# Estate sale find



## compur (Aug 15, 2014)

I bought this uncommon German camera this morning at an estate sale for peanuts -- an Akarette BW ....







... made by the German manufacturer Apparate & Kamerabau in the late 1950s.

It's in beautiful condition. The meter works well and the shutter is mostly working but needs some cleaning up to be fully functional. Should be a fairly easy job on this camera.

This is one of the few viewfinder cameras (it has no no rangefinder) that uses interchangeable lenses ...






The included lens is an Isco 50/2.8 in clean condition.

It also has a bottom wind lever like many of the Retinas.

Finding lenses for it here in the USA won't be easy however.


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## tirediron (Aug 15, 2014)

Nice; what era?  Late 50s/early 60s?


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 15, 2014)

I noticed that Isco Gottingen there... what a little beauty. Old enough for ASA DIN, I'd think midcentury too. Nice pictures of it too.


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## Derrel (Aug 15, 2014)

Yeah, wow, what a nifty looking camera! Is that a proprietary lens mount design? What kind of a lens mount "is" that? It doesn't appear to be a true bayonet mount but rather some odd engineering style that I'm not familiar with on a still camera. It has *extraordinarily unusual styling*--so "swoopy" and futuristic! NICE!!!!!!


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## compur (Aug 15, 2014)

Oops -- I wrote "Akarette" when it is an Arette. The Akarette is a different model.

Glad you like the camera. The manufacturer had some unique designs.

The lens mount is very simple. The ring at the base of the lens is threaded and it simply screws down onto a threaded tube. It's sort of like the way a garden hose is attached to a faucet. The German Lordomat cameras use almost exactly the same type of mount (but they're not compatible with each other).

Schneider made some lenses for this camera. Those are very hard to find.

The shutter release is that half-disk positioned alongside the shutter speed dial that encircles the lens mount.

Focusing is via a "guestimate" scale around the front of the lens. 

The viewfinder has 2 bight line frames marked "50mm" and "90mm." Outside the 50mm frame to the edge of the viewfinder would be the wide-angle (35mm) lens field.

And, like most German cameras, there are no foam light seals to worry about.


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## Derrel (Aug 15, 2014)

I LOVE the older, tongue-and-groove light trap systems!!!! Ahhhh...I can see the external threads now. I thought it was some type of a breech-lock mechanism. What is that rust-colored little spur inside the lens mount area, at the 12 o'clock position?


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## compur (Aug 15, 2014)

That's a key that fits into a little slot on the lens to orient the lens correctly when mounting. The lens will only mount if the two match up.


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## cgw (Aug 16, 2014)

Working or not, it's a stunning piece of industrial design. Reminds me of a Porsche 356C dash.


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## compur (Aug 16, 2014)

I agree. It's a pretty little camera and it seems well made with a hefty, quality feel. Most of the outer metalwork is aluminum with a very attractive finish that makes it look almost new. 

The meter is a Gossen, by the way. Film re-wind is done by moving that little tab near the RW knob which pops the knob up for easy turning.


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## MartinCrabtree (Aug 16, 2014)

Pretty little thing. 35MM?


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## compur (Aug 17, 2014)

Yes


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