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Before
we begin, I would like to announce that my new Patreon exclusive camera series
is now up, with my first post talking about the Chuzhoa M1 Retro Camera. It can
be viewed by either joining my Patreon or buy just buying the post for a
onetime fee. I hope you will check it out, not only will you be part of an
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You
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Anyway,
back to the camera at hand:
From Kodak to Agfa, this post
will be looking at another well-known brand, this is the Agfa Optima.
I already went through the
history of Agfa in my Agfa
Clack post.
So with that, let’s get into
the camera at hand.
First off, the name Optima
first appeared in the 1930s when Agfa released their 7.5 x 10.5 cm negative
film (Halgand 2024). Then later released the Optima Prestige film series that
came in 135 and 120 film (ePhotozine 2001).
Now there are many Agfa cameras
with the Optima name, and according to Agfa-Gevaert Group (2025), this camera
was “…the first fully automatic 35mm camera. It was an instant success and
during the next three years, Agfa sold a million of these Agfa Optima cameras.”
Agfa-Gevaert Group (2025) specify that Agfa was focusing on the modern
photographer, meaning that cameras had to be more user-friendly and easy to
operate. Agfa achieved this through creating the world’s first camera with a “…programmed
exposure control…” (Pattison 2021).
As mentioned earlier, this
camera was very popular, and as Ostalgie (2025) writes, Agfa didn’t stop there,
and like many other popular series (see my Agfa
Isolette I post), Agfa released new models based off of the original, but
with more updated features.
Now there isn’t much history
of this camera, other than it being Agfa creating a new market where cameras
helped the user set the aperture and exposure automatically because “…some
shots just won’t wait while he fiddles with the settings…” (Grey 2011).
Now there are several models
with the Optima names in Agfa’s catalogue, and the main ones are based off of
the original, which is the camera of this post, released in 1959 (Camera-wiki
2025).
I will briefly go over the other Optima models. I am not sure how many there are, but I will go over the ones I found on the internet. (Note: The cameras mentioned are in random order and not in order by year, as there are conflicting accounts to when each one was released.)
After the original, Agfa released the Optima I (Ostalgie 2025) in 1960 and was also called the Agfamatic I in Canada (Camerapedia).
Agfa Optima I. Image Source:
https://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Optima1.jpg
Then came the Optima IA in
1962 (Camerapedia), which is the same as the I, but the film advance lever was
moved and put on the top and the film counter was put on the side.
 |
| Agfa Optima IA. Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Agfa_Optima_1a.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original |
Then we had the Optima II in
1962 (Camerapedia), and came with the Apotar lens (Ostalgie 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima II. Image Source: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/53kAAOSwV0hk7fmj/s-l1200.jpg |
The same year also saw the
Optima IIS (Camerapedia), and had a coupled rangefinder (Ostalgie 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima IIS. Image Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThuylXCZ3sYMbxSj8KkBdz5Dxz4N8vSE4ToaXtoaVkuUeDi28fXlQvCgSg&s=10 |
Then there is the Optima III,
which came with a faster shutter (Ostalgie 2025), specifically a Compur
Automatic (Halgand 2024).
 |
| Agfa Optima III. Image Source: https://collection-appareils.fr/agfa/images/agfa_optima_III.jpg |
Then like the II model, the
was the Optima IIIS, which came with a rangefinder (Camerapedia), this camera
was made by the Bavaria branch (Ostalgie 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima IIIS. Image Source: https://kameraostalgie.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/aa4904_ac6db47b6b574be8aeabf69333225743mv2.jpg |
1963 saw the Optima 500S (Camerapedia),
which was similar to the IIIS, but came with a new lens, the Color-Solinar
(Ostalgie 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima 500S. Image Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRBGHe7EkahL9dbvywu77WDhKTxXytUzeqqKLsdhgXvBoJXDkP6aKcRPNvz&s=10 |
In 1964, there was the Optima
500, which took inspiration from Agfa’s Silette Record camera, and has a new
body design with a “…rapid wind lever on the bottom plate…” and a “…shutter
release on the lens barrel…” (Camerapedia).
 |
| Agfa Optima 500. Image Source: https://vintagecameralab.com/wp-content/uploads/agfa-optima-500_071.jpg |
 |
| Agfa Silette Record. Image Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTZ1kpDVuVM93SIfonFgxSdJJLQDZbKWLcqyxJujzVJRbwoZ0qkwxFZmMv2&s=10 |
Then in 1966 was the Optima
500SN, which just came with a self-timer (Camerapedia).
 |
| Agfa Optima 500SN. Image Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1c0gopjFIdwYhkmMLdr8ov4rk2mIMWw6GbRsA-ys7N7YHNuPh1hT0SwY&s=10 |
But according to Camera-wiki
(2025), the 500 and 500SN actually belongs to the Parat series, as the Parat
cameras where based off of the Optima series, but was more inexpensive and
smaller, such as the Parat I (Eckman 2017).
 |
| Agfa Parat I. Image Source: https://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Parat1.jpg |
Eckman (2017) also points out
that this camera wasn’t as successful. But I guess Agfa liked the design of it
that they just attached the Optima name onto it, as later on came the 500,
500SN and before those two the Optima-Parat (Camera-wiki 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima-Parat. Image Source: https://live.staticflickr.com/694/31696845400_df3ca0e39a_n.jpg |
Then, we have the most
interesting one, the Optima Reflex (or Agfamatic Reflex for the Canadians),
which is based off of the Agfa Flexilette (Camerapedia). This camera takes on
the attributes of an SLR camera and has an “…eye-level pentaprism, programmed
auto exposure control prefers fast shutter speeds and manual control for flash
and B settings. There are three distance symbols. Matched Agfa Color-Apotar
45mm f/2.8 lenses in special Prontor shutter with speeds 1/30-1/250 +B...”
(Camerapedia).
 |
| Agfa Optima Reflex. Image Source: https://live.staticflickr.com/5447/9577742576_32f0b9d2fe_n.jpg |
 |
| Agfa Flexilette. Image Source: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/387/18752323230_38fc463367_n.jpg |
Agfa did also release Optima cameras that look completely different from the above cameras.
First is the Rapid Optima series, like the Optima Rapid 250, which had to change because these cameras were made to compete with and were also a rival to Kodak’s Instamatics in 1966 (Camera-wiki 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima Rapid 250. Image Source: https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2517/4008966196_6dc8ba481f.jpg |
The Rapid film was “…a modification of the 1930's AGFA
Karat film cartridges, which supplied otherwise-standard 35mm film in special
metal cassettes, which have no central spindle and are shorter in height than
standard 135 cassettes. An identical, empty cassette is used in the camera's
take-up compartment…” (Camera-wiki 2026).
 |
| Agfa Karat Rapid film. Image Source: https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4503629674_e3967396c0_m.jpg |
Then we got the Optima Sensor,
like the 200 model, which had a soft shutter release and replaced the Selenium
cell with a CdS cell (Camera-wiki 2025), see my Hi-Color 35
post.
 |
| Agfa Optima Sensor 200. Image Source: https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3332/4596356005_fc5b1889a7.jpg |
Then came the Optima for the
110 film (see my 110
Zoom post) in 1974, an example for this is the Optima 5000 Pocket Sensor
(Camera-wiki 2025).
 |
| Agfa Optima 5000 Pocket Sensor. Image Source: https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3328/3526908172_7c7e1aea00_n.jpg |
Then, what seems to be the
last of the Optima series, the Sensor Electronic series in 1976 (Camera-wiki
2025) and were just a set of compact 35mm shoot-and-point cameras.
 |
| Agfa Optima Sensor Electronic series. Image Source: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48583803682_3cc6f1f2b0_n.jpg |
Just as a final note to end
off the history part of the post:
“…Until the late 1950s, the
concept of a fully automatic ‘point and shoot’ camera that required the
photographer to simply aim the camera at something and press the shutter
release must have seemed like science fiction, but then all of a sudden, all at
once in 1959, five different companies released six different models capable of
fully automatic exposure. These six
models became known as the Auto Exposure Class of 1959. They were:
-AGFA Optima
-Bell & Howell Electric
Eye 127
-Braun Paxette Electromatic
-Kodak Automatic 35
-Kodak Brownie Starmatic
-Revere Eye-Matic EE 127…”
(Eckman 2016).
 |
| Auto Exposure class of 1959. Image Source: https://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AE1959-512x311.jpg |
And with that, let’s get into
the camera at hand.
The Agfa Optima has an all
metal body and it feels “…good in the hand; weighty and solid…” (Pattison
2021). It weighs approximately 720kg (Ostalgie 2025) and its size is 5.2 x 3.5
x 2.2 inches. It was released in 1959 and was the first in the series.
Now time to have a closer
examination. Starting with the front, where a part of the front plate is
missing-
.png) |
| Front plate example. Image Source: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/camerapedia/images/4/48/Agfa_Optima.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111112102026 |
First the lens-
It is an Apotar S Colour lens,
with a max f/stop of 3.9 and a focal length of 39mm (Pattison 2021).
To explain what an Apotar S
lens is, from what I can tell, Apotar lenses came before an Agnar lens and as
mentioned above the Agnar is a cheaper version of the Apotar. According to my Isolette
I post, an Agnar is just a triplet class lens.
So we can deduce that the
Apotar is also a triplet lens or three element lens. The Colour in the name
refers to it having an anti-reflecting coating. According to the user Andrew in
Austin (2005), what makes the Apotar better and a bit more expensive to make is
that it uses “…rare-earth glass, which in this case means the glass contains
barium.”
And according to ATSDR 2020,
“…Barium is a silvery-white metal that takes on a silver-yellow colour when
exposed to air. Barium occurs in nature in many different forms called
compounds. These compounds are solids, existing as powders or crystals, and they
do not burn well. Two forms of barium, barium sulphate and barium carbonate,
are often found in nature as underground ore deposits.”
 |
| Barium. Image Source: https://periodictable.com/Samples/056.1/s9s.JPG |
And the barium used here is “…A
type of glass containing barium oxide, which is added to increase the
refractive index while maintaining a relatively low dispersion…” (Photonics
Marketplace).
Then finally, the S in the
lens name most likely implies that this lens is made for automatic or
semi-automatic shutter cameras, like the Optima.
Then there is the ring around
the lens, this is the focus settings-
Since this camera was made to
be as easy as possible and allowed anyone to use it, Agfa got rid of the
traditional focus setting ring and instead simplified it by adding three
focusing marks. Meaning that to set the focus, one must determine the distance
of the subject and choose between three symbols to set the focal range.
These three symbols consist of
two people (the close-up, 5-7 6” feet), three people (groups shots, 7 6”-15
feet) and a building with mountains (landscape shot, 15 feet to infinity).
.png) |
| Screenshot from the Manual. |
Then behind that ring is the
f/stop setting or diaphragm ring.
This can only be used when in the flash mode.
When the camera is set to
automatic, the ring can’t be used and always jumps back to 3.9 if you manually
try to set it.
Next to the lens, left top corner-
There is the PC flash cable
connector.
.png) |
| Optima Flash gun example. Image Source: https://blog.jimgrey.net/2011/08/01/agfa-optima/ |
Underneath that is the milled
setting disk. This switches the camera between the automatic mode and flash mode.
When switching to the
automatic setting, a metal plate covers up the PC cable flash socket, as the
automatic setting isn’t compatible and can’t keep up with the quick light
changes from the flash.
On the other side of the lens-
Here is the V Lever, or the “magic lever” which “…actuates the light meter…” (Pattison 2021). According to the manual, this is pressed down before a picture can be taken, as this lever is pressed depressed it automatically sets the f/stop and shutter speed.
It works in tandem with the viewfinder and the selenium cell.
First the selenium cell. This is on the left side above the lens. To learn how it works, see my Rondo Colormatic post.
This cell determines the amount of light in the area and helps the magic lever set the speed and aperture.
On the right side is the
viewfinder.
This viewfinder comes with a
viewfinder signal. This is a dot at the top in the viewfinder and indicates
when the V lever is pressed down enough and the camera is ready to take a
picture.
There are two colours that
signal if the camera has been automatically set. Red means it is not set and
the shutter button is locked and green indicates that the camera is set and shutter
release can be pressed.
.png) |
| Screenshot from the manual. |
As mentioned, the V lever was
moved to the other side on the later Optima models, it is unclear why, the only
thing I could find comes from Camera-wiki (2025), where it is explained that
the lever was put on the “wrong” side.
Then on top, left to right-
First is the recessed film
rewind knob. This knob is also the film type indicator and reminder, which is
set by the user, and has a black and white checks. The checks come in different
patterns and have different meanings.
.png) |
| Screenshot from the manual. |
Next is the slide button. This
unlocks the rewind knob and allows it to pop out.
This lets the user then use
the knob to rewind the film, load and unload the film cartridge.
Next is the cold-shoe or
accessory shoe clip for the flash gun.
After that is the shutter
release button, that has a remote cable release socket.
This camera has a Compur
shutter, which is a “…long-lived series of leaf shutters that were made by the
German company F. Deckel, based in München (Munich), Germany. The Compur
appeared in 1912 and was based on the Compound, but was equipped with a geared
slow speed governor instead of a piston and cylinder device…” (Camera-wiki 2025).
But seeing that this camera
has a flash setting and can take pictures in a “rapid” fashion, meaning that
this camera can also be a Syncro-Compur or a Compur Rapid (SKGrimes). This just
means that the shutter is compatible with flash synchronisation and automatic
synchronisation.
The shutter speed on this
camera can be set anywhere between 1/30-1/250 second when in the automatic
setting. In flash setting it is set to 1/30 second.
Then lastly is the scale for
setting the film speed (the ISO/ASA). This is to help the camera automatically
set the shutter speed and f/stop to the best variables for the best picture
according to the film’s ISO.
And like the film rewind knob, there is a slide button next to the film speed setting.
On the left side-
Here is the film compartment release latch. It is the same type of latch on the Fujica 35-ML.
Here is the tripod socket.
Then there is the locking
button.
This has to be pressed in to
release the film frame sprocket, so that it can be turned the other way and allow
the user to use the rewind knob and rewind the film.
On the back-
Here is the film compartment
cover.
Underneath this cover is the
film counter disk.
I really like this placement,
as it means that the user only has to slightly move the camera way to see what
frame they are on. And I think that it looks awesome!
Above the cover is the viewfinder.
Speaking of advancing, next to
the viewfinder is the film advance lever.
It is similar to the
Instamatic 104
and 50.
The only difference is that it is on the back, instead of the side, and it “…has
a very long throw, but is smooth and light…” (Pattison 2021). This is also
known as a rapid transport advance lever.
And as mentioned it works well
with the big viewfinder, for the user doesn’t have to completely move their
face away from the camera. But I still prefer the Fujica
35-ML film advance system.
Lastly is the film
compartment-
It is a basic film compartment
with a pressure plate on the cover, alongside a metal piece to hold the film
cartridge in place and a roller to help keep the film smooth when advancing it.
This compartment takes
135/35mm film, meaning that it has a negative size of 36 x 24mm. To learn about
how film works, please see my 200
Color Plus post.
Film is loaded like this:
.png)
Screenshot from the manual.
.png) |
| Screenshot from the manual. |
.png) |
| Screenshot from the manual. |
And that seems to be it. The
Optima is a genius piece of camera equipment, and although it might not be as
eye catching it is a true gem and might even rival the Halina
Super x35 for the best starter 35mm film camera.
Thank you for making it to the
end and as always, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching it.
Please
remember to check out my Patreon at: patreon.com/OnlineCurator
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see the Please help this site post
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you for the support.
List
of sources:
Agfa-Gevaert
Group. 2025. 150 years of experience. https://www.agfa.com/corporate/history-detailed/
Andrew
in Austin. 2005. AGFA Agnar & Apotar Lenses - Difference? https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/116226-agfa-agnar-apotar-lenses-difference/
ATSDR.
2020. Public Health Statement for Barium. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/tsp/PHS/PHS.aspx?phsid=325&toxid=57
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima 500. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima_500
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima 500S. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima_500_S
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima 500SN. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima_500_SN
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima I. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima_I
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima IA. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima_Ia
Camerapedia.
Agfa Optima IIIS. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Agfa_Optima_III_S
Camera-wiki.
2025. Compur. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Compur
Camera-wiki.
2025. Optima. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/optima
Camera-wiki.
2026. Rapid film. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Rapid_film
Eckman,
M. 2016. AGFA Optima I (1960). https://mikeeckman.com/2016/12/agfa-optima-i-1960/
Eckman,
M. 2017. AGFA Parat I (1963). https://mikeeckman.com/2017/10/agfa-parat-i-1963/
ePhotozine.
2001. Professional negative film. https://www.ephotozine.com/article/professional-negative-film-116
Grey,
J. 2011. Agfa Optima. https://blog.jimgrey.net/2011/08/01/agfa-optima/
Halgand,
S. 2023. Agfa Optima. https://collection-appareils.fr/x/html/appareil-1769-Agfa_Optima.html
Mike.
2007. Agfa Optima manual. https://www.butkus.org/chinon/agfa/agfa_optima/agfa_optima.htm
Ostalgie,
K. 2025. The Original Agfa Optima of 1959. https://kameraostalgie.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/the-original-agfa-optima-of-1959/
Pattison,
C. 2021. Agfa Optima. https://shutterlogue.co.uk/agfa-optima/
Photonics
Marketplace. 2026. Glass barium. https://www.photonics.com/Dictionary/glass-barium/d4398
SKGrimes. Compur Shutters. https://skgrimes.com/layouts/compur-shutters/
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