C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Agfa Billy Record (1950) is a 6×9cm folding medium-format camera produced in Munich, West Germany, by Agfa (Aktiengesellschaft für Anilinfabrikation). It is a postwar member of the Billy family — Agfa's line of folding 6×9cm cameras — and uses a rigid strut-folding front standard that deploys in a single motion to place the lens at the correct focus distance.
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C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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About this camera
German engineering in its most portable medium-format form — the Agfa Billy Record offered 6×9cm negatives from a camera that folds flat enough to slip into a jacket pocket, delivering large-format image quality without the bulk or expense of a larger system.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 120 roll film (6×9 cm frames) |
| Mount | Fixed (non-interchangeable) |
| Years | 1950–1960 |
| Lens | Agfa Apotar 105mm f/4.5 (or Agnar / Solinar) |
| Shutter | Prontor-SV or Vario: 1s – 1/300s + B |
| Flash sync | X-sync (on Prontor); PC socket |
| Meter | None |
| Exposure | Manual |
| Viewfinder | Optical direct, scale focus |
| Focus | Scale (estimated distance) |
| Battery | None |
Agfa's Billy series dates to the 1930s, when the company produced a range of 6×9cm folding cameras under the Billy name for the consumer market. These prewar cameras were among Germany's most popular medium-format folders. Production was interrupted by World War II, and the postwar Billy Record represents a refined, simplified version of the prewar design suited to the economically constrained postwar market.
Agfa relocated its headquarters and primary production to Munich and Leverkusen after the war, as the original Berlin and Dresden facilities fell into East German territory. The West German Agfa (eventually Agfa-Gevaert after the 1964 merger with Belgium's Gevaert) resumed camera production with the Isolette and Billy lines as its medium-format offerings.
The Billy Record targeted amateur photographers who wanted medium-format quality without the cost of a Voigtländer Bessa or Zeiss Ikon Ikonta. Its modest price, reliable construction, and practical 6×9cm format made it a popular choice through the 1950s. Production ceased around 1960 as 35mm cameras increasingly dominated the consumer market.
The Billy Record illustrates the democratisation of medium-format photography in postwar West Germany. Its 6×9cm negatives are enormous by 35mm standards, producing contact prints or moderate enlargements of superb quality from a camera light enough to carry casually. Today it attracts film photographers drawn to the large-negative, scale-focus aesthetic — often shot at or near infinity with a small aperture for maximum depth of field and a dreamy rendering from the Apotar triplet.
Fixed lens, non-interchangeable. Lens options by model: Agnar 105/6.3 (entry), Apotar 105/4.5 (most common), Solinar 105/4.5 (premium Tessar-type). Accessories: push-on lens filters in 32mm or 35mm thread (lens-specific), a flash PC connection on Prontor-SV models.
BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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