Voigtländer
Voigtländer (German pronunciation: [ˈfoːktlɛndɐ]) is an optical company founded by Johann Christoph Voigtländer in Vienna in 1756 and is thus the oldest name in cameras. It produced the Petzval photographic lens (the fastest lens at that time: f/3.7) in 1840, and the world's first all-metal daguerrotype camera (Ganzmetallkamera) in 1841, also bringing out plate cameras shortly afterwards. It set up a branch office in Braunschweig in 1849, moving its headquarters there later. The company issued stock in 1898, and a majority of the shares were acquired by Schering in 1925.
Over the next three decades, Voigtländer became a technology leader and the first manufacturer to introduce several new kinds of product that later became commonplace. These include the first zoom lens for 35mm still photography (36–82/2.8 Zoomar) in 1960 and the first 35mm compact camera with built-in electronic flash (Vitrona) in 1965.
Schering sold its share of the company to the Carl Zeiss Foundation in 1956, and Zeiss and Voigtländer integrated in 1965. In 1972 Zeiss/Voigtländer stopped producing cameras, and a year later Zeiss sold Voigtländer brand to Rollei. On the collapse of Rollei in 1982, Plusfoto took over the name, selling it in 1997 to Ringfoto.
Since 1999, Voigtländer-branded products have been manufactured and marketed by Cosina; for these, see Cosina Voigtländer.
Lenses
- Voigtar
- Vaskar
- Helomar
- Skopar, Skoparex, Skoparet, Skopagon, Color-Skopar, Color-Skopar X
- Heliar
- Dynarex, Dynaret, Color-Dynarex, Super-Dynarex, Super-Dynaret
- Septon
- Color-Lanthar
- Color-Ultron
- Zoomar
- Nokton
Models
- Voigtländer Vitomatic IIa with Ultron 50mm 1:2
- Voigtländer Bessa & Bessa RF
- Voigtländer Vito II
- Voigtländer Vitoret S
- Voigtländer Vitoret DR
- Voigtländer Vitessa T with German manual
- Voigtländer Superb
- Voigtländer Bessy
- Bessamatic series
- Brillant/Brilliant
- Vitomatic
- Ultramatic series
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Voigtländer cameras. |
- Voigtländer Heliar Lens Article
- http://www.voigtlaender.com/
- Voigtländer Historical Lenses
- Complete list of all Voigtländer cameras and their images
- Voigtländer instruction manuals English
- Canon EOS Technoclopedia: Voigtländer AF/MF Lenses for Canon EF - a lens chart with technical data, comments and test references