Voigtlander Heliar

[Dany]

Hello,

Can anyone please help to provide information about this camera ( old ads, catalogues, web link etc) in order to document time of release, variations, lenses, shutter characteristics, format etc....
Thanks in advance
Dany

 

[cgw]

 

[Dany]

I knew this collectiblend page but appart from the price estimate.there is not much information . I suppose the caméra has been released circa 1926.but nothing else.

 

[cgw]

Try at photrio. Plenty of dinosaur lovers over there.

 

[IanG]

By 1909 there was a new improved model with a self-capping shutter. This is the advert in the 1911 BJP Almanac (published December 1910). it's also in the 1910 BJP Almanac.

Ian

 

[vintagesnaps]

Dany, you find some of the best cameras!

 

[IanG]

These cameras were often used as Press cameras in Germany, but as the advert says adding a lens with a shutter in addition to the focal plane shutter increases versatility. The Focal plane shutters typically have a slowest speed of 1/15 or 1/10 of a second.

Manufacturers introduced cameras with both shutters an example is the Ihagee Zweiverschluss Duplex,.

There's a big difference in approach depending on location, the US went off in a slightly different direction, here in Europe there were different approaches. LF SLR's were still in use post WWII here in the UK. And when Goerz merged into Zeiss and the Anscutz camera was discontinued. Van Neck began making then in the UK

Ian

 

[cgw]

Let's see how gracious the OP is...Nice one, Ian!

 

[Dany]

Thank you very much IanG for this valuable information.
Things are becoming more precise for me and I feel a little less ignorant concerning this camera.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Great info. as always Ian! very knowledgeable. Seems like people like you and Dany in Europe see or own cameras that we don't necessarily find in the US (at least I don't). Enjoy your 'new' camera Dany!

 

[IanG]

Great info. as always Ian! very knowledgeable. Seems like people like you and Dany in Europe see or own cameras that we don't necessarily find in the US (at least I don't). Enjoy your 'new' camera Dany!

Thanks, age helps, also I have quite a collection of BJP Almanacs, every copy from 1921 to 1963, when it became the BLP Annual, and a few older. Then I have quite a few older books as well. Because I restore vintage cameras the BJP Almanacs come in useful for identification.

It's interesting seeing how the range of early cameras differed between the UK, Continental Europe, and the US. This is most noticeable with wood and brass cameras, I have British, French & German, as well as US, pre-WWII large format cameras. I plan to write an article on these differences sometime soon.

There were other differences, for instance Kodak Ltd made and sold developers never available in the US, D163 (instead of D72/Dektol), Kodak HDD (high definition developer), Kodinol (similar to Rodinal), and a few others.

Ian

 

[vintagesnaps]

I didn't know the British Journal of Photography did an Almanac/Annual. Interesting.

 

[IanG]

The 1954 BJP Almanac is here. I bought a copy of this one some years ago, it was the start, my first. I have quite a few duplicates to sell Post WWII copies are quite cheap, 1920s and 30s a bit more expensive, older still can be quite pricey. There were hard back and soft back versions, an issue is many pages are newsprint, so finding copies in good condition is pot luck online.

US companies usually advertised towards the back. The last Almanac was 1963, the Annuals changed direction becoming far mor image based, no New Products section, or Epitome of Progress.

The full 1898 and 1910 version are also available. There are more but without the adverts which are.

Ian

 

[Dany]

Ian, our collection of British Journal of Photography Almanac is an invaluable source of information for fans of vintage photography. I hope that one day the complete series of these almanacs will be available on the net for free and in PDF format for all camera lovers.
I will have hours of good readings then.

Regarding the identification of old cameras, there is a little-known but fantastic tool on the Web.
Here it is:

identification tool

On this page , you simply fill in the few information you may have on your camera (camera type, format, lens, shutter) on a data sheet and the system returns the pages of the manufacturer's catalogs showing cameras with the characteristics conforming to those entered in the data sheet.
Thousands of catalogs pages are indexed.

Your point about Kodak cameras that were different between US, UK, France is important. Some of the ranges were specific and only dedicated to the market of the country where they were manufactured and not distributed in other countries.

I have in my collection a lot of Kodak camera manufactured in Rochester. But also some made in Great Britain, Germany, Canada and France


Eastman Kodak Co - Rochester: A Bantam special


Kodak Pathé (France) : Kodak 4,5 modèle 33




Kodak Ltd – Watford? : Hawkette No2



Canadian Kodak Co – Toronto: A Beau Brownie No2


Kodak AG : A Retina IIa type 016