Reisekamera

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INTRODUCTION

The Reisekamera (a tailboard camera) is a wooden bellows plate camera, by some collectors regarded as a distinct type of the view camera, unlike the much lighter and more flexible field camera, but not as cumbersome as the studio camera. The Reisekamera was quite popular in Europe for several decades around 1900. The shape is distinctly square having equally sized front- and rear-panels, both attached to a equally wide base-board. Front and back is connected by an almost non-tapering bellows. The front panel carries the lens plate and the rear panel takes the plate holder which is interchangeable with a focusing screen back. Focusing is accomplished by sliding the rear panel along the base plate while observing the image on the screen, usually accomplished by a rack and pinion mechanism. The camera folds flat, after the rear panel is brought forward to the lens panel, by folding the hinged base board up covering the rear panel.

The Reisekamera, believed to have originated in central Europe, influenced by, and to a high degree perfected in Germany from 1860 (re.:Kleffe & Langner: "Historische Kameras"), reached its peak popularity between 1895 and 1914. Originally the portable version of the contemporary Atelier camera, it was collapsible, yet not small, and intended for assignments outside the studio, for architectural work or documentation away from the studio, in homes or museums, but not made for travelling tourists, a feature at first not a practical proposition in photography. The Reisekamera was specifically built for a variety of plate sizes, most common are the 18×24cm and 13×18cm sizes.

The Reisekamera is, regardless of the maker, quite similarly built and of almost standardised design. Generally there are a number of limited movements: at the back, the film plate may be tilted and turned slightly to adjust perspective, and at the front the lens plate may slide vertically and horizontally, without the bellows obstructing the light from the lens reaching the film, due to the non-tapering bellows, as opposed to the field camera where the whole front is free to move as required, including the narrow throated bellows. Usually the base plate is extendible for close-up work and to accommodate various focal length lenses, the double extension feature. The tailboard construction is particularly favourable using wide-angle lenses and for close-up work since no part of the camera protrudes past the front panel. Although the camera, when new, rarely was supplied with a shutter, the lens cap usually sufficed, some acquired an add-on shutter of one sort or another. Still, some of the most sophisticated Reisekameras were built with an integral focal plane shutter, a huge mechanism incorporated in the rear panel, only the brass controls visible on either side.

When using the camera a black cloth is a helpful and often necessary requisite to keep stray light out while observing the image on the focusing screen. When the picture is composed and focused, the focusing screen is replaced by the plate holder. The lens is covered with its cap, and the dark slide removed from the plate holder. When all is clear, the cap is removed for the required exposure time and replaced. If an auxiliary shutter is present, it may replace the function of the lens cap. The dark slide is replaced, and the plate holder is removed and brought to the darkroom for development and copying.

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EXPANDED ARTICLE (Including a wider range of cameras.)

The Reisekamera or Chambre de Voyage (German and French for "travel camera") or Continental View (meaning "Continental type of view camera") is a wooden bellows plate camera. Reisekameras are a subgroup of the 19th century wooden field cameras. Most collectors associate tailboard camera architecture with the term Reisekamera, but some of these travel cameras had front panel focusing instead of the tailboard cameras' rear focusing. The Reisekamera was quite popular in Europe for several decades around 1900, and produced until the middle of the 20th century (Soviet FKD camera). The camera type stayed in use at least until the 1970s for purposes like school class photos.

In 1892 Josef Maria Eder, professor for photo chemistry at the University of Vienna, described the Reisekamera:

1. light weight, moderate dimensions
2. sturdy construction
3. safe-keeping of the focusing screen from moisture and dirt
4. lens board allowing vertical shifts
5. bellows extension at least double as long as the longest side of the maximum image format
6. usabilty also with short bellows extension and wide angle lens

Tiltable backs and lensboards were described by Eder as extra features of expensive models.

Later a lens board allowing vertical and horizontal shifts plus a tiltable camera back were features of typical tailboard Reisekameras.

The common tailboard variant

The common variant of the Reisekamera is not comparable with the modern extremely flexible light field cameras. Some more wood was used for its design, giving it more weight and making it resembling contemporary atelier cameras. But unlike studio cameras the travel cameras were foldable for portability.

The shape of the Reisekamera's common tailboard form is distinctly square, having equally sized front- and rear-panels, both attached to an equally wide base-board. Either front and back is connected by a non-tapering bellows, or lens plate and back are connected by a narrow-throated tapering bellows. The front panel carries the movable lens plate and the tiltable rear panel takes the plate holder which is interchangeable with a focusing screen. Focusing is carried out by sliding the rear panel along the base plate while observing the image on the screen, usually supported by a rack and pinion mechanism. The camera folds flat, after the rear panel is brought forward to the lens panel, by folding the hinged base board up covering the rear panel.

The Reisekamera, believed to have originated in central Europe, influenced by, and to a high degree perfected in Germany from 1860, reached its peak popularity between 1895 and 1914. The general design distinguishes itself from other tailboard cameras most notably by the hinged baseboard upon which the ground glass back can be moved and fixed, and which is equally wide as the camera.

a travel camera's front with Rodenstock lens

This common tailboard variant of the Reisekamera may have been derived from a very early collapsible camera design by camera maker Judge. It was collapsible just for portability, not for maximum compactness. It was intended as tool for outside the studio, as camera for the advanced amateur or as start equipment for photography students. It was available in different sizes. Many travel cameras were made for the common plate sizes 18x24cm and 13x18cm, but smaller and bigger sizes were available. Student cameras were made for the smaller 9x12cm plate format. The cameras required a sturdy tripod since they were not for snapshot photography like hand cameras. Thus they were all but ideal for travelers, voyageurs, Reisende, all but what their names travel camera, chambre de voyage and Reisekamera were promising.

The Reisekamera's tailboard variant is, regardless of the maker, quite similarly built and of almost standardised design. Generally there are a number of limited movements: at the back, the film plate may be tilted and turned slightly to adjust perspective, and at the front the lens plate may slide vertically and horizontally, without the bellows obstructing the light from the lens reaching the film, due to a non-tapering bellows, or due a narrow throated bellows that is attached to the lens board. The Reisekamera's lens board may be mounted horizontally shiftable into another vertically shiftable board. Usually the base plate is extendible for close-up work and to accommodate tele lenses, the double extension feature. The tailboard construction is particularly favourable using wide-angle lenses and for close-up work since no part of the camera protrudes past the front panel.

Although the camera, when new, rarely was supplied with a shutter, the lens cap usually sufficed, some acquired an add-on shutter of one sort or another. Still, some of the most sophisticated Reisekameras were built with an integral focal plane shutter, a huge mechanism incorporated in the rear panel, only the brass controls visible on either side. Some of the less sophisticated models were equipped with a simple pneumatically remote-controlled shutter behind the lens mount. Simple gravity-controlled guillotine shutters were common.

When using the camera a black cloth is a helpful and often necessary requisite to keep stray light out while observing the image on the focusing screen. The focusing screen is replaced by the plate holder when the picture is composed and focused. The lens is capped with its cap or an auxiliary shutter device, and the dark slide removed from the plate holder. When all is clear, the cap is removed for the required exposure time and replaced, or the shutter is opened for the required exposure time. The dark slide replaced and the plate holder removed and brought to the darkroom for development and copying.

Other designs

Some Reisekameras were not designed as tailboard field cameras for rear focusing. Instead their focusing and all possible shift and maybe tilt movements had to be done by moving and adjusting the lensboard. The "Reisekamera" characteristics of this variant were a similar portability and a similar limited set of possible movements as known from the tailboard variant.

Of course a few makers offered more sophisticated field camera types as "Reisekamera", "travel camera", "chambre de voyage" etc., thus going far beyond the definition given here for travel cameras.

Makers of the Reisekamera

• Eugen Loeber (Dresden)
• Ihagee (Dresden)
• Emil Wünsche (Dresden)
  • see also Emil Wünsche Reise-Cameras
  • see also Emil Wünsche Schüler-Apparat (student's camera)
• Ernemann (Dresden)
  • camera types Globus and Berry
• Richard Withmann (Dresden)
• Max Wergien (Halle)
• Goerz (Berlin)
• Sachs & Co. (Berlin)
• Bentzin (Görlitz)
• Neue Görlitzer Kamerawerke (Görlitz)
• Falz & Werner (Leipzig)
• Annacker (Köln)
• Voigtländer (Braunschweig)
• Deuber & Rau (Nuremberg)
• E. Suter (Basel)
• Georg Faltus (Vienna)
• Rudolf Lechner (Vienna)
• Josef Wanaus (Vienna)
• Felix Neumann (Vienna)
• Georg Joseph (Vienna)

Makers of similar cameras, named "travel camera", "chambre de voyage" or else

• Ferdinand Franz Meyer (Dresden)
• J. Lancaster & Son (Birmingham)
• Stereoscopic Co. Ltd. (London)
• Compagnie Française de Photographie
• Derogy (Paris)
• Gilles (Paris)
• FKD (Kharkov)

Several makers made a different type of Reisekamera or travel camera, with a fixed rear and a smaller sliding front standard that allows shift AND often also tilt movements.

Makers of the fixed rear design

• Voigtländer (Braunschweig)
• Josef Vojta (Prague)
• Alfred Werner (Vienna)

makers of more sophisticated field cameras sold as "travel camera", "Reisekamera" or "chambre de voyage"

• Houghtons (London)
• Gaumont (Paris)
• H. Mackenstein (Paris)
• R. A. Goldmann (Vienna)

Links

• Josef Vojta, alternate "Reisekamera" design, at Design und Photo [1]
• Deuber & Rau Reisekamera and "no-name" Reisekamera at Kurt Tauber's [2]
• chambre de voyage, common tailboard architecture, explanation of Continental View type, on Antique Wood Cameras [3]
• chambre de voyage at Sylvain Halgand's [4]
• Reisekamera, unknown maker, at Horst Reimer's [5]
• Wittmann Reisekamera, folded, at Fotomuseum [6]

References

Glossary Terms