Agfa Billy Record 7.7 Pocket Camera

 

Sticking with old film cameras that can fit in a coat pocket, this post will be looking at the Agfa Billy Record 7.7. This camera also takes the title of oldest camera on the online museum so far and once again it is an Agfa! (See Agfa Clack Film camera post).

Usually I start by going through the history of the camera company, but I have done that in my Agfa Clack Film camera post, so I will just be going through the Agfa Billy Record’s history.

The first cameras in the Agfa catalogue to have the name Billy are a series of cheap folding cameras going back all the way to 1927 (Nicolis 2024). There were several models and variations of the same Billy cameras all the way up to the 1960s (The Camera Site).

They were all folding cameras and basically worked the same, with the only differences being the lenses and shutters. The most notable Billy cameras I can find is the Agfa Billy 1927-28, which was later renamed the Billy I when the Billy II was released in 1931, both using the Igetar lens and Compur shutter (Halgand 2023), the Agfa Billy Compur 1934 with an Apotar lens (Halgand 2023), the Agfa Billy-Clack 1934-40, which came in two different models: the No. 51 and No.74 (Art Deco Cameras 2020) and the most popular, the Agfa Billy Record 1933-42 (Nicolis 2023).

Agfa Billy I. Image Source: 
https://www.collection-appareils.fr/agfa/superpo/agfa_billy.jpg

Agfa Billy Compur. Image Source: 
https://www.collection-appareils.fr/agfa/superpo/agfa_billy_compur.jpg

Agfa Billy Clack. Image Source: http://www.artdecocameras.com/images/agfa/agfabillyclack/agfabillyclack74.jpg

There are also similar cameras made by other camera companies, such as the Kodak Junior 620 Series II 1937 (Curletta 2021), Royer Teleroy 1950 (ColectiBlend 2024) and The Voigtlander Bessa 1937 (Broome 2015).

Kodak Junior 620 Series II. Image Source: https://gotfilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210508_184138.jpg?w=1024 

Teleroy Royer. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Royer-Teleroy.jpg

The Voigtlander Bessa. Image Source: https://vintagecameradigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/bessa37_5402.jpg

And for a brief overview of the Billy series, here is an excerpt from Noir’s (2013) article:

“When in 1925 Agfa took over from Bayer the Rietzschel's factory at Münich, they just rebadged the current portfolio adding the famous diamond-shaped logo. That same year, Agfa's first spanish subsidiary was opened. The world had to wait one more year, until 1926, before Agfa unveiled their first camera per se, Agfa Standard. 1927 was a year full of news: Rietzschel's name was removed from production, the Billy family of cameras is introduced, and licensing for selling Agfa's products in the US was granted to Ansco. In 1930, their first box camera for 6x9 rollfilm. Thanks to a compensating strategy, the Box 44 could be bought with 4 "Reichsmark", recovering losses derived from the low price of the camera with the 120 rollfilms sold. A curious data about this, is that for one to be able to buy it, it was required to have 4 coins of 1 Reichsmark each, forming the word "AGFA" (those coins had one letter printed, signaling the place where the piece was coined).”

As mentioned above, there are different variations/models of the Billy cameras and the Billy Record is no exception. There appears to be four different models, the 8.8 in 1933, the 7.7 (which is the model of this camera) also 1933, the 6.3 also 1933 and finally the 4.5 in 1936. The names are given to each camera based on their maximum lens opening (Camerapedia).

Billy Record 8.8. Image Source: https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1219/663268811_06bf8dc204.jpg 

Billy Record 6.3. Image Source: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/camerapedia/images/7/7f/6.3_postwar.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111225151227

Billy Record 4.5. Image Source: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/camerapedia/images/e/e2/4.5.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111225110808

All four cameras have different looks and styles. According to WWII History & Reenacting (2015), the 8.8, 7.7 and 6.3 all share the same camera body and the 4.5 uses the same camera body as the Agfa Billy Compur. WWII History & Reenacting (2015) goes on to also point out that other differences that can be found between the four models are chrome decorations and stylings that reflect the art style of the year they were made between 1933 and 1942.

This camera was also used by the German soldiers during the second World War (Oorlogsspeullen 2024), most likely due to the fact that like its American opposition the Kodak Vest pocket cameras, which looks very similar and was also used during WWII by American soldiers (Harding 2014) and maybe even the other Allied forces because of its size.

Kodak Vest Pocket Hawk Eye Camera. Image Source: https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/vest-pocket-hawk-eye-camera1.jpg

 

This type of camera takes up less space due to its flattish design and retractable lens, making it ideal to carry it in one’s coat pocket or even vest pocket (as the Kodak camera’s name suggests) and can even be packed away without making the soldiers’ bags heavier.

This camera was also an important tool because like many things around the time these cameras came out during “…the onset of the Second World War. Like so many camera companies on both sides of the conflict, Agfa was instructed to cut civilian camera production to a minimum and focus on war materials and colour film for propaganda movies. This model of Billy was discontinued in 1941.” (MavTech 2022)

Now it is time to talk about the camera itself. This Agfa Billy Record is, as mentioned, the 7.7 model, which was manufactured and released in 1933-1942.

And the first most notable thing of this camera is that it folds! (Shocker!). That is because this type of camera is known as a bellows camera. The bellows is the part of the camera that is the “pleated material forming the light tight seal between lens and film…” (The Living Image 2024).

According to The Living Image (2024), “The bellows themselves were sometimes made of a lightweight close weave material treated to make it light proof, but this was only on the cheapest models and proliferated during the 1920s and 30s…” and I suspect that this camera has this close weave material, because as mentioned the Billy series was a range of cheap cameras from Agfa and that the Record was released in 1933.

The living image also mentions that the bellows have two different folding creases, the Square corners and the Chamfered corners.

 

Square Corners. Image Source: https://licm.org.uk/scans/square.jpg

Chamfered Corners. Image Source: https://licm.org.uk/scans/chamferred.jpg

And looking at the Billy Record it appears to have the Chamfered corners.

The addition of the bellows was meant to offer a “greater shrinkage, and also flexibility to move the lens off centre…” (The Living Image 2024). It also gives the camera a beautiful art deco and vintage/steampunk look, but it does have some draw backs. As The Living Image (2024) writes: “From a vintage camera point of view these tend to be problematical as most will have some 'pin holing' at the corners by now - that is they will allow light to leak in.”

But nevertheless, this is still an amazing feature that drew and still draws in people because of its look and functionality, to collapse and easily stored away. The bellows for the Billy Record also came in different colours (Camera Wiki).

When folded the camera is very compact at only the dimensions of “160 x 90 x 42 mm” and weighs 654g (Kamera Store 2024). It has a handle/stand that is used to pull out the camera and helps the camera stand up. It is also used to keep the baseplate shut when folded by locking it in place. The baseplate is also where the tripod socket can be found and uses “bushes” to keep it in place. 

  

An example of tripod "bushes". Image Source: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0a0AAOSwf4pfehN-/s-l400.jpg

The camera is quite simple. So let’s unfold it and have a look.

First the lens…

The lens is an Agfa f/7.7 Igestar (or Jgestar) Anastigmat (possibly 10.5cm (Altman 2021)). What does this mean? Well the Igestar (or as Margetts (2011) points out is spelled with a “fancy 'I' which makes the name look like Jgestar”) revers to the Cooke Triplet or three element lens that the Billy Record has. 

The Cooke Triplet lens was invented by H. Dennis Taylor, which “changed the direction of popular lenses. He was able to minimize chromatic aberrations and improve sharpness, specifically at the outer edge of optics. With only two biconvex lenses (or positive) on the outer and a biconcave lens in the middle (or negative) he came closer than anyone had managed at the time to optical perfection. In partnership with high-quality lens manufacturer T. T., Taylor's innovative design was patented as the Cooke triplet lens in 1894. This lens established the firm name and reputation launching the brand as one of the most important in the field.” (Eparrino 2023)

Basically, as Lee (2023), puts it, “The triplet designed by Taylor are arranged in order of positive – negative – positive. The focal power of the negative lens must be more or less equals to the focal power of the two positive lenses. The triplet has enough degrees of freedom for the lens designer to correct monochromatic aberrations (spherical, coma, astigmatism, field curvature) and chromatic aberrations (axial and lateral). Alternatively, apart from the simplest three-element design, the lens designer can replace any of the element with a glue doublet or splitting any of the element into multiple elements.”

Cooke Triplet Patent US568052. Cooke Triplet Lens Design. Image Source: https://lensfever.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/US568052.jpg

The Anastigmat is also a reference to the tree element lens. It basically means that this lens is, as mentioned above corrected “…for the three main optical aberrations: spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism. Early lenses often included the word Anastigmat in their name to advertise this new feature (Doppel-Anastigmat, Voigtländer Anastigmat Skopar, etc.).” (Wikipedia)

And the 7.7 is the maximum lens opening/f/stop for the aperture setting and indicates that in the four models of the Billy Records, this camera has the second smallest maximum lens opening, due to the fact that the smaller the f/stop value the larger the lens opening and the more light will enter through the lens. It should also be mentioned that the “Billy Record cameras generally have lenses that are less bright than those of the earlier Billy models…” (Halgand 2023).

Speaking of the f/stop…

The aperture settings can be found at the bottom of the lens and has three settings: 7.7 (no kidding), 11 and 16. What I find interesting is that the aperture petals can be found behind the shutter, as opposed to being in front of it like the Olympus OM30 Film Camera. 

On top of the lens…

Are the shutter speed settings. There are four settings. The first three are, as the manual puts it, for “instantaneous exposures,” which is meant to help control exposure and capture fast moving objects. These three settings are 1/100, 1/50 and 1/25th of a second. Then there is the fourth setting known as B. This is used for “time exposures” and allows the photographer to keep the shutter open for as long as they need by holding down the shutter button. 

And speaking of the shutter…

This can be found on the left side of the lens and is a leaf shutter (see Kodak Instamatic 104 Camera), also known as an Agfa-Automat (Art Deco Cameras 2024) which was made to adhere to the speed of the different shutter speed settings.

In front of the shutter is, as the manual states, the “Nipple in which a flexible release may be screwed” for a remote shutter release remote/trigger.

And behind the shutter is the “Lever for long time exposure” and is used with the B shutter setting to hold the shutter button down and keep the shutter open.

According to the manual: “By turning the small lever 9 (this refers to the Lever for long time exposure) the shutter may be kept open for any length of time, the pointer 10 (this refers to the shutter speed settings) being set to 'B'. By means of this lever, the user can include himself in pictures taken by flashlight. When the exposure has been made, lever 9 should be moves up again.”

On the right side…

Is the first viewfinder of two on this camera. The one attached to the lens is the Brilliant finder. This uses a magnifying mechanism and shows the object being recorded in a reduced scale. This viewfinder also has two different views, the Narrow-view picture and the Broad-view picture, which indicates how much of the object “will be obtained” depending if the user is holding it upright (narrow) or turned over (broad). 

Billy Record 7.7 manual page 15

The second viewfinder is behind the first on the main body/case of the camera.

This is known as the frame finder, and is used by pulling up on the nose piece, which brings up an adjoining frame, then the user pulls up the sighting frame. It is through this sighting frame, that the viewer presses their eye against and trough the adjoining frame, the user can see how much of the object should appear in the picture taken.

But this viewfinder (one that is off center from the lens) comes with its own complications (see Sounex YN-9000 Re-usable Camera and KODAK Pocket Instamatic 10 Camera posts for information on what I mean).

Underneath the first viewfinder is the Index for focus setting. This is where the distance settings are set and this camera has two: “2m to 5m and 5m to infinity” (Cornwall Photographic 2015). 

On the other side of the body/case is the Key for winding film, which is used to advance the film to the next frame. This is also used to unlock the spool where the used film is wound on, by pulling it up.

On the back…

Is the film compartment, with a window that indicates the number of frames left on the film and to also prevent the user from double exposure on the same frame. This window also has a small slider that opens and closes the window.

To open the compartment, the user must release the clasp on top (under the strap), by pressing down the two knobs and sliding it towards the arrows. 

The film compartment is relatively easy to load and uses 6x9cm 120 film (please see Agfa Clack Film camera post for information on this film).

For more information and an in-depth look at the Agfa Billy Record 7.7, please feel free to read through the manual:

https://cameramanuals.org/agfa_ansco/agfa_billy_recorder-english.pdf

This camera was interesting and is the most stylish I have on this blog. It has a very cool art deco/vintage/steampunk look that will make anyone’s antique collection complete.

Thank you for making it to the end and as always, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching it.

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List of source:

Art Deco Cameras. 2020. Agfa Billy Clack No. 74. http://www.artdecocameras.com/cameras/agfa/agfa-billy-clack-74/

Art Deco Cameras. 2020. Agfa Speedex 0. http://www.artdecocameras.com/cameras/agfa/speedex0/

Broome, S. 2015. Voigtlander Bessa – 1937. https://vintagecameradigest.com/2015/08/02/voigtlander-bessa-1937/

Camerapedia. Agfa Billy Record. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Billy_Record#:~:text=Billy%20record%20cameras%20were%20listed,of%20the%20Agfa%20Billy%20Compur.

Camera Wiki. Agfa Billy Record. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Agfa_Billy_Record

CollectiBlend. 2024. Royer: Teleroy. https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Royer/Teleroy.html

Cornwall Photographic. 2015. Agfa Billy Record 7.7. https://cornwallphotographic.com/2015/01/24/agfa-bill-record-7-7/

Curletta, V. 2021. Kodak Junior Six-20 Series II. https://gotfilm.org/2021/05/08/kodak-junior-six-20-series-ii/

Eparrino. 2023. A Revolutionary Lens: The Story Of The Cooke Triplet. https://www.lomography.com/magazine/351477-a-revolutionary-lens-the-story-of-the-cooke-triplet

Halgand, S. 2020. Agfa Billy. https://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-1779-Agfa_Billy.html

Halgand, S. 2020. Agfa Billy Compur. https://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-20006-Agfa_Billy%20Compur.html

Harding, C. 2014. The Vest Pocket Kodak was the soldier’s camera. https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/the-vest-pocket-kodak-was-the-soldiers-camera/#:~:text=Many%20soldiers%20bought%20cameras%20to,picture%20record%20of%20the%20War'.

Kamera Store. 2024. Agfa Billy-Record - Camera. https://kamerastore.com/products/agfa-billy-record

Lee, C. 2023. The legend of three-element lens: Brief Introduction of Cooke Triplet. https://lensfever.com/the-legend-of-3-element-lens-brief-introduction-of-cooke-triplet/

Margetts, J. 2011. Agfa Karrat 6.3. https://oldcamera.blog/tag/agfa/

MavTech. 2022. 1936 Agfa billy-record. https://mavtech.org.nz/blog/1936-agfa-billy-record/

Nicolis, M. 2024. AGFA Billy Record, 1933, Germany. https://www.museonicolis.com/en/agfa-billy-record/

Noir, J. 2013. Agfa. http://www.jnoir.eu/en/cameras/agfa/

Orrlogspullen. 2024. Original WWII German Agfa Billy Record camera. https://oorlogsspullen.nl/product/original-wwii-german-agfa-billy-record-camera/

The Camera Site. Agfa Kamerawerk AG, München, Germany. https://thecamerasite.lauro.fi/03_Folder_Cameras/Pages/agfabilly.htm#:~:text=The%20Agfa%20Billy%20Record%20folder,in%20a%20a%20A.C.%20Gauthier%20shutter.

The living Image. 2024. Camera Anatomy - Bellows Cameras or more correctly, folding cameras. https://licm.org.uk/livingImage/BellowsCamera.html#:~:text=Bellows%20Cameras%2C%20or%20folding%20cameras,seal%20between%20lens%20and%20film.

Wikipedia. Anastigmat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastigmat

WWII History & Reenacting. 2015. WWII History & Reenacting - Period German Camera (Agfa Billy Record 4.5) overview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QK7dUiYzsI&t=54s