summer 1951 ad for the newly available Plaubel Makina III
Toronto. Have you ever heard about or seen a strange camera from the 1930s called a Makina III? Originally designed pre WW2 (one may have been auctioned off last May in Ohio), sales and manufacture were interrupted by WW2.
The ad, on page 6, in the June, 1951 issue of Popular Photography (the link from a recent post is repeated here for convenience), is by the block-long NYC retail shop Willoughbys. It announces that the Makina III is, “Available once again!”, and promises accessories (like the 120 roll film back!) will be available soon!
The camera sports a leaf shutter behind the lens making it possible to use interchangeable lenses and allows flash bulb synchronization at all speeds. The down side, of course is that the shutter’s physical size limits its top speed (1/200th) – far slower than that common for a focal plane shutter.
A grateful thank you goes to that fine gentleman and enthusiastic photo historian, George Dunbar, for sharing this find with us. If you want one for your collection (or a user for the folks who still use film) visit one of our fairs, auctions, shows, or sales.
