Spiratone
Spiratone 20mm f/2.8 "Plura-Coat" lens image by Sasha Vasko (Image rights) |
Spiratone was an American distributor, founded by Fred Spira[1] around 1940. Originally his company just offered developing services, as "Spiratone Fine Grain Labs"[2]; but after opening a store in 1946[1] on West 27th Street, N.Y., the company quickly expanded[3] into distributing cameras, lenses and all sorts of photo and darkroom accessories.
The company had a penchant for locating and importing offbeat photographic items—improbably cheap 400mm lenses, fish-eye adapters that screwed onto other lenses—and then promoting them in typographically overstuffed ads[4] in the back pages of photo magazines. Lenses from various manufacturers were offered under the Spiratone name, including several ultra-wide-angles and a chunky 135mm f/1.8.
Spiratone closed its doors in 1990.[1]
Contents
Products
Camera lenses
Spiratone Preset, screw mount 135/2.8 image by Frank Reiser (Image rights) |
- Spiratone Curvatar Ultra Wideangle accessory lens (series 7 mount)
- Spiratone Fish-eye 7mm f/5.6 accessory lens (proprietary mount with filter adapters)
- Spiratone Fish-eye 12mm f/8 accessory lens (proprietary mount with filter adapters)
- Spiratone Plura-coat Ultra Wideangle 17mm f/3.5
- Spiratone YS 18mm f/3.2
- Spiratone YS 18mm f/3.5
- Spiratone Plura-coat Wideangle 20mm f/2.8
- Spiratone Wideangle YS 28mm f/2.8
- Spiratone Wide Angle 35mm f/2.8
- Spiratone Macrotar 35mm f/3.5 (micro head)
- Spiratone Plura-coat Minitel 100mm f/2, 58mm filter size
- Spriatone Tc 105mm f/2.5
- Spiratone YS 135mm f/1.8
- Spiratone Spira-tel 135/2.8 auto
- Spiratone Tc 135mm f/2.8 preset
- Spiratone Macrotel 150mm f/4.5 (bellows head)
- Spiratone Proxitel 200mm f/4
- Spiratone Tc 200mm f/4.5
- Spiratone Minitel 300mm f/5.6 (mirror lens)
- Spiratone Plura-coat Sharpshooter Telephoto 400mm f/6.3[5]
- Spiratone Mirror-Ultratel 500mm f/8 (mirror lens)
- Spiratone Minitel-M 500mm f/8 (mirror lens)
- Spiratone Plura-coat Macro Zoom 35-105mm f/3.8
- Spiratone Plura-coat Zoom 55-220mm f/3.5-4.5, 55m filter size
- Spiratone Plura-coat Zoom 70-300mm f/3.8-5.5
- Spiratone-Sun Electric Zoom 85-210mm f/4.8, T mount
- Spiratone 2x VarXtender, M42 mount
- Spiratone 3x TelXtender, M42 mount
- Spiratone 2x TelXtender Model II, Minolta SR, Exakta, other mounts
Darkroom equipment
- Spiratone 50mm f/3.5 enlarging lens
- Spiratone 75mm f/3.5 enlarging lens
- Spiratone 75mm f/3.5 flat field macro / enlarging lens
- Spiratone 150mm f/4.5 enlarging lens
- Spiratone Doub Logra M enlarger
- Spiratone Enlarger Focus Scope
- Spiratone Model 200C enlarging computer, paper exposure meter
Slide duplicators
- Spiratone Vario-Dupliscope
- Spiratone Vario-Dupliscope II
- Spiratone Vario-Dupliscope III
- Spiratone Bello-Dupliscope
- Spiratone Bello-Dupliscope with ECLS Outfit
Filters
- Spiratone adapter 58mm to Series VII
- Spiratone adapter Series VII to 62mm
- Spiratone Contrast-Blue filter, Series VII
- Spiratone Custom Polarizer B50
- Spiratone Diffuser B50 filter, 50mm
- Spiratone Diffuser SD-4 filter, 55mm
- Spiratone Flourescent D correction filter, 52mm
- Spiratone Mistmaker fog effect filter
- Spiratone ND 30.5 filter
- Spiratone Opticap UV filter, 55mm, 72mm, 77mm
- Spiratone Polarizer (linear), Series IX, 55mm
- Spiratone Repeater special effects filter, Series VII
- Spiratone Vignetar vignette filter, 52mm, 55mm
- Spiratone Spiralite 80A color conversion filter, 67mm, 72mm
- Spiratone Spiralite 85B filter, 67mm
- Spiratone Spiralite Rayburst Halo filter, 52mm
- Spiratone Spiralite Skylight filter, Series VII, 52mm
- Spiratone Spiralite Stellar filter, Series VII, 50mm
- Spiratone Spiralite Streaker filter, Series VII, 50mm
Other
- Spiraflex TTL camera (Petri TTL)
- Spiratone metal lens hood, Series VI
- Spiratone metal lens hood, 55mm
- Spiratone metal lens hood, wideangle, 58mm
- Spiratone metal lens hood, 67mm
- Spiratone metal lens hood, 72mm
- Spiratone UltiMatte Box lens hood
- Spiratone extension tube set, T mount
- Spiratone extension tube set, M42 mount
- Spiratone Autowinder N2 for Canon AE-1
- Spiratone 444 SLR Film Camera Viewfinder Microscope (square - fits Canon, other brands)
- Spiratone 41 NI Eyepiece Maginfier (round - fits Nikon, Nikkormat)
- Spiratone 35mm Stripfilm Bellows attachment
- Spiratone Bellowscope bellows, T mount
- Spiratone Macrobel bellows, M42 mount
- Spiratone Proxiscope Sr. focusing rail
- Spiratone Bi-Rail focusing rail
- Spiratone Circo-Mirrotach 90-degree lens attachment
- Spiratone DR Electronic Flash Meter
- Spiratone SSS flash meter
- Spiratone Ring Flash, 55mm mount
- Spiratone Spiralite SR Electronic Flash
- Spiratone Spiralite SR Electronic Flash, Model BB
- Spiratone Spiralite photo light with Minette photo clamp
- Spiratone Eyepiece magnifier
- Spiratone Spotting Scope
- Spiratone Static Neutralizer Gun
- Spiratone Men's Canvas Photographers Vest (part 001201)
Advertisements
July 1948, Popular Photography Then still retailing other brands image by camerawiki (Image rights) |
Feb 1949, U.S. Camera image by camerawiki (Image rights) |
Apr 1949, U.S. Camera image by camerawiki (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dennis Hevesi, obituary of Fred Spira, New York Times, 14 September 2007.
- ↑ Advertisement in October, 1942 Popular Photography magazine (vol. 11, no. 4), page 94.
- ↑ This February 1947 ad from Popular Photography (vol. 6, no. 1; page 172) shows the beginnings of Spira retailing camera accessories.
- ↑ See a typical 2-page spread from the October, 1968, Modern Photography (Vol. 32, No.10; pages 126-127).
- ↑ Cheap Super Telephoto Lenses Part I – T-mount Spiratone, Vivitar etc
Links
In English:
- Obituary of Fred Spira by Dennis Hevesi in the New York Times
- An assortment of Spiratone ad pages from the Camera-wiki Flickr stream
- Spiratone Fish-eye 12mm f/8 at TheSyberSite (archived)
- Spiratone close-up equipment at the Olympus / Zuiko blog