The Agfa Solinar lens has the distinction of being the best in the "good-better-best" lens system for Agfa folding cameras released in the mid-20th century. Over the course of 30 years, Agfa released versions of the 6x9 Record camera, as well as the 6x6 Isolette, Super Isolette and Automatic 66. In everyone of these cameras, the "good" lens was the Agnar, the "better" lens was the Apotar, and the "best" lens was (and is truly) the Solinar.

The Solinar is one of many copies of the Zeiss Tessar design that have achieved a coveted status of their own. Any Agfa collector, folding camera collector, or person who just likes to use compact medium format cameras (me, for example) wants the one that is "best" - and all three if you're a completist.

And like every lens in this series, the name is great all on its own. It sounds like it could be a Greek god or a pagan ritual or a city on a planet in Nebula 438XYZ. It could have been the name of the latest Buick or a new automatic oven - but instead it's the name that Agfa gave to their very best medium format lens.