Difference between revisions of "Photosphère"

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The '''Photosphère''' is an unusual plate camera, designed and patented by Napoléon Conti in 1888, and made in several sizes by the [[Compagnie Française de Photographie]] in Paris. It was designed for use in tropical regions and therefore, unusually for the time, made of metal. The body is brass, with a silver-coloured plating (usually very tarnished in examples seen now). The front of the body has an unusual hemispherical shape. Within this (''behind'' the lens) the shutter has a hemispherical blind with a hole, which swings under spring tension to make the exposure. The shutter speed is variable by changing the spring tension. About 4000 pieces (all variants together) were made. The smallest model was introduced first; notes on the camera at ''Constructeurs Français d'appareils photo'' state that this model of the Photosphère has two lugs that allow it to be attached to a bicycle.<ref>Gérard Langlois' [http://glangl1.free.fr/Marques_Fr/Marques_Fr.htm ''Constructeurs Français d'appareils photo''] (strangely, the company is given as [http://glangl1.free.fr/Marques_Fr/Cie_Gal.html Compagnie ''Generale'' de Photographie]); very brief notes (in French) and links to three photographs.</ref>
 
The '''Photosphère''' is an unusual plate camera, designed and patented by Napoléon Conti in 1888, and made in several sizes by the [[Compagnie Française de Photographie]] in Paris. It was designed for use in tropical regions and therefore, unusually for the time, made of metal. The body is brass, with a silver-coloured plating (usually very tarnished in examples seen now). The front of the body has an unusual hemispherical shape. Within this (''behind'' the lens) the shutter has a hemispherical blind with a hole, which swings under spring tension to make the exposure. The shutter speed is variable by changing the spring tension. About 4000 pieces (all variants together) were made. The smallest model was introduced first; notes on the camera at ''Constructeurs Français d'appareils photo'' state that this model of the Photosphère has two lugs that allow it to be attached to a bicycle.<ref>Gérard Langlois' [http://glangl1.free.fr/Marques_Fr/Marques_Fr.htm ''Constructeurs Français d'appareils photo''] (strangely, the company is given as [http://glangl1.free.fr/Marques_Fr/Cie_Gal.html Compagnie ''Generale'' de Photographie]); very brief notes (in French) and links to three photographs.</ref>
  
Different plate holders can be attached: double dark-slides made of mahagony<ref name=W9x12>[http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=14&inO=829 9x12 cm Photosphère] serial no. 723, with wooden stand and two wooden double dark-slides, sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=14 fourteenth auction] (30 November 2008) by [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=62&L=1 Westlicht Photographica Auction].</ref> or steel, or a twelve-plate metal magazine, or roll-film holder.<ref name=W13x18>[http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=17&inO=551 13x18 cm Photosphère] with magazine (described by the auctioneer as for roll film, though it is not clear from the photographs how the magazine works), offered but not sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=17 seventeenth Westlicht auction] (29 May 2010).</ref><ref name=W13x18Pl>[http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=13&inO=701 13x18 cm plate magazine for Photosphère], sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=13 thirteenth Westlicht auction] (7 June 2008).</ref>
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Different plate holders can be attached: double dark-slides made of mahagony<ref name=W9x12>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=14&inO=829 9x12 cm Photosphère] serial no. 723, with wooden stand and two wooden double dark-slides, sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=14 fourteenth auction] (30 November 2008) by Westlicht Photographica Auction (now [https://www.leitz-auction.com/auction/en/home Leitz Photographica Auction]).</ref> or steel, or a twelve-plate metal magazine,<ref name=W13x18>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=17&inO=551 13x18 cm Photosphère] with magazine (described by the auctioneer as for roll film, but this must surely be a mistake), offered but not sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=17 seventeenth Westlicht auction] (29 May 2010).</ref><ref name=W13x18Pl>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=13&inO=701 13x18 cm plate magazine for Photosphère], sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=13 thirteenth Westlicht auction] (7 June 2008).</ref> or roll-film holder.<ref name=McK>{{McKeown12}} p209-10.</ref>
  
 
'''Photosphère n°1'''
 
'''Photosphère n°1'''
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*Lens: Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
 
*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
 
*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
*Viewfinder: removable [[Viewfinder|Watson finder]]<ref>The finders on some examples are simply Watson finders (a reflex finder with a ground-glass screen); others also have a screen at the back, allowing eye-level use. The finders have hinged metal covers over the glass. An example of the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=20&inO=487 dual eye-level/Watson viewfinder] was sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=20 twentieth Westlicht auction](1 November 2011).</ref>
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*Viewfinder: removable [[Viewfinder|Watson finder]]<ref>The finders on some examples are simply Watson finders (a reflex finder with a ground-glass screen); others also have a screen at the back, allowing eye-level use. The finders have hinged metal covers over the glass. An example of the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=20&inO=487 dual eye-level/Watson viewfinder] was sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=20 twentieth Westlicht auction](1 November 2011).</ref>
  
'''Photosphère n°2'''<ref name=W9x12/><ref name=W9x12S>[http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=9&inO=826 9x12 cm Photosphère], serial no. 1998 in original polished silver finish, with [[Krauss]] lens, sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=9 ninth Westlicht auction] (20 May 2006).</ref>
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'''Photosphère n°2'''<ref name=W9x12/><ref name=W9x12S>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=9&inO=826 9x12 cm Photosphère], serial no. 1998 in original polished silver finish, with [[Krauss]] lens, sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=9 ninth Westlicht auction] (20 May 2006).</ref>
*Type: 9&times;12cm plates (McKeown states that the 9x12 camera could also take a special back for the newly-introduced Eastman roll film<ref name=McK>{{McKeown12}} p209-10.</ref>)
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*Type: 9&times;12cm plates (McKeown states that the 9x12 camera could also take a special back for the newly-introduced Eastman roll film)<ref name=McK />
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 125mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 125mm
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 125mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 125mm
 
*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter, 5 speeds
 
*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter, 5 speeds
 
*Viewfinder: removable Watson finder
 
*Viewfinder: removable Watson finder
  
'''Photosphère n°3'''<ref name=W13x18>[http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=4&inO=706 13x18 cm Photosphère] body with 180 mm f/8 Rectilinear lens, sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=4 fourth Westlicht auction] (22 November 2003).</ref>
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'''Photosphère n°3'''<ref name=W13x18 /><ref name=W13x18b>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=4&inO=706 13x18 cm Photosphère] body with 180 mm f/8 Rectilinear lens, sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=4 fourth Westlicht auction] (22 November 2003).</ref><ref name=W13x18Pl/>
*Type: 13&times;18cm roll film (48 exposures)<ref name=W13x18Pl/>
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*Type: 13&times;18cm  
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 165mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 165mm
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 165mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 165mm
 
*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
 
*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
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*Extra: bubble levels for horizontal and vertical orientation
 
*Extra: bubble levels for horizontal and vertical orientation
  
'''Photosphère n°4 stéréoscopique'''<ref name=W9x18>[http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=7&inO=773 9x18 cm stereo Photosphère], serial no. 182, with Extra-Rapid Rectilinear lenses, three wooden double dark-slides and focusing screen, sold at the [http://www.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=7 seventh Westlicht auction] (21 May 2005).</ref><ref>[http://auction-team.de/new_highlights/2006_09/ph/001.html 9x18 cm stereo Photosphère] in the [http://auction-team.de/new_highlights/nh_ph_09_2006.htm September 2006 auction] by [http://www.breker.com/ Auction Team Breker], shown with a contemporary cartoon relying on an obvious visual joke.</ref>
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'''Photosphère n°4 stéréoscopique'''<ref name=W9x18>[https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.Object?inC=WLPA&inA=7&inO=773 9x18 cm stereo Photosphère], serial no. 182, with Extra-Rapid Rectilinear lenses, three wooden double dark-slides and focusing screen, sold at the [https://wlpa.auction2000.se/auk/w.ObjectList?inSiteLang=&inC=WLPA&inA=7 seventh Westlicht auction] (21 May 2005).</ref><ref>[http://auction-team.de/new_highlights/2006_09/ph/001.html 9x18 cm stereo Photosphère] in the [http://auction-team.de/new_highlights/nh_ph_09_2006.htm September 2006 auction] by [http://www.breker.com/ Auction Team Breker], shown with a contemporary cartoon relying on an obvious visual joke.</ref>
 
*Type: 9x18 cm plates
 
*Type: 9x18 cm plates
 
*Lens: 2&times; Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
 
*Lens: 2&times; Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
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==Links==
 
==Links==
 
* [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_C106.html#C106 Photosphère No. 2] at [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/ Early Photography]
 
* [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_C106.html#C106 Photosphère No. 2] at [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/ Early Photography]
<!-- Commenting out; the site is still there, but not this page, and can't find the Photosphere on the site now * [http://declic87.free.fr/Pages%20web/Decouverte/Appareil%20collection/appareilphotosphere.htm Photosphère n°1, n°2, n°3, and n°4] at [http://declic87.free.fr/ declic87.free.fr] (French, main source of this page) -->
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* [http://declic87.free.fr/pagecollec.php?choixpc=3 Photosphère n°1, n°2, n°3, and n°4] at [http://declic87.free.fr/ declic87.free.fr] (French, main source of this page)
* [http://www.ukcamera.com/classic_cameras/sph1.htm Other Photosphère variants description] at [http://www.ukcamera.com/classic_cameras/camindexe.html Tigin's Classic Cameras] (German/English)
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180504131841/http://www.ukcamera.com/classic_cameras/sph1.htm Other Photosphère variants description] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20180522095524/http://www.ukcamera.com/classic_cameras/class.html Tigin's Classic Cameras] (German/English) (archived)
<!-- Commenting this out; not clear the linked page has right to use the photos; some are from Westlicht * [http://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/historicallyimportantcameras.html 'Historically important cameras'] at [http://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/ Classic Camera Cafe], with pictures of two different Photosphère variants -->
 
 
* [http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Compagnie-Francaise-de-Photographie/Photosphere-1.html Photosphere Price Guide] at [http://collectiblend.com collectiblend]
 
* [http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Compagnie-Francaise-de-Photographie/Photosphere-1.html Photosphere Price Guide] at [http://collectiblend.com collectiblend]
  
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[[Category:9x12]]
 
[[Category:9x12]]
 
[[Category:13x18]]
 
[[Category:13x18]]
 +
[[Category:9x18 stereo]]

Revision as of 06:10, 26 September 2021

The Photosphère is an unusual plate camera, designed and patented by Napoléon Conti in 1888, and made in several sizes by the Compagnie Française de Photographie in Paris. It was designed for use in tropical regions and therefore, unusually for the time, made of metal. The body is brass, with a silver-coloured plating (usually very tarnished in examples seen now). The front of the body has an unusual hemispherical shape. Within this (behind the lens) the shutter has a hemispherical blind with a hole, which swings under spring tension to make the exposure. The shutter speed is variable by changing the spring tension. About 4000 pieces (all variants together) were made. The smallest model was introduced first; notes on the camera at Constructeurs Français d'appareils photo state that this model of the Photosphère has two lugs that allow it to be attached to a bicycle.[1]

Different plate holders can be attached: double dark-slides made of mahagony[2] or steel, or a twelve-plate metal magazine,[3][4] or roll-film holder.[5]

Photosphère n°1

  • Type: 8×9cm dry plates
  • Lens: Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
  • Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
  • Viewfinder: removable Watson finder[6]

Photosphère n°2[2][7]

  • Type: 9×12cm plates (McKeown states that the 9x12 camera could also take a special back for the newly-introduced Eastman roll film)[5]
  • Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 125mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 125mm
  • Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter, 5 speeds
  • Viewfinder: removable Watson finder

Photosphère n°3[3][8][4]

  • Type: 13×18cm
  • Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 165mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 165mm
  • Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
  • Viewfinder: 2 Watson finders, fitted inside the body, for horizontal and vertical orientation
  • Extra: bubble levels for horizontal and vertical orientation

Photosphère n°4 stéréoscopique[9][10]

  • Type: 9x18 cm plates
  • Lens: 2× Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
  • Shutter: 2 simultaneous hemispherical guillotine shutters
  • Viewfinder: removable Watson finder


Notes

  1. Gérard Langlois' Constructeurs Français d'appareils photo (strangely, the company is given as Compagnie Generale de Photographie); very brief notes (in French) and links to three photographs.
  2. 2.0 2.1 9x12 cm Photosphère serial no. 723, with wooden stand and two wooden double dark-slides, sold at the fourteenth auction (30 November 2008) by Westlicht Photographica Auction (now Leitz Photographica Auction).
  3. 3.0 3.1 13x18 cm Photosphère with magazine (described by the auctioneer as for roll film, but this must surely be a mistake), offered but not sold at the seventeenth Westlicht auction (29 May 2010).
  4. 4.0 4.1 13x18 cm plate magazine for Photosphère, sold at the thirteenth Westlicht auction (7 June 2008).
  5. 5.0 5.1 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). p209-10.
  6. The finders on some examples are simply Watson finders (a reflex finder with a ground-glass screen); others also have a screen at the back, allowing eye-level use. The finders have hinged metal covers over the glass. An example of the dual eye-level/Watson viewfinder was sold at the twentieth Westlicht auction(1 November 2011).
  7. 9x12 cm Photosphère, serial no. 1998 in original polished silver finish, with Krauss lens, sold at the ninth Westlicht auction (20 May 2006).
  8. 13x18 cm Photosphère body with 180 mm f/8 Rectilinear lens, sold at the fourth Westlicht auction (22 November 2003).
  9. 9x18 cm stereo Photosphère, serial no. 182, with Extra-Rapid Rectilinear lenses, three wooden double dark-slides and focusing screen, sold at the seventh Westlicht auction (21 May 2005).
  10. 9x18 cm stereo Photosphère in the September 2006 auction by Auction Team Breker, shown with a contemporary cartoon relying on an obvious visual joke.


Links