A whimsical little camera from Russia. Fully manual, fits in any pocket, and capable of some intriguing — if imperfect — results.
The Agat18K is a whimsical little camera from Russia that I always wanted to use but for whatever reason found myself scared to try. Maybe it was the plastic construction? Maybe it was the fact that they all come from Eastern Bloc countries? Maybe it was the stories of them being difficult to use with an instruction manual written in beautiful Cyrillic? Whatever the reason, I finally pulled the trigger on a nice one at a price that was too good to pass up.
After reading reviews from Mike Eckman and others, I knew this camera was going to be quirky but capable of producing some fantastic images — all while easily fitting in your pocket.
When I received the camera I was shocked by how small and light it actually was. The whole thing is made of industrial-strength plastic that feels fairly solid yet kind of rickety at the exact same time. The controls are fully manual using a set of symbols to set aperture and shutter speed through a sort of mechanically pre-programmed mode.
Loading this camera is a pain — I ended up having to use tape to get the leader onto the wind-up spool. Using the camera is exceedingly simple: sunny mode or cloudy mode 90% of the time, focal distance at 3m 90% of the time. The camera traveled with me for 5 days either in my pocket or hanging around my neck by the built-in strap. I never missed a shot and could get it out and shoot within seconds.
The results were variable. The images were grainy yet endearing. Colors were saturated and contrast felt just right. A lot of images had a soft glow that added a mystical quality. But there was a lot of unexpected stuff too — light leaks, extra stuff sneaking into frames, the occasional mystery. This is a camera that makes an image for you. You have to be comfortable relinquishing some control and just letting the images flow.
