The Clack (so called, very likely, in mimicry of the shutter's sound, and weren't those Germans clever? it was marketed as "The Weekender" in the U.S., which isn't nearly as nifty), when I first noticed it being sold on eBay last year, seemed to be going for a premium price, and was seemingly available only from overseas sellers, so naturally I had to have one but couldn't afford one.
Then in June of 2010 I spotted one being sold by a U.S. seller, and for a comparatively affordable price, so I bid on it and won as the only bidder. Once it arrived it needed a little cleaning up, which I was able to do easily, but I can't do anything about the missing Agfa badge above the lens. Still, it's in good shape otherwise, and the imitation lizard-skin leatherette is all intact.
The Clack, manufactured and marketed from 1954-65, shoots 8 images on 120 film, has two apertures that do double duty for landscapes and "close-ups" (3-10 meters and 1-3 meters, respectively), and a built-in yellow filter on some models. There's a switch on the lens to allow for "B" (Bulb) and "M" (Moment, AKA Instant). It has a curved film plane to allow for aberration-prevention from the simple one-element meniscus lens.
The body is metal and the lens assembly is plastic. A big knob on the bottom allows for the film carrier/lens assembly to be removed from the outer shell. This knob is bilingual, telling the user to turn it one way for auf (open), and the other way for zu (close).
The images shown here were shot in July 2010 at a poolside birthday party my son attended. Most of the pics are of my son in various stages of immersion. Judging from the outcome, 100 speed film is far too fast for this camera.
August 2011: I ended up getting a second, far nicer one of these from my friend Hans K. in The Netherlands, so I sold the one pictured here in early 2011. I'd yet to shoot a roll in it until my parents came for a visit in late August, so I took the opportunity while they were here. Unfortunately, I didn't use a lens hood, and really should have, because the glare here is awful. But I wasn't expecting this result -- to my eye, everybody was in partial shadow, with the sun to the side.
April 2012: Just for fun, I ran a roll thru the Clack, this time one of efke 25, shot pretty much at box speed and developed in Xtol 1+2. Nice results, if I do say so myself. Check out the captions on each photo (click to see them at the thumbnails). My son's idea, to shoot the little stuffed bear in different poses.
Then in June of 2010 I spotted one being sold by a U.S. seller, and for a comparatively affordable price, so I bid on it and won as the only bidder. Once it arrived it needed a little cleaning up, which I was able to do easily, but I can't do anything about the missing Agfa badge above the lens. Still, it's in good shape otherwise, and the imitation lizard-skin leatherette is all intact.
The Clack, manufactured and marketed from 1954-65, shoots 8 images on 120 film, has two apertures that do double duty for landscapes and "close-ups" (3-10 meters and 1-3 meters, respectively), and a built-in yellow filter on some models. There's a switch on the lens to allow for "B" (Bulb) and "M" (Moment, AKA Instant). It has a curved film plane to allow for aberration-prevention from the simple one-element meniscus lens.
The body is metal and the lens assembly is plastic. A big knob on the bottom allows for the film carrier/lens assembly to be removed from the outer shell. This knob is bilingual, telling the user to turn it one way for auf (open), and the other way for zu (close).
The images shown here were shot in July 2010 at a poolside birthday party my son attended. Most of the pics are of my son in various stages of immersion. Judging from the outcome, 100 speed film is far too fast for this camera.
August 2011: I ended up getting a second, far nicer one of these from my friend Hans K. in The Netherlands, so I sold the one pictured here in early 2011. I'd yet to shoot a roll in it until my parents came for a visit in late August, so I took the opportunity while they were here. Unfortunately, I didn't use a lens hood, and really should have, because the glare here is awful. But I wasn't expecting this result -- to my eye, everybody was in partial shadow, with the sun to the side.
April 2012: Just for fun, I ran a roll thru the Clack, this time one of efke 25, shot pretty much at box speed and developed in Xtol 1+2. Nice results, if I do say so myself. Check out the captions on each photo (click to see them at the thumbnails). My son's idea, to shoot the little stuffed bear in different poses.
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