Agfa Silette LK User manual

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A VERY OLD WISH OF YOURS
hos of lost come true. You ore the owner of o new comero, the technicolly
perfect Agfo Silette LK. Moy we congrotulote you on your choice, ond express
the hope thot it will give you much pleosure. See how simple it is to toke
photogrophs with the Silette LK!
Moke two poiniers coincide       set the.distonce,                                  -glonce through the bright-line vibwfinder                         ond          . . press the releose button.
These four movements you will leorn very quickly, but we would recommend
thot you spend o few moments studying this little book thot we hove prepored
for you, so thot you moy fully enioy the use of your Agfo Silette LK comero.
Probobly your photo deoler hos olreo dy "loaded" your comero. Detoils on
looding your comerq will be found on poge 22. The film is supplied in o light
proof cossette ond is ovoiloble in two different lengths, i.e. of 36 ond 20 ex-
posures. The picture size of your comero is 24x36 mm. Moreover, there ore
vorious types of film ovoiloble.  lf no film hos been inserted refer to instructions
on poges 22-23.

FILM INDICATOR DISC
The Silette LK is fitted with o film indicotor disc which serves to remind you
of the film currently looded in the comero. lt is odvisoble lo set it immediotely
you insert the film.
For this purpose the re-wind button is pulled out ond its top disc gripped
between thumb ond index finger (see fig. 2). The indicotor disc con now be
moved on by the index finger olong the milled edge until the oppropriote film
                                   doto oppeors in the window. The disc con
                                be rototed in either direction. lf you insert
                                           e.g. o block ond white film; the blqck ond
                                   white fields should be set in the window
                                 of the field indicotor disc to signify this
                                        foct (see olso fig.3).
                              Two seiiings ore ovoiloble for colour negq-
                                           live film:
                                   CN :  Colour negotive film, doylight type
                                 CN l7 : Colour negotive film for doylight
                                               ond ortificiol light

                                              Fig.2

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 For colour reversol film three settings ore provided:
            : Colou, reversol film, ortificiol light type (incondescent lomps with 34000 Kelvin)    T
          CFF              : Color. reversol film, orlificiol floshlight type (38000 Kelvin)
              : Colour reversol film, doylight tipe     OT"
DIN/ASA SCALE
 It is olso odvisoble ot this stoge lo sei ihe film speed which is stoted on oll film
cortons os the bosic operotion of the ex-posure meter built into your comero de- 7
pends on it.
To do this, move the little bution to the
right with your thumb ond rotote the scole
found under the rewind button until the
block index mork is opposite the number
corresponding to the speed of the film you
ore using (fig. 3:40 ASA).


                                              Fis.3

THE FILM COUNTER
indicotes how mony exposures you hove left on your film of ony time. Provided
of course you set the film counter of its storting position when you insert the film.
For this purpose the thumb is pressed on the inner milled ring of the counter-
mechonism, built into the ropid winding lever, ond the ring turned onti-clockwise
until the green triongle lies opposite the index mork engroved on the rim (see fig.4).
                                       For o 36 exposure film the green mork
                                        locoted between 36 ond 1, ond for o
                                     20 exposure film the green mork locot-
                           ed between 25 ond 20 is used. The
                                       counting disc operotes bockwords,  ol-
                             woys indicoting the number of the
                                        remoining exposures.
                                       Thus, you should odiust three settings
                             when inserting the film : film indicntor
                                                   disc, filnt spced disc, film cowtter.
                                Whst you do at orrce, you cannot forgct
                                                    Inter!

                                                     Fig.4

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                                          Fig.5
FILM TRANSPORT
 During looding the beginning of the
 film is rendered un-usoble by the effect
 of light, ond you must begin by mok-
 ing two blonk exposures. Eoch turn
 of the ropid winding lever winds the
 film on one frome. Swing the ropid
winding lbver with your thumb firmly
 right round to the stop. Should the
 lever be locked, the releose button
 must be depressed to free it. After
these operotions of winding on the
film ond releosing the shutter hove
been mode twice your comero will be
reody for oction.
Aflention! lf  inodvertently you re-
leqse the ropid winding lever holfwoy
through its trovel, swing it once more
firmly right round to the stop.
Atlenlion ! The rewind button usuolly rototes
os the film is tronsported. Core thereiore must
be token lo ensure free movement.

WHAT WE MUST KNOW..
With the preporotory work completed, you con now begin to toke photogrophs.
The greot moment hos orrived: you roise your comero to your eye ond ore oble
to toke your first photogroph with your new Silette LK Comero. Since the
intensity of the light is not olwoys the some, your comero is provided with
o number of different shutter speeds ond olso different operture stops. With
the oid of these two odiustments, ihe omount of light odmitted to the film con
be odiusted to suit the brightness of the subiect.
Now the tosk of the photogropher consists of determining the correct qmount
of light required by the film. This tosk, which moy become very difficult without
on exposure meter especiolly in poor weother conditions ond in ortificiol light,
is solved for you by your Agfo Silette LK with its strikingly simple mechonism.
Not only is the exposure meter built in, but it is olso coupled to the iris diophrogm
ring which mqkes photogrophy with the Silette LK eosy ond enioyoble.
All you need do in order to obtoin the correct exposure setting, is to moke
the two pointers which ore visible in the window in the top port of the comero
coincide. Let's try it out right owoy.

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                                              ... AND HOW IT IS DONE
Moke certoin once more thot the DINiASA scole under the rewind bution hosbeen set ot the speed of the film in the comero-os described gn pggg fond
now point your cbmero in the direction of your subiect. The incident lighi couses
the little pbinter to move-we soy-beit is deflected-ond to settle ot o certoinpoint. Thi's pointer deflection will    smoll in poor light, ond greot in bright
lioht. This p6inter must now be "coptured" within the setting frome, olso visible
in-the winilow. To do this, the iris Jiophrogm is moved, while ot the some time
both keys. (4 ond 8, fig. 10, poge '16) oie depressed. with the upper one yielding
to the pressure, until the pointer is in the centre of the setting frome.


   Wrong                         Risht
Now it moy hoppen thot the iris
dioohroom rino will reoch the end
of its fiovemEnt before you ore
oble to set the pointer to the correct
position; in this cose you must
rotote the lorge milled ring slightly
(for shutter speed setting) ond ogoin
odjust the stop ring os olreody de-
scribed.
                                     Fig.6

As soon os the pointer odiustment
      hos been' corried out the meosure-
      ment is compleled. Releose of the
        pressure key estoblishes o firm con-
         nection between the stop ond shutter
      speed setting rings. You will now
            still hove the choice of vqrious stop-
        shutter speed combinotions, but you
       must only turn the lorge milled ring
       so os not to olter the setting mode.
      When you choose the shutter speed-
       stop combinoiion most fovouroble
        for your subiecl, you only hove to
       see to it thot o shutter speed short
       enough for q hond held instontoneous.
       exposure (e.g. 1/oo, l/res sec., etc.r) is
        opposite the triongulqr mork (1, see
         fig. 10 poge 16). Any combinotion
      you might now choose to set will od-
       mit the some quontity of light io                                                                           'Fis.7    ihe film.

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Let us ossume thot the light meosurement ollows-os we cqn olso see from.fig. 9
(see poge 15)-the following shutter speed-stop combinotions:
               rlzso  rlps   rlao  rlso  r/rs    B
              2.8   4    5.6  8       t]      16
In order to moke the correct choice, i.e. the choice most suitqble for the subiect,
the following focts ore importont to know:
lf you wont to photogroph o londscope in which the foreground qs well os the
bockground is to be shorp, o smoll lens operture is necessqry (occording to
the toble obove, e.g. f/8 ond t/ss sec.). However,  if you wont to copture o
ropidly moving subject, o fost shutter speed is essentiol in order to obtoin o
shorp, crisp picture (occording to the obove toble, e.g. rlzso sec. ond t12.8).
In the first cose, then, o slow shutter speed wos set in the interest of o smoller
lens operture, ond in the second cose o lorge lens operture wqs chosen in the
interest of o fost shutter speed. We would like therefore to give you this
smoll tip
          Rototion of the milled ring to the right :  fost shutter speed
          Rototion to the left                        :  lorge depth of field
When the exposure meter pointer is "captured" in the setting frome it moy
hoppen thot the block triongulor mork (i, see fig. 10, poge 16) will come to
                                                                                                                                                             ll

rest between two stop volues.  lt is quite in order to use on intermediote setting
on the operture scole, but an intermediate setting cannot be used on the shutter
speed scale. The triongulor mork must olwoys be directly opposite o shutter speed
roting. lt is quite eosy to ensure thqt the shutter setting is correct os eoch shutter
speed hos o positive click stop position.
You con continue to work with the setting determined so long os the light con-
ditions remoin ihe some. However, it is odvisoble to moke q hobit of checking
the reoding before eoch exposure. This extrq precoution tokes only o few seconds
ond is time well spent.

A FEW TIPS FOR THE EXPOSURE MEASURING PROCEDURE
Experience shows thot in londscope subiects the sky occupies o consideroble
proportion of the picture ond since with very few exceptions the sky is lighter
thon the moin subiect it is odvisoble to point the meter ot the dorker port of
the subiect lo ensure occurote reoding.  lf the subiect shows extreme differences
in brightness, you must decide which ports of it must be rendered correctly; this
is porticulorly importont with color photogrophy. The reoding should be token
close to the essenliol port of fhe picture. This essentiol feqture should be op-
prooched, ond the exposure meter wotched until the influence of the brighter

12

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surroundings hos been eliminoted. This point will be reoched os soon .os the
pointer of the exposure meter ceoses to reoct noticeobly on further opprooch
to the subiect. With the exposure vqlue thus found, the photogroph is then token
from lhe origincl posilion.



                    JUDGE THE DISTANCE_
                              AND FOCUS
                       On the front rim of the lens mount the
                                   distonce volues in feet ore engroved.
                              The block dot (5, see fig. 10, poge 16) is
                              the focusing point which the distonce
                                    volue orrived of must foce. Stop numbers
                               ore engroved to the left ond the right
                               of this focusing mork. These ouxiliory
numbers hove q speciol tosk in coniunction with the distonce settings, os we
sholl now exploin in some detoil.

                                                                                                    t3

DEPTH OF FIELD
We hove olreody mentioned o lorge ond o smoll operture when discussing the
choice of shutter speed-stop combinotions.
                 Lorge high lens speed,                Smoll slow lens speed,
                operture but little                     operture however,lorge
                      e. g.2.8 :    depth of field.                        e. g.72:   depth of field.                          \
As you'will see from the exomple, the zone of shorp depth is vorioble;  it increoses
with decreosing operture ond olso with increosing distonce. To enoble you to
control the extent of the shorp zone, your Silette LK hos o so colled depth of
field scole (7, see fig. 10, poge 16), from which you con reod ot ony time the
opproximote extent of the zone.
lf, for instonce, you hove focused on l5 ft. ond stopped down to f/8, the ronge
from one engroved 8 to the other 8 defines ihe depth of field ot ihis operture
ond distonce: in this porticulor cqse opproximotely from l0 to 30 feet.

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    SNAPSHOT SETTING
     Your reodiness for oction will be in-
       creosed for close-up or long distonce shots
            if you moke use of the so cqlled snopshot
       setting. For this purpose the distonces
      l0 feet ond 30 feet ore engroved in red
                                                                                                                                                                                           '    on the focusing ring, ond in oddition,
     o red dot is ploced between fi8 ond f/l1.
           lf you now choose o shutter speed-stop combinotion so thot the red dot or fill
       (occording to the result of the meosurement) foces the triongulor mork you will
      hove o depth of field extending from obout 7 ft. to 16 ft. ot the distonce ring
       setting ot the red 10, ond from obout 14 ft. to infinity ot the "red 30" setting.
  I     The depth of field table pp.26127 gioes the accurately calculated depth of fteld zones.
J
I

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    DELAYED ACTION
       Occosionolly the photogropher moy wqnt to be in the picture himself, ond to
      enoble this wish to be met your Silette LK is equipped with o deloyed oction
.J     mechonism. Stort by setting your comero on o tripod, or ot leost plocing it on o
       firm support ond then ofter you hove mode oll your preporotions for the ex-
Jiltl      posure, move the lever with the red knob (13, see fig. l) os for os possible in the
  i      direction of the centre of the comero. As soon os you depress the releose button,

     I         I      the smoll lever will move, outomoticolly releosing the shutter ot the set speed
        ofter obout 7 secs. The lever will olwoys return to its storting position ond must
       therefore be wound ofresh for eoch deloyed oction exposure. All shutter speeds
      with outomoticolly controlled exposure times con be used, ond flosh photo-
       grophs con olso be token in coniunction wiih the correct shutter speed. Time ex-
       posures howeoer (B setting), cannot be made in coniunction with the delayed
         action.

   AND WHEN THE LIGHT IS SO POOR...
        thot the pointer of the exposure meter is no longer or not enough deflected, you
      con toke time exposures on the B seiting. In this cose the comero is ploced on
     o rigid support such os o tripod, o coble releose-preferobly one with o lock-
                                                                                                                              t7

ing screw-is screwed into the socket on the releose button ond the shutter re-
leosed. The shutter will remoin open os long os the releose button is depressed.
ln mony coses-obove oll with indoor snopshots-the missing quontity of light
con be mode up with floshlight, becouse the Silette LK is equipped with o flosh
contoct. You ploce the floshgun (e.g. Agfo KM or Agfolux floshgun) in ihe
occessory shoe on the cqmero, ond insert the synchro coble into the flosh con-
                                                         1/ao sec. The exposure meter connottqct bush. The shutter should olwoys be sel ql
be used in connection with flosh photogrophy but the toble opposite gives the
recommended opertures for vorious floshbulbs ond vorious subiect distonces.
Since the stop ond shutter speed rings ore coupled, the stop required con
only be set-ogoin by depressing the pressure key-ofter the shutter speed hos
firsl been set. lt is olso recommended to insert the floshbulb only qfter the ropid
winding lever hos been operoted. You now roise the Silette LK to your eye
ond ...... shoot! Firing of the flosh ond opening of the shutter occur simultone-
ously. You see, toking flosh pictures is os simple os thot!
Of course you con olso use flosh outdoors, e.g. for softening the foreground  in
ogoinst-the-light subiects or if the use of instontoneous exposures is not possible
due to very bod weother.



t8

CAMERA POSITION _
       SHUTTER RELEASE
This is of speciol importonce, becouse
the best exposure setting ond focusing
is of no use ot oll if the picture  is
blurred through holding the comero
wrongly.
You shbuld therefore hold the Silette
LK os shown in the illustrotion, with the
finger iip resting on the releose button.
You see your subiect in the viewfinder;
the port of the imoge situoted within
the reflected bright frome will oppeor
on your film. lf you con only see port               www.butkus.us
of the frome, it meons thot you ore
not holding your comero close enough
to your eye. As soon os you hove
"token oim" of your subiect, the shutter
con be releosed; to do this, press down
slowly with the finger tip os for os                                                         Fig. l2possible.
n

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      Do try it oll from your first exposure:
      Hold your comero level roising it fo your eye qs closely os possible. lt  is
       completely immoteriol which eye you use for viewfinding, it is however im-
        portont thot the eye not used is closed. Now ioke o breoth, hold it ond . . . . ..
       press the button.,ll       For verticol pictures, the comero is turned to the left or right os preferred,tlr      ond the shutter releosed either by the thumb or the index finger.
 I     Hond held exposures ore only possible of 1/oo to 1/25s SecS., perhops,  if neces-
        sory, of r/3s sec. lf you hove o very steody hond, you moy everi be oble to ovoid
      comero shoke of 1/rs by propping your elbows up on o firm support.
    We recommend tronsporting the film shortly before the next exposure only,
       to prevent you from pressing the releose button by mistoke

    VIEWFINDER PARALLAX
1}
      The brighi frome reflected into the viewfinder shows you the port of the picture
       which will eventuolly be reproduced on the film. Since the viewfinder is situoted
 t      qbove the comero l6ns, o smoll divergence will occur with close-up photogrophs.
       However, to enoble you to exomine the entire subiect even with'close-uI views
    1    I      (3-6 feet) this divergence is indicoted by short lines olong the top cornbrs ond
   i     o line in the centre below the frqme. Within the close-up ronge these morkings
      show the top ond bottorn boundories of the pictures respectively.

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             FILM TRANSPORT TO THE FIRST EXPOSURE
           ot           The disc of the exposure counter is rototed os exoloined on         'a                 poge                                             green                                                                                    the                                 until                             the                                                            triongle                                                                  in                 6                                      o'pex of the                                                                      frbnt of       oL                  number                         36                                                         length                                                                            inserted                             2Foccording                              or                                                 to the                                                              of thejo-                                                                          film-r{j                     .f                 is opposite the morking. Swing ihe ropid winding lever os ol-
         J_CU6             reody described os for os it will qo ond press the shutter releose.
      o-o3             Aftef this pocedure hos been reploted twice the comero is reody
     Ogo             for oction.      5,6
      o6=   U5            DOUBLE AND BLANK EXPOSURE LOCK
                    The Agfo Silette LK is equipped with o double ond blonk exposure
                         lock.This mokes it impossible to expose the some piece of film twice,
                  moreover the film connot be wbund on without releosing the
                         shutter. lf therefore the releose button connot be operote{ yoy
                   hove either not yet wound the film on, or you previously foiled
                    to pull the rqpid windinq lever to its stop. This lotter foult con
                   be corrected 6v reoeotin-o this movement'to its completion with-
                     out losino onv hlm. lf vou- ore nevertheless in doubt'whether the
                         film hos Seen'wound or not,  it would be wrong to try the releose
                      button, os this might lose you on exposure; insteod, you should
                     try to move the ropid winding lever. lf this is loLked, your
                         Silette LK will be reody for the next piciure.

:  THE FILM HAS BEEN EXPOSED_
                         REWINDING THE FILM
                                 After the lost exposure (No. I on the
                        tt*           counting mechonism) the ropid winding
                                      lever con no longer be operoted. Since,
                                    however, the film in o minioture comero  is
                                    olwoys wound openly on the ioke-up spool,
                                                    it must be rewound into its light-proof
                                          cossette before the bqck is opened. There-
                                         fore, pull out the rewind button until you
                                        feel the first resistonce (opprox. /a") ond
                                      rotote it in the direction of the orrow, ot
                                     the some time depressing the locking but-
                                       ton in the bottom of the comero (see fig.14).
                          When the rewind button connot be rotot-
                                          Fis. 14  ed further the rewinding is complete, ond
                                   the comero bock con be opened os de-
scribed on poge 22. The rewind button is pulled out os for os possible, ond the
cossette removed. lt must be ploced immediotely in o light-proof wropping ond
morked "exposed".

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    CHANGE OF EXPOSURE VALUES TH ROUGH THE USE OF FILTERS
       Color filters ore ovoiloble for your comero. They con increose the otmosphere of
      your block ond white pictures or olternotively ochieve speciol effecis by de-
        liberote exoggerotion (over-filtering). As the Agfo Filters ore mode of the best
        quolity dyed, opticolly flot gloss, the full opticol performonce of the Color-Apotor
          is mointoined.
      The color filters for the Silette LK qre ovoiloble in push-on mounts with o dio-
       mefer of 37 mm. in the following ronge:
                   Lighi yellow, medium yellow, yellow-green, ond red-oronge.
      The instructions with the filter give full detoili of its use. As the Iight possing
       through the lens is reduced ocJording to the density of the filter thi exposure
       time must be increosed. The filter foctor indicoting the degree of increosed ex-
       posure r_equired is given in the instructions. Where it gives, for instonce, o filter
        foctor of 2, yov will hove to open up your stop by one light volue number ofter
:l-     hoving mode the setting (i.e. set your scole to the next lower number) or to choose       the next slower speed.
            lf you wont to moke o series of exposures with the some filter, we would odvise
It     you to ollow for the filter foctor on the DIN/ASA scole of the exposu,re meter.
       Thus, the filter foctor 2 would meon o downword odiustment of the film speed

       I        scole by 30 DlN, e.g. from l70 DIN to l40 DIN (with ASA reodings the odlustment
 T        is mode by setting to o roting equol to one holf of the originol setting, i.e. from
       40to20), filter foctor 4by 50 DlN, e.g. from l7o DIN to llo DlN. lf you ollow
       for ihe filter foctor on the film speed scole you will hqve the odvontoge, then,
      of obtoining the correct exposure setting directly. But you must not forget to
        reset your film speed scole os soon os you remove the filter.

                                                                                                                25