Difference between revisions of "Photosphère"

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|image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/89864432@N00/232015255/in/pool-camerapedia/
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|image_source=https://www.flickr.com/photos/danipuntocom/15315845711/in/pool-camerawiki
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|image_text=Le Photosphère (1888)<br><small>Deutsches Technikmuseum
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|image= http://static.flickr.com/92/232015255_01fbdbe618.jpg
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|image_text= Photosphère
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|image_text= Photosphère.
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The '''Photosphère''' was a camera designed for usage in tropical regions. Therefore it was made of metal. The shutter was formed like a bowl with a hole and placed inside the characteristic hemispheric frontside of the camera (2). Setting different shutter speeds was possible by clamping a spring (1). Napoléon Conti got the patent on this camera in 1888. About 4000 pieces (all variants together) had been produced.
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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>
  
Different plate magazines were attachable to the camera body's back: a double chassis made of mahagony, a double chassis made of steel, or a magazine for 12 plates made of metal.
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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'''
*Type: plate camera
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*Type: 8&times;9cm dry plates
*Manufacturer: [[Compagnie Francaise de Photographie]]
 
*Year of patent: 1888
 
*Films: 8&times;9cm dry plates
 
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
*Shutter: bowl-like guillotine shutter
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*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
*Viewfinder: removeable reflex finder (3)
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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'''
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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: plate camera
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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 />
*Films: 9&times;12cm dry plates
 
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 125mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 125mm
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 125mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 125mm
*Shutter: bowl-like guillotine shutter, 5 speeds
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*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter, 5 speeds
*Viewfinder: removeable reflex finder
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*Viewfinder: removable Watson finder
*[http://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/files/Photosphere_9X12.jpg Image] presented in [http://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/historicallyimportantcameras.html this page of the RolleiOnly website]
 
  
'''Photosphère n°3'''
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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: roll film camera
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*Type: 13&times;18cm  
*Films: 13&times;18cm roll film (48 exposures)
 
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 165mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 165mm
 
*Lens: Cie. Francaise double symétrique 165mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 165mm
*Shutter: bowl-like guillotine shutter
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*Shutter: hemispherical guillotine shutter
*Viewfinder: 2 reflex finders inside the camera body
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*Viewfinder: 2 Watson finders, fitted inside the body, for horizontal and vertical orientation
*Extra: water-level
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*Extra: bubble levels for horizontal and vertical orientation
  
'''Photosphère n°4 stéréoscopique (2 n°1-photophères in one)'''
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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: plate camera
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*Type: 9x18 cm plates
*Films: 18&times;9cm dry plates
 
 
*Lens: 2&times; Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
 
*Lens: 2&times; Cie. Francaise Aplanétique 92mm, or Zeiss Anastigmat 92mm
*Shutter: 2 simultaneous bowl-like guillotine shutters
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*Shutter: 2 simultaneous hemispherical guillotine shutters
*Viewfinder: removeable reflex finder
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*Viewfinder: removable Watson finder
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==Notes==
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<references/>
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==Links==
 
==Links==
* [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 ot this page)
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* [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_C106.html#C106 Photosphère No. 2] at [http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/ Early Photography]
* [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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* [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://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/historicallyimportantcameras.html Page about historically important cameras] at [http://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/ RolleiOnly], with pictures of two different Photosphère variants
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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)
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* [http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Compagnie-Francaise-de-Photographie/Photosphere-1.html Photosphere Price Guide] at [http://collectiblend.com collectiblend]
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[[Category:France]]
 
 
[[Category:P]]
 
[[Category:P]]
 
[[Category:1839-1889]]
 
[[Category:1839-1889]]
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[[Category:9x12]]
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[[Category:13x18]]
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[[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