Noblex

Noblex Pro 6/150 S, with a 50 mm f/4.5 Tessar. image by Matt Abinante (Image rights)

The Noblex panorama camera series is made by Kamera Werk Dresden. The cameras are made in the factory where Charles Noble ran KW from 1938. Models exist for 35 mm and 120 film. As in many panoramic cameras (such as the Widelux and Horizont), the lens swivels during exposure to cover the wide format; however, whereas in many panoramic cameras, the lens swings through little more than the angle required to cover the picture, the lens in the Noblex rotates through 360°; the first part of the rotation serves to accelerate the lens so that its speed during the exposure is constant, giving even exposure across the frame.

The lens in most of the cameras currently made (as at July 2012) is designated a Rotar T (a 29 mm f/4.5 in the 35 mm models, and a 50 mm f/4.5 in most of the 120-film cameras); however, cameras (such as that illustrated here) were previously made with lenses of the same specification and labelled as Tessars.

35 mm

Fixed, rotating-lens panoramic cameras, all for 24x66 mm format on 35 mm film (a 127° angle of view):

• Noblex 135N
• Noblex 135 Prosport
• Noblex 135S
• Noblex 135U
• Noblex 135C
• Noblex 135UC

Medium Format

Fixed, rotating-lens panoramic cameras for 120 film.

• Noblex Pro 6/150 S (as shown here; the 'S' denotes shift, i.e. front rise of up to 5 mm)
• Noblex 6/150 F (50 x 120 mm; a 135° angle of view)
• Noblex 6/150 FS (a current model as at July 2012, apparently similar to the two above) This model has three-position focusing.
• Noblex Pro 6/150-UX (50 x 120 mm)
• Noblex Pro 6/150-EII (50 x 120 mm)
• Noblex Pro 6/175-UX (50 x 170 mm; a 132° angle of view)

The company also made prototypes of a stereo camera for 120 film, the Noblex P3, but this was never manufactured.

Links

• Noblex instruction manuals at Orphancameras.com