihe mogic releosereclly exposedphologrophs.                                                 bution, the exposure reoding is
To do this,pushin the smollorrestingknob         outomolicollyond invisiblyfixedfor
ond iurn the milleddisk wiih ihe oid of o         you. During the exposureit then
coin uniil the requiredDIN or ASA speed        outomolicollyorrongeso shutter
is oppositethe settingmork.                  speed ond operture combinqtion
                                          which olwoys ensuresthe correct
                                           exposure.

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on this Po'ge).
TirneexPosures                                    "B"
Turnthe milledring on the lensmountuntil
 is in line with the mork,os shownin the top
 lilustrotion.When on this settingihe shutter
 sioys open os long os the releosebutionis
 ;;J;";:;.     rt.'" ,'J  of o triPod ond.o coble
 ;"1:";;  is odvisqblein suchcoses'The loiter
 ir'fria"t.t"*"a  into the ihreod below the releose
          tr.t  the side'By turningthe reor milled
 i"glL"'  ofurtr,"' becomevisiblein the smoll
 window.

No floshlight problems
For flosh work turn the ouiomqtic mechqnism
ring uniil the flosh symbol is opposite the
white mork.
A constont shutter speed of  llgo sec. is used
for flosh work. Pleose see the column for ,,X',
synchronizotionon eoch pocket of flosh bulbs
for ihe required operture which is set by turn-
ing ihe reor milled ring. The plug of the flosh
coble is connected io the flosh contoct ll2.
moin illusirotion).
Eleclronicfloshgunscon qlso be used, in which
cose ihe operiure is cqlculqtedfrom the guide
number of the floshgun.
E.g. guide number of electronic floshgun 96         The hondy Agfolux floshgun
divided by o distonce of l2 feet = operiure f/8.                        in zip cose

Filters/ Accessories

    Filters                                             Close-ups
   There is o voriety of filters                          Y o u c o n o l s o p h o t o g r o p h
    for blqck ond whit6 film ovoil-                                the wonders of the min-
   oble for use with ihe Aofo                                   ioiure world  with  yo'Jr
   Opiimo 500 in screw mor-ilts                            Optimo. All you hovb io
    of 35.5 mm diom. As soon os                            do is fix ihe Agfo Notorix
   q filter is used on the comercr                             close-upottochmenlto the
   you will hove to reduce the                 lens mouni of your comero. An odditionol
   setting..on.thefilm speedscole        Notorix  viewfinder ottochment compensotesfor
   qccoroIngly.                       porollox when li n i n g u p y o u r s u b i e c t . '
  A filter hovinq o focior of 2                                  Shorp definition of  the subiecl
  w i l l req u ire 6  re d u c iion in             Symbol setting       (meosured from the froni edge
   the speed settinq of 3 DIN                                             of  ihe dlens)i s t o n ciseoobtoinedf o b o u t  ot  o
   or its ASA equivdlent.lf you
   hove o  film  of 17 DIN- :                                    3y4 ft.                  1' 3"-1,7" -  40 ASA this meons thot you
<l will hove io reducethe fioure
   to     14                        : 20              ASA. A fo-ctor        .l.5DIN                An   of         would                require                                                            1'8"-2'y2"                        q  re-   duction of l-2 DlN.             LJ''?
  When removingthe filterfrom
   ihe comerq do nol forget io                                         2/1/2t_2/6,   reset the originol DIN/ASA      ix{
   tigure tor the tilm in question.         /YA'Y\                                                            2'6"-3,2y2"                                                                                                                l l i l l

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                              The film is now finished.. .
                                     After 36 or 20 exposures,occordingto the length
                                        of the film, the ropid tronsport lever will not
                              move.The film is now finishedond mustbe re-
                            wound into its cossette.
                                        First releosethe lock of the rewind knob (see
                                         illustrotionB, poge 8) to ollow ihis fo springout'
                              ond drow it out only o froctionto its first stop'
                            Thenpressin the lockingbuttonin.the.bose.,of
                                  the comerqsnd turn the rewind knob in the
                                      Jirection shown by the orrow' Rewindingis
                                 .omplutu when the rewind knob turns freely
                                        oftei releosingthe locking button' You.cqn
                                 no* op"n the bock of the comero by pushing
the cqfch in the direciionshown by the qrrow (seefiS' {' pqg" 8)' Pull out the rewind
knob firmly os for os it will go ond removeihe cossetie'Pui the cossetiein ifs lighi-tighl
pockingond mork it os exPosed'