Agfa Karat 4.5

The Agfa Karat 4.5 is a viewfinder camera. It was manufactured in Germany from 1938 to 1941. It is the predecessor of the Agfa Karat 3.5 and was the successor of the Agfa Karat 6.3. It is therefore part of the Agfa Karat series. The difference to the other models is mainly the lens, but also the silver-metallic top and bottom plate of the body.

This camera model has a lens that is not interchangeable. The name “Agfa Oppar” adorns the lens. The lens has a focal length of 55 mm. Manual adjustment of the focus is necessary with the analogue camera, as no autofocus function is integrated. The optimal distance to the subject is 100 cm.

The exposure must be measured externally. The 35mm camera does not have a light meter. The aperture can be set between f/4.5 and f/32. The Pronto shutter offers the following speeds: 1/25 s, 1/50 s, 1/100 s and 1/125 s. In addition, there is a Bulb mode. There is also a Bulb mode for long exposure shots.

The camera is mechanical and can take photos without batteries. It is made of metal. The special feature of this camera series is the scissor mechanism. Its scissor mechanism allowed the lens plate to pop right out of the body instead of folding out. This feature, combined with an integrated bellows, made for a stable yet compact design.

Films for the Agfa Karat 4.5

The Agfa Karat 4.5 is designed to use special Agfa Karat film cassettes. This type of film was later marketed as Agfa Rapid Film.

It is normal 35mm film in terms of size, but the way it works is slightly different. The film material is in a film cassette on one side of the camera. On the other side is an identical cassette, but empty. With each exposure, the film material is now transported from one cassette to the other.

One cassette holds film material for 12 pictures. Accordingly, the film counter only goes up to 12.

Today, these film cassettes are no longer produced. However, 35 mm film is still produced. If you have two of these film cassettes, you can fill them with normal 35mm film and continue to use the Agfa Karat.

It is important to wind the film into the cassette in complete darkness. In addition, you should either rewind the film into the normal 35mm cartridge before developing it or develop the film yourself. The reason for this is that you usually don’t get the cassette back from the photo lab after development.

Possible film stock would be the Kodak Ultramax 400* for colour images, while Kodak T-Max 400* is recommended for b/w images.

Value of the camera

The new price at the time was 49 Reichsmarks. That probably corresponds to 260 euros today. The value today is, of course, much lower.

You can only find them used today. The second-hand price of a specimen depends on its condition and functionality. As a rule, you pay around 30-50 euros for an Agfa Karat.