German lens maker

Vintage lens makers − E. Ludwig (Germany/DDR)

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Ernst Ludwig Optisches Werk Weixdorf Objektive was established in 1924 in Lausa near Dresden by Ernst Ludwig. The town of Lausa merged with the neighbour town of Weixdorf in 1938. Pre-war lenses are usually marked with Ludwig Lausa Dresden. The company made cameras for various types of cameras, e.g. 35mm viewfinders and SLRs. After the war, production resumed quickly, as the factory was undamaged, with Ernst Ludwig still at the helm.

Fig.1: The most famous Ludwig lens, the Meritar 50mm

The company produced a number of different, inexpensive lenses, but is likely best known for the Meritar 50mm. With the introduction of the EXA camera in 1951, Ludwig became an original supplier, along with Carl Zeiss Jena, and Meyer Optik. The Meritar was a cheap lens using three air-spaced elements, i.e. the Cooke triplet. Lenses were produced with the Exakta mount for the Ihagee cameras, and some in the M42 mount. The Meritar 50mm f/2.9 was derived from the Victar could be manufactured inexpensively and therefore harmonized very well with the new, inexpensive Exa SLR. It was initially a manual lens, but eventually upgraded to preset diaphragm (1957).

The Meritar was a cheap lens. To put this into context, in the late 1950s the f/2.9 sold for 52 DM, whereas a basic Tessar 50mm f/2.8 was 139 DM, the Biotar 58mm f/2 305 DM. In fact the 3-lens Meritar was considered to be the cheapest lens outfitted on the EXA. In fact EXA + Meritar always offered the cheapest combination until production of these lenses ceased in the early 1970s. Although by 1961, there were eight standard choices for 50mm lenses for the EXA (II), all of but of which were faster.

Fig.2: Ludwig produced few advertisements, and produced a lot of inexpensive lenses for the likes of viewfinders cameras

Prior to the Meritar series, the company produced other lenses including the Victar 5cm f/2.9 (Exakta, Praktiflex), Victar 75mm f/2.9 (Reflex-Korelle) and Peronar 50mm f/2.9 (Exakta). Victar and Meritar were also used in cameras with central shutters (Beier Precisa, Beirax). In 1959 the East German state ‘acquired’ a small stake in the company, with Ludwig still at the company until 1968. In 1972 the company became the state owned VEB Optisches Werk Weixdorf, and in 1980 it was absorbed by the VEB Pentacon.

Notable lenses: Meritar 50mm f/2.9;

Vintage lens makers – Schacht (Germany)

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Schacht was founded by Albert Schacht in 1948 in Munich (Germany). Albert Schacht had a long pedigree of lens design. From 1913-1919 he was an operations manager at Carl Zeiss Jena, followed by seven years at ICA A.G., before it was merged into Zeiss Ikon (Dresden) where he continued until 1939. During the war years until 1946 he was a technical director at Steinheil in Munich. Schacht focused on designing and building lenses for 35mm film cameras. In 1954 production was moved to Ulm. Schacht manufactured interchangeable lenses in the range of 35-200mm for all common camera connections. Most lenses at Schacht were designed by Ludwig Bertele, who founded an optics office in Switzerland in 1946 with the help of Wild Heerbrugg.

The first interchangeable SLR lens manufactured was the Albinar, 13.5cm f/4.5 in 1952. It was produced exclusively for export to the USA and with an Exakta bayonet connection. It wasn’t really a telephoto, but rather just used a simple 4-lens design. Production was then expanded to include three more common focal lengths: the Travenar 50mm f/2.8, 85mm f/2.8, and 135mm f/3.5. The Albinar was renamed Travegon in 1954. They were available in Alpa, Exakta, Praktica (M42), Pentacon, and Leica mounts. In 1956 a wide-angle Travegon 35mm f/3.5 was introduced. Schacht produced lenses in the most popular focal lengths, and was one of the first lens manufacturers to deliver SLR lenses with an automatic aperture.

Fig.1: Advertisements from Schacht

Most of its early lenses were of standard 1950s aluminum construction. In the 1960’s Schacht changed the visual appearance of their lenses to match those of other manufacturers, i.e. a black lens with a zebra-style design which initially incorporated berg-and-tal stype controls, opting eventually for a more modest raised style of grip. These are generally considered good quality lenses, however not as common as other brands. Early lenses are marked as A. Schacht Munchen, older ones A. Schacht Ulm. Brands included: Albinar, Travenar, Travegon, Travelon, Travegar, Travenon, sometimes with the prefix tele- S-, M-, or Tele-.

Fig.2: Schacht changed their design over the years from an aluminum aesthetic to black with a zebra-style look.

In 1967 the company was acquired by Constantin Rauch. In 1969 the optics division was sold on to the Wilhelm Will KG company in Wetzlar. Due to production difficulties, lens production ended in 1970.

Notable lenses: Travenar 135mm f/3.5

Further reading:

Vintage lens makers – Piesker (Germany)

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Paul Piesker & Co. was founded in 1936 as a Berlin manufacturer of lenses and lens accessories for reflex cameras (in West Germany). After WW2 the company focused on lenses with long focal lengths for the Exakta and cameras with M42 mounts. Like its competitors, Astro-Berlin, and Tewe, Piesker lenses don’t seem to very common, at least not in Europe. Most of the lenses produced seem to have been for the US market, where they appeared in ads in Popular Photography in the mid 1950s. The lenses can also be found under the “Kalimar” trademark, and also rebranded for Sterling Howard, under the trademark “Astra”, and “Voss” (in addition to other brands: Picon, Votar, Telegon). Production at Piesker was discontinued in 1964.