Braun
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Braun (Carl Braun Camerawerk) of Nuremberg, Germany, was originally founded in 1915[1] as an optical and metal-fabrication house. The photography company is not related to the electronics and appliance giant Braun GmbH.
Contents
In 1948, Braun company began producing box cameras for rollfilm, followed in 1950 by 35mm format models which became quite successful. Its best known cameras are the Paxette series of 35mm rangefinder cameras. Most of the company's cameras were consumer-level models, though the company did briefly produce several more advanced 35mm rangefinder designs as well as an interesting 35mm SLR line with leaf shutters, the AMC/Paxette Reflex. The most advanced of Braun's rangefinders and SLRs had interchangeable lenses and built-in light meters.
In 1954, the company began producing slide projectors, many with the name Paximat, a mainstay of the business for the next forty years.
Braun's cameras after the 1960s were sourced from the Far East, due to high domestic labour costs and a resultant inability to compete in the consumer-level camera market. The company began to focus on its established line of slide and optical projectors, selling more than four million units by 1997.
In 2000 the company became insolvent. It was reorganized, rebranded as Braun Photo Technik, and entered new markets such as digital picture frames, dash-cams, as well as binoculars and other lifestyle products. It still exists as of 2023.
120 film cameras
Rangefinder
Folding
Box
- Color Box
- Ideal
- Imperial
Compact viewfinder cameras
127 film cameras
35mm film cameras
Paxette II image by Alf Sigaro (Image rights) |
SLR
- Paxette Reflex
- rebadged Chinese SLR bodies:
- Braun SR2000 PK
- Braun SR2000 MD
- Braun SR2000 Y
Rangefinder
- Super Colorette (rebadged versions sold by Wittnauer as the Professional and Continental, and by Sears)
- Paxette and Super Paxette
Viewfinder
- Candy M2 Motor
- CB 35 M / CB 35 M-AF
- Gloriette
- Bravo
- Handy
- Handy 2
- Handy Fun
- New Handy
- Big Finder Joker
- Paxette electromatic
- Trend Micro SM
- Ultravit DX
- Trend Zoom 105
APS film
126 Cartridge
Braun Paxette 28LK image by Yumi Abe (Image rights) |
- Braun Automatic 300
- Paxette 28 (1965-68)
- Paxette 28 Auto (1967)
- Paxette 28B (1967)
- Paxette 28BC (1967)
- Paxette 28F (1967)
- Paxette 28LK (1967)
Notes
- ↑ The date is from the company history page linked below
Links
- Braun Photo Technik company history (German) and Google Translate English version
- Braun cameras in Andrys Stienstra's camera collection
- Braun - including 126 models at UKCamera.com (archived) in German/English
- Braun page at Collection G. Even's site (in French)
- Braun Colorette Super II BL PDF manual from OrphanCameras.com
- Other Braun Paxette PDF instruction manuals - see Paxette from OrphanCameras.com website