Agfamatic 3000 Pocket Sensor

I was given this Agfa Agfamatic 3000 Pocket Sensor for free at the Negreni Fair while buying a Technics tape deck. It became my first 110 format camera, although at the time I was not even aware that you could still buy film for it. As soon as I discovered that you could, I ordered some and started shooting.

Introduced in the 1970s, the Agfamatic 3000 is an incredibly compact 110 camera with a fixed-focus 27mm lens and Agfa's distinctive red Sensor shutter button. Film advance is equally unusual, with the camera sliding open and closed between photographs.

While travelling on a bus with my first roll, I managed to drop the camera. The back opened and the film cartridge fell out without me noticing. After realising what had happened, I spent almost two hours waiting for buses to pass before eventually finding the cartridge lying exactly where I had dropped it.

Somehow, the film survived. It was developed and was genuinely surprised by how good the photographs looked. What started as a free camera I knew almost nothing about ended up introducing me to an entirely new film format, and I am very glad I went back for that cartridge.