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Aug 12, 2023 · The Rapid system is a modification of the 1930's AGFA Karat film cartridges, which supplied otherwise-standard 35mm film in special metal cassettes, which have no central spindle and are shorter in height than standard 135 cassettes.
Rapid Film was a German film production company established by producer Wolf C. Hartwig. Based in Munich, it operated from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s producing low-budget but commercially successful genre films.
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Agfa's Rapid film system, which used 35mm film, appeared in 1964 as a rival to Kodak's 126 film. The film was supplied in special metal cassettes. Whereas the Rapid system used a standard film pressure plate, 126 relied on the close tolerances of its cartridge to hold the film flat. Compared to standard 35mm film, the Rapid system was easier to load, since the film did not have to be threaded onto a take-up spool. The new full cassette is simply placed in one side of the film chamber with its leader protruding, and an empty cassette in the other side. Then the camera is closed and can be used after winding to the first exposure; the film feeds into the empty cassette. The film does not need to be rewound. At the end of the roll, the now-empty cassette is moved to the other side and used as the take-up cassette for the next roll.
The Rapid film system was not entirely new, but a modification of Agfa's Karat film cartridge system of the mid-1930s. The Rapid system had the added capability of setting the camera's autoexposure mechanism (if any) to the proper film speed automatically, as did the 126 cartridge.
•Agfa ISO-Rapid I
•Agfa Isoflash-Rapid I
•Agfa Optima-Rapid 100 C
•Agfa Optima-Rapid 125 C
•Agfa Optima-Rapid 150
•Agfa Optima Rapid 250
Karat cassettes were used by Agfa from the mid 1930s in their Agfa Karat series of cameras. They were used by cameras with manual exposure. The cassettes were revived as Agfa's Rapid film system in 1964 to rival Kodak's 126 film. This page descibers how to use the Karat/Rapid system.
Feb 18, 2021 · AGFA Rapid cameras are very easy to reload as they simply require bulk 35mm film to be pushed into an empty cassette in the dark and loaded as normal. If you own a Rapid camera and have some bulk 35mm film, two empty Rapid, or even Karat cassettes, this is something you can do yourself.
May 24, 2020 · Leica M2R: Rapid film load in classic Leica M body design. Leica M4: Rapid film load and rewind, still in a classic form. Leica M5: The cheapest Leica M film camera with a built-in meter.
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If you load your own film from bulk, and if you have a camera that can accept some sort of reloadable labyrinthine cassette (whether self-opening or Shirley Wellard) they are well worth seeking out and they often go for absurdly low prices, given the amount and quality of work involved in making them.
