Tag Archives: Tessar

what the heck is this camera

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. The other day Les Jones dropped me a note about a strange movie camera. Was it used to take movies? Or to take a shot one frame at a time with enough room for hundreds of shots on a … Continue reading →

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what the heck?

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Robert

Toronto. Around 1931, Leitz decided to make their tiny Leica an interchangeable lens camera and produced the first few new focal length lenses. Within a year, the Leica’s film to lens mount distance was standardized and thereafter any screw mount … Continue reading →

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hi-yo kinamo

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In April, 1923 this ad appeared in the American Cinematographer. ICA in Germany announced its 35mm (standard film) Kinamo camera – the smallest movie camera of the time. The Kinamo was designed for both professionals and (advanced) amateurs, hence … Continue reading →

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a lens for all reasons

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. When Leitz first marketed the Leica in the mid 1920s, it was an innovative success. By 1933 other makers had competing cameras out. The mighty Carl Zeiss organization not only marketed cameras, but their Tessar lens was a excellent … Continue reading →

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Werra you been, my blue-eyed son?

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. After the Second World War, Zeiss and Jena ended up in the Soviet zone of Germany (East Germany). A western version of Zeiss was quickly moved to Oberkochen. The East German Zeiss continued to manufacture optical instruments. Cameras were … Continue reading →

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up close and personal

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. I took this shot in October 2014 with a century old Zeiss licensed, Krauss made Tessar 35mm f/3.5 at f/22 after looking at the soil sample under a Leitz stereo microscope using 12.5x, 50x, and 100x magnification. The Tessar … Continue reading →

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fold it up and tuck it in your pocket

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. I often think “Kodak” when I see a folder (a pocket-sized camera that unfolds a bellows to keep film and lens separated the correct distance) since I was used to my Dad’s Kodak Brownie Six-20 folder which he used … Continue reading →

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keep on truckin’

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Items from the website Fans in a Flashbulb have appeared here before. The site is a blog and like our site, uses WordPress to format the site and add posts. In the about menu item, the site defines itself … Continue reading →

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A great Kodak

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. The August 13, 1953 issue of LIFE magazine (page 87) touted this camera that chose to compete with the pricier Leicas and Zeiss cameras of the day. The Signet 35 has an f/3.5 lens – likely based on the … Continue reading →

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rapid rectilinear lens design

Posted on August 18, 2018 by Robert

Toronto.After the announcement of photography early in 1839, there was a flurry of competing lens designs across Europe, each design trying to better the resolution and error correction qualities of the other. In 1866, two Germans, one an immigrant to … Continue reading →

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