Rapid Modell
 Manufactured: 1971?
Lens: f/8
Shutter: 1/40, 1/80?
Quantity Made:
Original List Price:
Country of Origin: Germany
Film Format: Rapid
In 1964 Agfa introduced its Rapid system to compete with Kodak's new 126 format. It was a modification of the Karat system developed by Agfa in 1937, in turn derived from the Ansco Memo system. The Rapid system used standard 35 mm film, but packaged it in special cassettes. Agfa produced a complete range of Rapid cameras from 1964 to 1971, from very basic snapshot models such as the Iso-flash Rapid to the high-end Optima Rapid 500V, which featured a Solinar lens, meter, hot shoe, and shutter speeds to 1/500 second. The majority of Agfa's models gave 24 x 24 mm images, but a few, such as the Silette Rapid series, gave "standard" 24 x 36 mm images.

Drop-in loading and the elimination of rewinding at the end of each roll were the main advantages of the Rapid system. The film was sold in only one length (24 in.), which gave 16 exposures in 24 x 24 mm cameras and 12 exposures in the 24 x 36 mm cameras. The film was available in color print, black-and-white, and slide emulsions. The more sophisticated Rapid cameras had small sensors in the film chamber which were engaged by tabs on the cassettes to set the exposure mechanism to the speed of the film. Several other manufacturers developed and marketed their own Rapid-format cameras in the mid-1960s; a few, such as Olympus and Canon, offered half-frame models, which gave 24 18 x 24 mm images per roll.

Unfortunately, the Rapid system was not the great success the company hoped for, and bowing to the competition, Agfa brought its own 126 cameras to the market in 1967. Nonetheless, Rapid film was still available as late as the 1980s, and the cameras are easy to find on the used market. To my knowledge, no SLRs were produced for the format, and Kodak produced neither film nor cameras for it.

The Rapid Modell shown here was presumably distributed to dealers to demonstrate the new system to the public. It is very similar to the Iso-Rapid IF, except that the camera back is made of clear plastic and there is no flash provision. It was available either by itself or in a plastic display case which included film and sample photos taken with a Rapid camera.