Bergheil
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Voigtländer Bergheil, 6.5×9cm, with dial-set Compur shutter. Pictures by eBayer Yalluflex. (Image rights) |
The Bergheil is a folding plate camera mad by Voigtländer in Braunschweig (Brunswick) from 1911 until World War II.[1] It was available in different sizes: 4.5x6 cm, 6.5x9 cm, 9x12 cm and 10x15 cm.
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Voigtländer Bergheil Deluxe, 6.5×9cm, Heliar 10.5cm f/3.5 and Tele-Dynar 25.5cm f/6.3 lenses, rim-set Compur shutter. Pictures by eBayer Yalluflex. (Image rights) |
There is a special edition with green leather covering and bellows. McKeown dates these cameras to 1932-6, and describes them as a step up from the black models, but [..] not truly 'Luxus' models; he states that the green leather of the bellows tends to darken with age, giving the impression of more than one available colour.[2] The two examples pictured here only differ in the lens, and the shutter size.
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Voigtländer Bergheil (green), 6.5×9cm, Heliar 10.5cm f/4.5 and Tele-Dynar 20cm f/6.3 lenses, rim-set Compur shutter. Pictures by eBayer Yalluflex. (Image rights) |
The 4.5×6cm model (or "Baby Bergheil") is quite different from the larger models, notably differing in the shape of the folding struts and the position of the brilliant finder.
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Voigtländer Baby Bergheil, 4.5×6cm, dial-set Compur shutter. Pictures by eBayer Yalluflex. (Image rights) |
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Voigtländer Bergheil Luxus, 4×6.5cm, Doppel-Anastigmat Radiar 7.5cm f/6.8 lens, dial-set Compur shutter. Pictures by eBayer Yalluflex. (Image rights) |
Interchangeable lenses
Most Bergheil cameras have an exchangeable lens/shutter unit, attached via a bayonet. Many of the lenses are of the excellent Heliar type, invented in 1900 by Dr. Hans Harting for Voigtländer, often combined with shutters of the leading brand Compur.
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Voigtländer Heliar 10.5cm f/4.5 lens and Compur shutter, with a bayonet mount for the Bergheil. Picture by Uwe Kulick. (Image rights) |
The standard telephoto lens mounted on the Bergheil was the Voigtländer Tele-Dynar.
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25.5cm f/6.3 | 20cm f/6.3 |
Voigtländer Tele-Dynar lenses. Pictures by eBayer Yalluflex. (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ Dates: notes on the Bergheil at Early Photography.
- ↑ McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). p950-1.
Links
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