Agfamatic 4008 Pocket Sensor

The Designer Cartridge Camera

Coming from a famous design firm, you would hope that the Agfamatic 4008 camera had some style to it. This pocket 110 camera definitely delivers. Featuring a black textured body, a wrap around matte chrome section and a prominent red shutter button… the design is unique and timeless. The style is spot on, absolutely stunning and I’d say borderline perfect. The camera has a decent weight and solid feel to it as well. Closed the camera is sleek and pocket ready, and open is not much larger. You wouldn’t think this camera came out almost 50 years ago.

The Agfamatic will not fire when closed. To open it, you slide the switch on the bottom, and the camera springs open. Only then, are you able to look through the viewfinder. The viewfinder is large and clear, easy enough for me with my glasses. There are parallax correction marks for when your working on closer shots as well as a red light on the right hand side. The 4008 is a CDS metering auto exposure camera and batteries are a must with the Agfamatic, it will not work without them. The batteries are two 625 style batteries, located in a hidden compartment on the bottom of the camera. In my tests, two LR44 batteries in adapters worked perfectly fine.

There are limited controls on the Agfamatic. You can wind the shutter by opening and closing the camera, and it will stop on the fame until you take a picture. You are able to open and close as much as you please without it advancing the frame. Flash is available, with a flip flash socket as well as an option for a proprietary electrical flash. The ISO is set by the tabs on the 110 cartridge, and the range is from 25 to 400. All other controls are on the top of the camera.

The shutter is a big red button on the right hand side, with a shutter cable socket next to it. When you half press the shutter, this light goes off when the shutter speed is 1/30th of a second or below when shaking can occur and a flash is recommended. The lens is a 26mm Color Apotar with a fixed f/6.3 aperture. When it comes to shutter speed, some online sources are incorrect. The true shutter speed range is 1/500th of a second to 30 seconds. The Agfamatic can also be focused. It uses the typical three part zone focus scale, as well as having alternative distance numbers when you use flash.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - 1/500th of a second to 30 seconds

Aperture - fixed f/6.3

Meter Type - CDS

Shutter - metal leaf shutter

ASA - 25-400

Lens - 26mm Color Apotar

Flash Option - Flip Flash, Agfamatic Pocket Lux Type 6904/100

Batteries - two 625 cells (two LR44 batteries will work), no mechanical option, needs batteries to function

Film Type - 110 film cartridge

Other Notable Features - tripod socket

The Experience

I thought I was done with 16mm sized film after spending an eternity testing the Fuji Super HR-21 microfilm stock. Along with most 110 cameras refusing to work for me. That was until I came across a deal on another 110 camera, including film. My thought was if the camera was useless, I still had three rolls of film to work with. The camera arrived in immaculate condition, cosmetically and functionally. The camera worked perfectly right out of the gate, so for once, no repairs were necessary.

Whenever you hear of the best 110 camera, the common ones brought up are the Pentax Auto 110 and the Minolta 110 Zoom, with other high end names sprinkled in. You don’t see many mentions of other brands, especially Agfa. When the Agfa Sensor line of cameras were in production, they wanted a modern look to these new cameras and hired Schlagheck Design. They were tasked with the styling of these new cameras as well as updating the looks of previous models. This new design and style was implemented from the 1970s up into the 80s. The designs they came up with are incredible for every camera. As far as the Agfamatic 4008 goes, you have the perfect mixture between solid German engineering and beautiful design elements, truly a camera in a league of its own. The Agfamatic is built like a tank and took amazing shots no matter the situation. I used Lomo Tiger CN200 for my test and was pleasantly surprised. I did a mixture of outdoor shots, indoor with and without flash, and some studio work. Some pictures came out a touch overexposed, but I’m positive it was an issue with me. Even on a tripod, I was shocked at the sharpness and clarity that this camera has. Every person I’ve shown negatives to was impressed that it was 110.

This camera is borderline perfect to me. It created amazing shots with impressive detail, definitely a contender for top 110 camera lists. It’s the perfect pocket size. I carried it around for a couple of weeks inside and out, and it never let me down. If you're looking for a 110 camera, I cannot recommend this camera enough. But not just this camera though, there are multitudes of cameras in the Agfamatic Sensor line. You definitely have to give one of them a try, they are seriously amazing.