Film cameras
Agfa PB20 viking User manual
User manual for Agfa PB20 viking. 12 pages in English. Read the original PDF, download or print a copy without registration.
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Document details
- Brand
- Agfa
- Model / document
- Agfa PB20 viking
- Document type
- User manual
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 12
- File size
- 1.6 MB
- Category
- Film cameras
- Document date
- Not specified in catalog
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Page 3 · Read text
I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R T H E U 5 E O F I H E
txplanation of numbers on oppositePage
Check Over the Camera with Figure I Before You
r. Opening release button. Press in to opent|I|(I1.|OCAlulERA camera.
2. Platform. Pull down after releasing
catch (t) until side-arm braces (S) lock.
The Agfa Viking Camera has been skillfully
3. Side-arm braces. See that braces lock
designed to enable you to secure excellent and hold platform rigid.
results without possessingspecial photographic
4. Closing release button. Similar button isknowledge. Flowever, f or best results, you on opposite side of camera. With the
must follow a few, simple instructions. Clear. camera held between the thumb and mid-
sharp pictures are the results of having care- dle finger of the left hand, press the release
futly made a few, easily memorized adjust- buttons on both sides simultaneously.
With the right hand, move platform up-ments before each exposure. These instruc- ward until securely closed as indicated by
tions explain each operation of the camera, clicking of latch.
and you will be repaid with better pictures 5. Vertical footrest.if you read-tEET-oiio*ing p"gl. carefully be- t 6. Focusing scale for various distances.fore making any exposures.
T. Diaphragm adjustment lever for control-
If you desire additional inf ormation on ling amount of light entering lens.
camere operation and picture-making, read 8. Shutter speed setting ring.
"Better Photography Made Easy," a particu.
g. Red shutter release button.larly helpful, 6o-page booklet published by
Agfa Ansco and sold by most photographic r o. Socket for addition of cable release for
operating shutter. Not visible in picture,dealers at $.2S per copy. Agfa Ansco also but is located on underside of shutter
maintains a special department to answer your caslng.
inquiries and help you in your photographic r r. Optical eye-level view finder.
problems.
rz. Brilliant waist-level finder. Turn for hori-
The PBeo Viking takes 8 pictures 2/q * SrA zontal pictures. Return to vertical posi-
tion before closing camera.inches on PBeo roll film. For best results, use
one of the several types of Agfa film available 13. Bellows.
in this size, every film guarantssd-"pictures | 4. Winding knob for advancing film.
that Satisfy or a New Rolt Free."
rS. Release catch for opening back.View original page 3Page 6 · Read text
When using a cable release, pull out the picture is in focus. For example when your
vertical footrest (S, Fig. r) and insert the Viking camera is set at Fr6 and focused at
release through the hole underneath the foot- rz feet everything frorn 6/2 feet to infinity
rest. will be in focus. When you increase the dia-
phragm stop or '1open up" the lens you de-
THE DIAPHRAGiI crease the depth of field. For example with
the camera focused at rz feet and the lens set
The diaphragm is an adjustable circular at F7.7 the depth of field is now only from
opening between the components of the lens, 8rl to zt feet.which controls the amount of light passing
through the lens. When the diaphragm is Fr,om the Depth of Field Table you will no-
adjusted so that full aperture of the lens is t tice that the depth of field not only decreases
utilized, it is said to be "wide open." The r with the larger lens stops but also decreases
F7.7 Viking is "wide open" when set at F7.7. t. when you are focusing on near objects. There-
When the diaphragm is adjusted to a smaller , i fore be very careful to focus as accurately as
opening, it is said to be "stopped down." t possible when taking pictures at distances un-
der ten feet.
The diaphragm on the camera is operated DEPTH OF FIELDTABIE
by means of a lever (2, Fig. r) which is con-
nected with the iris leaves between the lens FOR PB2O VIKING CAMERA WII}I F7.7 IENS
components. When the lever is moved in one
direction, the leaves open; in the other direc- Distance
tion, the leaves close. Consequently, it is very '*. in
easy to set the diaphragm for any lens opening. Feet f :7.7 f f : r 6 f I : g z
In order to view the operation of this dia- 5 +Yc-a +-6/t l3/e-8 3rA-to 3-t7Y2
phragm, set the shutter speed on Time and
press down once on the shutter release. Then, 6 s-t/" +'l-eY" +Yt-t, s/+-rs sYe-+z
with the shutter open, move the diaphragm . 8 ' 6/q-rr s/a-ttYz s-ryYz +Yz'+o 3s/a-lnf.
lever back and forth slowly, and you will be t o l/z-rS/z 6/4-zo s3/q-ss 5-Inf. 4-Inf.able to observe the change in the size of the ?F
opening as the lever moves. t 2 8l-zt l/.-zt 6/z-Inf. 5/2-lnf . al-lnf.
I r 5 g3/qi. 8Yz-6o 7-lnf. 6-Inf. ot/a-Inf, You will notice that as the numbers increase
from 7.7 to 32 the opening gets smaller, 2 S t3/2-lnf, r r-Inf. 8/a-Inf 7-Inf. 5/2-Inf .
thereby allowing less light to reach the film. 5o r8-Inf. r4ft-lnf. o/2-lnf , 8/1-Int. 6/t-lnf. i
The stops or settings indicated along the Inf. z8fl-lnf . zo-Inf. 3l-tnt r o-Inf, 7-Inf. I
bottom of the shutter face plate are standard j
openings in the Focal or "f System," and are
of known exposure value regardless of the PROPEREXPOSURE
size or make of camera. They are referred The proper exposure to be given for best
to as f :7.7, f :rr, f :t6, I:zz and f :32. results varies considerably according to the
conditions of exposure and the speed of the
DEPTH OF FIELD fiIm. Light conditions vary with the seasons,
time of day and even geographic conditions. Depth of field (often referred to as depth However, the camera has sufficient adjust- illII
of focus) is the subject range over which your ments on it to allow oictures to be made under
I O I IView original page 6Page 7 · Read text
almost any type of condition, especially since THE FINDERS
there is a wide assortment of Agfa fiIms avail-
able in the PBzo size. Your Viking camera is equipped with both
For proper exposure you must regulate the the brilliant waist-level finder for locating the
shutter speed and diaphragm "stop" ("f" num- subject with the camera held at waist level,
ber) to meet the light condition and subject and the optical eye-level view finder for hold-matter. ing the camera directly to the eye.
When photographing moving objects use
the fastest shutter speed on the camera which When using the brilliant waist-level finder
is r,/rooth of a second. For still objects in the vertical position, read the finder as
where you want sharp focus throughout "stop shown in Fig. 5, and when taking pictures indown" the diaphragm and use a slower shut-
ter speed if necessary. the horizontal position, swing the finder 90 I degrees to the left and read it as shown in In general, close-ups require a greater expo-
sure than landscapes; winter conditions neces- { Fig. 6, disregarding the portions indicated in
sitate longer exposures than bright summer the cuts by white space.
days. Pictures taken with extremely intense
light such as sunlit beaches and brilliant snow The optical eye-level view finder (tr, Fig.
scenes will require less exposure than normal. r ) , located on the side of the camera is espe-
cially useful for spotting the subject quickly. The following table will serve as a general
guide for the proper setting of, your shutter To open this finder simply lift up on the back
and diaphragm when using Agfa Plenachrome edge and it will snap into position. By hold-
film. When using Superpan Supreme give ing the camera to the eye as shown in Figure
half the exposure indicated by either increas- 7, the area included in the picture is easily
ing the shutter speed, (for example t/25 to determined.
t / 5o) or by reducing the diaphragm one stop
(for example from Frr to Fr6). For horizontal pictures, the camera is held
normally as shown in the illustration above
E X P O S U R E T A B T E mentioned, but should vertical pictures be
desired, the camera has only to be held in a STOP f 27.7 f : r r f : r 6 f . : g z I,l vertical position; that is, 9o degrees from the
position shown.
Dull,
cloudy r/ 5o t / 2 5 *< F I G U R E 5 F I G U R E 6
Cloudy
bright t / r o o t / 5 o t / 2 5 *
Bright
sunshine t / . ^ o o t / 5 o r / 2 5 {<
f ntense
- r / r o o r / 5 o r / 2 5 , € sunshine ffi
* Under these light conditions it is recom-
mended that short Bulb exposures be made.View original page 7Page 8 · Read text
the tripod in order to protect the interior of
the camera against dust or other foreign mat-
ter which might prove injurious to the shutter
mechanism.
The vertical footrest or a tripod should
always be used for exposures longer than
r / z 5 second rather than attempting to hold
the camera in the hands.
LOADING THE CA TERA
Your Viking Camera may be loaded or un-
loaded in daylight. Flowever, these operations
should be done in a subdued light; never in
direct sunlight.
To load the camera, it is first necessary to
open the back which is held by a catch ( t 5.
Fig. r) at the top under the handle.
In order to release this catch, hold the
camera in the left hand, platform side in and
F I G URE 7 handle to the top. Then lay the fingers of
the right hand across the camera handle and
THE FOOTRESTAND TRIPOD SOCKETS exert an upward pressure upon the under
front edge of the long metal catch (Fig. 8).
The vertical footrest (5, Fig. r) is for taking ? When this catch has been released, continue
Time or Bulb exposures when a tripod is not !it with a backward pressure to swing the hinged
available. The footrest is easily extended by camera-back downward.
platform, the topulling angles it out at right t F I G U R E 8 upon a be set may camera theaf ter which
table, ledge, or railing for support
There are two tripod sockets on the camera.
The vertical socket is located on the camera
platform; the horizontal socket is on the oppo-
site side of the camera from the optical eye-
level view finder.
In order to use the tripod sockets it is
necessary to first remove the plugscrews. This
may be done with a small coin, after which
the tripod is screwed securely into place. The
screws should be replaced after removal of
r 4View original page 8Page 9 · Read text
of the paper will show, the black side being
toward the lens.
After being certain that the two pins set in
the carrier ends are engaged in the spool end-
holes, swing the carrier and film down into
place in the chamber. Break the sticker
which seals the roll, remove the Agf a Film
guarantee slip, and carry the end of the paper
across the back of the camera. Permit the
paper to pass over the two metal rollers
(never attempt to thread the film under these
rollers) and thread the pointed end into the
slot in the empty spool as shown in Fig. ro.
Be very certain that the paper is centered
on the upper spool in order that it will wind
F I G U R E 9 evenly. Now give the winding knob a few
turns, suffrcient to bind the paper and assure
INSERTING THE FIt'II its firm grasp by the upper spool. Close the
back of the camera by swinging it upward
With the back open you are now ready to into place until a click indicates that it is
load the camera with film. Note that the
fresh roll goes into the lower chamber at the F I G U R E I O
opposite end of the camera from the winding
knob. In the chamber at the knob end, you
will find an empty metal spool. It is onto
this spool that the film is wound as used, so
that when all exposures are taken it is this top
spool which is removed from the camera for
finishing.
To load the film into the camera, first swing
up the spool carrier for the lower or empty
chamber until it is at right angles to the
camera. Holding the two ends of this carrier
slightly apart (being careful not to bend them
permanently out of position), drop the f resh
spool into place ( Fig. 9) , taking care that it
is inserted right end around. In other words,
be certain that the pointed end of the paper
will come from the top and not the bottom
of the roll, and that only the red or green side
r 6View original page 9Page 10 · Read text
UNLOADING
When the film has been completely wound
onto the take-up spool, open and swing down
the back of the camera. Pull out the winding
knob until the upper spool carrier is f ree to
be moved upward from the chamber.
Fold under the pointed end of the red or
green paper, and seal the spool with the
sticker which will be found at the loose end.
This is to prevent unrolling and fogging of
the film after it has been removed from the
spool carrier.
With the fingers, separate the ends of the
spool carrier slightly and remove the exposed
roll from the camera. It is now ready to be
F I G URB I I
developed and printed. Transf er the empty
locked securely. Never open the back of the spool to the upper chamber, remembering to
camera from this point until the roll has been push the winding knob back into place. The
eompletely exposed and wound off onto the camera is now ready f or the insertion of a
take-up spooi. fresh roll of film in the manner already de-
Swing open the metal cover f or the red scribed.
window on the back of the camera (Fig. rr). cAuTloNS and continue turning the winding knob slowly
until the figure r appears in the window. An Bef ore loading the camera, make certain
indicating hand and row of dots will be seen that the shutter is closed.
shortly before this first figure appears in
place. The camera is now ready for the first In starting the red or green paper at'the
picture time of loading a fresh roll, always see .that
When using panchromatic film, which .is it is even, fitting the spool neatly.'end Otherwise,
sensitive to red light, be sure to keep the red it is likely to climb up one of the spool,
window covered' at all times except when causing the protective paper to tear and pos-
winding the film. sibly fogging the film.
Immediately after taking the first picture, Also, always make it a practice to wind to
wind again until figure 2 appears in the win- tJre next number immediately after taking a
dow, and so on until the roll has been com- picture. In this way, when you start to use
pletely exposed, after which continue to turn it, the camera is always ready f or the next
the knob until the red or green paper is com- picture with no possibility that another expo-
pletely wound off onto the spool at the knob sure will be made on top of one already taken,
end of the camera. thus spoiling both exposures.
r 8 r 9
t -View original page 10Page 11 · Read text
In making exposures, always hold the cam- A C C r S S 0 r t r s
era level. Otherwise, your finished prints will The following Agfa accessories will increase
show an undesirable slanting of the subject the versatility of your Viking Camera and
and background. Hold the camera perfectly add to your picture-taking enjoyment.
still when making the exposure.
PORtRAtt ATtACHmINI-Auxiliary lens which
Keep the lens of your Viking Camera clean. slips over the lens, enabling you to work
A dirty lens or rain or mist on the front lens closer to the subject. Especially useful for
will cause fogged or cloudy pictures. To clean portraits, table-top photography, etc.
the lens, use a soft linen or cotton cloth. With S i z e z S - - - - _ - $ . 9 5
the bellows closed, back opened, and the cam- tlcHt-YELLOW FltfER-A natural glass, yellowera unloaded, it is also well to occasionally filter which gives better color rendering of
clean the rear element of the lens. cloud pictures, landscapes, flower photogr-phs
and similar subjects. Do not let the sun shine directly on the
lens when taking a picture. This produces Size 25 __-_._-_$r.85
a "Flare" of light on the film which shows in CABTE RE[EASE-Helps to eliminate camerathe finished picture. If photographing to- jar when making exposures, especially useful
wards the source of light, hold your hand or for Time and Bulb exposures.
hat above the lens as a shade, but sufficiently
C o d e W . _ - _ _ A$ 7high to prevent its being included in the
picture. CARRYING CASE-Protects your camera and
rnakes it easier to carry. Select your background carefully. A good
subject can be spoiled by such backgrounds Eveready Type --.____-_ _$S.+S
as telephone poles, clapboard houses, etc. IRIPODS - Four-section, telescopirg, metalKeep your backgrounds simple. A back- 9p.: Light in weight but extremely rigid.
ground of foliage is usually unobtrusive and Equipped with rubber tips.
pleasing. No. r, with stationary head -$4.2o
t * * No. z, with ball and socket, swivel
head 5.2 0 The foregoing instructions explain the me-
No. 3, with ball and socket, swivelchanical operation of your Viking Camera.
head 7.ooThese should be thoroughly understood before
attempting to take pictures. AGFA DARKROOiI OUfFlfS -Each outfit con-
tains all necessary equipment and material to
Do not be content, however, with the mas- rlevelop and print your own pictures.
tery of these simple details. Photography
No. rA Outfit ____.__-_9z.6ooffers marvelous possibilities to the camera
user who really attempts to obtain the maxi- No. zA Outfit S.2o
mum results possible with his equipment. No. 3 Deluxe Outfit
Your Viking Camera is a fine instrument.
Prices subject to change without notice.Learn to use it most effectively.
2 0View original page 11Page 12 · Read text
SIX AGFA FILiIS TO CHOOSE FROfrI
There is an Agfa roll film to - meet every
requirement of the most exacting amateur
photographer. The following films are all
available in the PB zo size, the size which fits
your PBzo Viking Camera, and remember,
every roll of Agfa film is guaranfssd -
"Pictures that Satisfy or a New Roll Free."
SIANDARD-Orthochromatic, moderate speed,
for outdoor picture-taking under f avorable
conditions.
PIENAGHROIIE - Orthochromatic, average
speed, full anti-halo protection, wide latitude.
This is the ideal film for every-day outdoor
use.
FINOPAN - Fine-grain, panchromatic, full an-
ti-halo protection with ample speed and lati-
tude for a wide range of picture-taking. The
film to use wherr big enlargements are desired.
SUPERPAN SUPREilIE- Fast, fine-grain, pan-
chromatic, wide latitude, full anti-halo pro-
tection, with an emulsion carefully balanced
to give excellent results under both daylight
and artificial light. The ideal "pan" film for
all-around use.
SUPERPANPRESS-Extremely fast, panchro-
matic, full anti-halo protection. The phe-
nomenal speed of this film has been obtained
without loss of fineness of grain, brilliance or
balanced. panchromatie color sensitivity. The
logical answer when high film speed is needed.
f NFRA-RED- Especially valuable for pictorial
work rvhere unusual and striking effects are
desired. Renders blue skies dark anil sunlit
foliage in light-gray tones, thus giving e
moonlight effect.
c-t967-0View original page 12From the M. Butkus Camera Manual Library. Original publisher and archive notices are retained.
Check the model and edition against your equipment.
PDF verified 2026-10-10.