The subject of this page is an intriguing single lens reflex for twelve 6x6cm exposures on 120 roll film. After the second world war the enterprising Paul Studios of Eastbourne bought some military surplus cameras and converted them for civilian use. The camera they elected to convert was the AGI (Aircraft General Instruments) S/A (Small Aircraft) aerial camera.

As created by AGI the camera would have looked like this, but with a larger eyepiece, as this example has shed part of this. The finish was overall black without chrome adornments or leather covering. There was no reflex mirror internally, as focussing wasn't really required for air to air photography as the target could always be reasonably expected to be close to maximum focus. Instead a Newtonian viewer was fitted. A lock, marked "AIR" was supposed to be engaged for aerial photography that locked the focus at infinity, in other circumstances the lens could be focussed down to six feet. Despite there not being a reflex mirror, the tray to hold it was still there, as the design harked back to the Kochman Reflex Korelle and required this as part of the shutter tripping mechanism. The camera was hand held using a wooden pistol grip and the shutter was arranged to trip via a trigger enabling the camera to be aimed and fired single handed if needed. Although sources state the intended use was aerial reconnaissance, with only twelve shots per roll it's likely that the use was for training, air to air photography and ship identification as the original customer was the admiralty.

Presumably, Paul Studios bought a job lot - the quantity is unknown, of cameras that were surplus post war and likely never issued to any military unit. After sitting in a warehouse somewhere the government sold them off. Of the four examples we've had sight of, all had lens serial number starting 452XX and all within a fifty serial number spread. This does suggest the conversion number was relatively low and that the cameras were taken from an entire un-issued batch. This example has the number "105" scratched into the paint where it's normally hidden on two components, plus the number "6" in pencil. Maybe number six in the current batch, total number so far 105, who knows.

The conversion was fairly extensive, the wooden pistol grip, trigger, hand guards, screen cover, Newtonian finder and lens protector/shade were removed and discarded along with the military identity plate and serial number. The camera was then completely dismantled and gloss black paint applied to the shell over the original semi matt black. The rewind lever, shutter status indicator plate, focus ring and sundry bits were stripped back to bare metal, polished then electro chrome plated. Leather panels were added to the body, back and lens mount extension. The lens mount extension is required as the design of the body was based around the German Kochman Reflex Korelle camera that mounted a standard 85mm focal length lens but the 4.2" (105mm) Hall Bros. Unimar used in the AGI camera was retained in the conversion. It's likely that AGI saw the potential of several variants using the same basic camera core, so just adopted the Korelle layout and fitted adaptors as needed. Conversion required making and fitting, a surface reflecting mirror, focus screen, viewing hood and possibly the hatch. They were available in three versions, no flash synchronization, flush bulb sync' and electronic flash or bulb sync'. The latter is identified by three electrical contacts on the top and subsequent truncation of the shutter status indicator, the flash bulb only version is identified by two electrical contacts on the front just in front of the shutter setting wheel, as per our example. The reason two different flash types are required is because old style flash bulbs take time to burn to full brightness and need to be triggered rather earlier than the instant response of an electronic flash.

The question of who actually did the conversions remains. The workmanship is mixed, the chrome plating - almost certainly a bought in service, is excellent. The leather covering, rather rustic. The screws used throughout are all roughly truncated using pliers to cut them to length, replacing the unplated screws originally fitted. It looks, to my eyes, as being more cottage industry than returning them to AGI for remodelling. In the mid to late 1950s these were sold for £37 each, given that the cost of acquisition was likely very cheap, converting one hundred cameras would have yielded enough funds to buy a decent house at the time. It was likely already ten years or older when converted as the S/A Mk II was used from the late 1930s by the admiralty.

The original maker, AGI had by 1947 formed a subsidiary company, Agilux, who used the same core to create their own civilian version known as the Agiflex but priced at over £50, likely the inspiration for Paul Studios own conversions.

This particular example was donated to the collection in desperate need of rescue in 2025, being rebuilt to working order in May 2026. It had evidently died a long time previously due to being soaked but there was clear evidence of extensive use prior to this. The fact that it had survived this long was enough to justify the 70 odd hours expended by the workshop, this process is documented in Project 17 of the workshop pages.

View other larger format SLR cameras in this collection.