Agfa Box B-2

Agfa Box B-2 is a medium format box camera and manufactured by Agfa Kamerawerk AG, Munich, Germany between 1937-38. ^[1]

Agfa Box B-2 (1937) by Süleyman Demir (Image rights)

Specifications[]

Film: 120 roll (known as B-2 at that times), picture size 6x9, takes 8 frames
Lens: single element Meniscus lens, locates behind the shutter leaf; Aperture: f/11, Fixed focus
Shutter: simple spring rotary shutter, w/ metallic sliding aperture disc, about 1/60, +B, installed on the front cover of the camera and therefore is located in front of the lens
Shutter cocking and release lever: lover-right side of the camera, slide down for the exposure, then slide up for the cocking
Viewfinders: two bright glass screens, on the top and right sides of the camera, for portrait and landscape views; There are two viewer lenses on front of the camera, images reflect via polished steel reflectors behind the viewer lenses
Backcover: hinged, opens by a latch on the top-back of the camera, w/ a red window
Film loading: via a removable magazine ^[2]
Body: cardboard, covered with leatherette
Others: Hand grip buttons; A sticker inside of the back cover for advertisement of Agfa Film B-2, Isopan Film and Isodrom Film.
The noticeable feature on this camera is the nicely art-deco front face.

Agfa Box B-2 (1937)

Images by Süleyman Demir (Image rights)

Some info about box cameras[]

Box cameras on the market in the 1930s were rugged, inexpensive, and easy to use. Some had built-in accessories, others had attachments, but consumers liked them all. Box cameras got their name from their rigid boxy shape, most often rectangular but sometimes a cube. They often had fixed focus, fixed lens opening and limited speeds. They gave the beginner an opportunity to learn the basics of photography such as composition and subject choice, without too much emphasis on complicated technical details. The most common problem with these Agfa box cameras was difficulty in loading the film. It was hard to keep light from hitting the film and causing fogginess on the edges of the finished print. In spite of this drawback, box cameras were surprisingly easy to use for outdoor and indoor portraits, action shots, landscapes, and silhouettes.

Notes[]

↑ The Box 94 of Agfa is also named as Box B-2 because the maker recommended to load it with Agfa B-2 film.
↑ Loading: open the back cover, then pull out the winding handle and then pull out the inner part of the camera, the lens on it, then insert the film roll to the lower plate, and place it to the upper take up spool, then insert the film magazine into the camera and pull in the winding handle, then close the back cover then wind the film untill the number 1 visible in the red window

Links[]

[1] The Box 94 of Agfa is also named as Box B-2 because the maker recommended to load it with Agfa B-2 film.

[2] Loading: open the back cover, then pull out the winding handle and then pull out the inner part of the camera, the lens on it, then insert the film roll to the lower plate, and place it to the upper take up spool, then insert the film magazine into the camera and pull in the winding handle, then close the back cover then wind the film untill the number 1 visible in the red window

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[2]