The Adox Golf, a small fine medium format camera to fold.
For a long time, the Adox Golf was on my wish list. This was mainly due to the pictures that were taken with it. These simply had a great look that I liked, which is why I simply wanted an Adox Golf.
When I discovered an Adox Golf on eBay, I immediately snapped it up. For about 10€ really a bargain where you can’t go wrong. At its introduction in 1950, the new price was around 90 D-Mark. For its age of over 60 years, my Golf has really held up well.
The dimensions of 139 x 92 x 42 mm make the Adox Golf a very compact medium format camera. This is made possible by the fact that it can be folded or has a bellows. A button on the top opens the “door” and the lens can be unfolded. After taking the picture, you simply fold it back up and put it in your pocket.
I also really like the way to load a film in the Adox Golf. It is much easier and the film sits more firmly and securely in the camera than, for example, with the Diana.
It’s a bit annoying that you have to cock the shutter with a lever on the lens. This has happened to me several times, that I had the Adox Golf at my eye and wanted to trigger, but nothing happened.
Speaking of the eye, the viewfinder, if you want to call the small hole that, is not exactly the hit and I would not rely on it 100%.
The lens of the Adox Golf is focused manually and there is no indicator that shows when the camera has focused correctly. That means you have to estimate the distance, which can be a bit difficult, especially in the close-up range. That’s why I got an external rangefinder. With this I set the correct distance and then transfer it to the Adox Golf.
If you estimate the distance and stop down the lens a bit, reasonable pictures should come out.
Like the focusing, the exposure is fully manual. There are four shutter speeds and a bulb mode.
Depending on the version, the Adox Golf comes with a Steinheil Cassar 75 mm or an Adoxar 75 mm lens. Mine has the Adoxar with a maximum aperture of f/6.3. The Steinheil is supposed to be a bit better, from what I’ve read. Whether this makes a big difference, I don’t know, and whether you want that when using a 60-year-old camera is also questionable.
In any case, I am thrilled with what the simple optics of the Adox Golf conjures up for photos. You get very beautiful vintage shots with a beautiful vignetting and a soft fall-off to the corners. Of course, this does not mean that you only get Lomo pictures with the Adox Golf. If you stop down the lens, screw it onto a tripod and so on, you can certainly get a lot more out of the oldie.
Conclusion
If you want a good Lomo camera with a few more settings or just a cool old camera, then you should look out for an Adox Golf.