Agfa Karat 3.5 (1938–1941)
The Agfa Karat 3.5 is a 35 mm folding viewfinder camera made in Germany from 1938 to 1941. It is a Karat-series model built just before the Second World War. The Karat line itself ran from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, and the Karat 4.5 is recorded as this model's direct predecessor.
The film system is what sets the Karat cameras apart. They don't take a standard 35 mm cassette. They use Agfa's own "Karat cassettes": film pays off from a loaded cassette onto an empty take-up cassette inside the camera. Two folding flaps held the emulsion flat on the film tracks, and the sprocket teeth aided the transport. It was a neat idea, but never as simple to use as the later 126 drop-in cartridges, and it didn't really succeed in the market. Agfa carried the same concept forward in its Rapid series. Owners could reload the Karat containers from a standard 35 mm reel, though only in total darkness.
The camera itself is straightforward. It has an Agfa Solinar 3.5/50 mm lens, with two cemented elements forming the front group and two more the rear, mounted behind a Compur or Compur-Rapid shutter. The top plate carries a tunnel viewfinder, film advance knob, film counter, and shutter release. Examples exist with or without strap lugs. No original price, dimensions, or weight are documented in the available sources.
Known specs
- Type: 35 mm folding viewfinder camera using Karat cassettes
- Production: Germany, 1938–1941
- Lens: Agfa Solinar 3.5/50 mm
- Shutter: Compur or Compur-Rapid
- Top plate: tunnel viewfinder, advance knob, film counter, shutter release
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