Was the Maurer 70mm film KE-28B camera made by Leitz Canada

[wlaidlaw]

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I am currently on the look out for a Maurer 6x6 70mm film KE-28B hand held aerial camera. This was a predecessor to the KE-4 Combat Graflex, also originally designed by John Maurer but productionised by Hubert Nerwin, one of the Contax RF design team. I have one of the few fully working versions of the KE-4 camera, as part of the complete KS-6 multi lens kit. The Maurer has an E.Leitz Canada built 6 inch f2.8 lens. Maurer Aerial Cameras of New York, were purely an aerial camera design bureau and contracted production out to other companies. 

 

The early production of the Maurer was apparently by CAI (Chicago Aerial Instruments). However, I have been told that they found the camera very difficult to make to spec, being used to making much larger electrically driven aerial cameras. It is rumoured that Maurer moved the manufacture to E. Leitz of Midland in Canada, who were already making the lens for this camera.

 

Can anyone else add anything to this story? 

 

Wilson

 

http://www.novacon.com.br/odditycameras/maurer.htm

Edited July 14, 2017 by wlaidlaw

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[alan mcfall]

Well, I have a KB- 28 camera and along the way I found a copy of an article titled: "Everything you ever wanted to know about the KE-28B cameras and were afraid to ask.....".  Author Neil Levine, copyright 1982.  Possibly reproduced in Viewfinder magazine but I am not sure. The article is quiite extensive, especially redarding the ELC lenses and their specifications.  It also say that Chicago Arial produced 985 cameras, i think these were the A model, and that Maurer produced 932 of the B model.  It does not mention any transfer of production to ELC of the camera body.  Maured did have considerable trouble and the company eventually failed.  The B model had the new titanium shutter, the vacuum system to hold the film flat and the new and much better resolution ELC lens.

I also have the Operations and Maintance Instructions (Navel weapons bureau).  These documents should be availabe on line, if not I can copy them for you.

[wlaidlaw]

Alan, 

 

Very many thanks for the information. I will look for the information on line and if not, I may well come back to you for copies. Annoyingly I just missed a type B camera for sale in Portugal. I was told by an old naval photographer, that the second series were assembled by Elcan but he is in his 90's and his memory may be hazy on these matters. He said the cameras were often hand held from helicopters, where in the 1950's, the vibration precluded the use of mounted cameras. I had understood that Maurer was solely a design bureau and had no production facilities. 

 

Wilson

[pico]

I understand that Wilson's post is relevant because the lens is Leica Canada, but let me infringe to announce that I have a lot of  strange aerial lenses, one of which I cannot understand, but that is a different story.

 

How about a Peckham Wray SLR air-to-air 4x5" sheet film camera? It uses a periscope method to focus. A curiosity, of course, because like so many of similar constructions it is in need of adjustment.

Edited July 14, 2017 by pico

[alan mcfall]

The article with many details of the KE-28A and B is in the Viewfinder magazine of the Leica Historical Society of America, Vol. 16 No. 1  Jan-Mar 1983.  This is available digitally to members on the web.   Maurer had up to 250 employees at one point.  Leitz records show 1073 lenses were delivered to Maurer. In July 1975, all Maurer assets were sold at auction, ironically to the Chicago Airial Co., the first contractor.  They are now part of the Bourns company.  Those who are knowledgable could probably tell us how airial photography changed over the years, spy planes to satallites I guess.

[wlaidlaw]

I understand that Wilson's post is relevant because the lens is Leica Canada, but let me infringe to announce that I have a lot of  strange aerial lenses, one of which I cannot understand, but that is a different story.

 

How about a Peckham Wray SLR air-to-air 4x5" sheet film camera? It uses a periscope method to focus. A curiosity, of course, because like so many of similar constructions it is in need of adjustment.

 

Jac, 

 

Now that I have a whole lot of 70mm cassettes, I thought I might get another camera which also used them, which I believe the Maurer does. 

 

Wilson

[luigi bertolotti]

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Linhof made several Aero cameras for the Bundeswher, and I think that in Europe they aren't so rare; the Aero Press 70 probably uses the same 70mm cassettes you have (In the so called "Cine Rollex" back): this set (Planar 2,8 80 + Sonnar 4,8 180... two lenses that I had many years ago on a Technika 70) was auctioned in 2004 at 1750 Euros :

 

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I think that, as the normal Linhof Press 70, it has the Linhof system of film advancing and shutter cocking by twisting the lateral handles.... if I remember correctly, in 2001 Space Odissey there is a scene (the "monolith" discovery on moon) in which you see an astronaut making this typical movement taking a picture of the group of people next to the monlith...

Edited July 15, 2017 by luigi bertolotti

[wlaidlaw]

Luigi, 

 

I am particularly interested in the Maurer, as it has an Elcan made lens (but maybe Maurer designed). They tend to go for $700 to $1100 dependant on condition. The Kodak Ektars (2½ WA, 4" Regular and 8" Tele) I have for my Combat Graflex are supposed to be quite good as well but there were problems with the transport for the one roll of 70mm I took before it went off for repair, so as yet I cannot judge. 

 

Wilson

[pico]

Is the Maurer lens fixed at infinity focus?

[luigi bertolotti]

Is the Maurer lens fixed at infinity focus?

I think it is : there is a clear diaphragm adjusting knob on front, but no sign of focus adjusting : also, the setting instructions on the back (a fine "slide calculator")do refer only to adjustments on light conditions, with no reference to subject distance. And, after all, this is quite logical for a camera to be used from an airplane... also several lenses for the "Robot-Luftwaffe" were fixed-focus. Edited July 15, 2017 by luigi bertolotti

[pico]

I think it is : there is a clear diaphragm adjusting knob on front, but no sign of focus adjusting : also, the setting instructions on the back (a fine "slide calculator")do refer only to adjustments on light conditions, with no reference to subject distance. And, after all, this is quite logical for a camera to be used from an airplane... also several lenses for the "Robot-Luftwaffe" were fixed-focus.

 

I am critical of the fact that there was no focus adjustment. How can they focus to infinity properly under all circumstances, especially when using color contrast filters such as red?

 

luigi, I may be showing my ignorance which is worth it to be corrected, enlightened.

Learning always,

Pico

Edited July 15, 2017 by pico

[alan mcfall]

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Yes, fixed focus with aperature adjustment from 2.8 to 32. The original lens spec was to f/22 but reportedly was increased to f/32 at some point. 7 element.  Lens was designed by Mandlers team, Bechman, Consitt and the chief optical engineer at Midland at that time Malinowski.  Designs were done via an IBM 1620 computer. Early lenses were C-59  where C is for Canada, later C-138 lenses were used, but it seems the formulas were identical.  Spec was for 60 lines/millimeter. Early testing showed a 25% improvement over the original lens from Pacific Optical.  At the higher aperatures f/22-32 everything was in focus from 20feet to infinity.

Several craftsman have attempted to adapt the lens for focusing on other cameras, but I have not seen any really good results.

 

See photo of my KE-28B.  If you get one, look for all the filters, cassettes and side hand grip, heavy metal case.  My lens is C-138-0457 about midway thru production. It closes to f/32.

 

[pico]

C-138 dwg.jpg

 

Yes, fixed focus with aperature adjustment from 2.8 to 32. The original lens spec was to f/22 but reportedly was increased to f/32 at some point. 7 element.  Lens was designed by Mandlers team, Bechman, Consitt and the chief optical engineer at Midland at that time Malinowski.  Designs were done via an IBM 1620 computer. Early lenses were C-59  where C is for Canada, later C-138 lenses were used, but it seems the formulas were identical.  Spec was for 60 lines/millimeter. Early testing showed a 25% improvement over the original lens from Pacific Optical.  At the higher aperatures f/22-32 everything was in focus from 20feet to infinity.

Several craftsman have attempted to adapt the lens for focusing on other cameras, but I have not seen any really good results.

 

See photo of my KE-28B.  If you get one, look for all the filters, cassettes and side hand grip, heavy metal case.  My lens is C-138-0457 about midway thru production. It closes to f/32.

 

Solid gold information.

 

An aside: "Early testing showed a 25% improvement over the original lens from Pacific Optical."

 

Do you have a pointer/reference to the Pacific Optical near-equivalent. I have several Pacific Opticals, but all 3".

Edited July 15, 2017 by pico

[wlaidlaw]

C-138 dwg.jpg

 

Yes, fixed focus with aperature adjustment from 2.8 to 32. The original lens spec was to f/22 but reportedly was increased to f/32 at some point. 7 element.  Lens was designed by Mandlers team, Bechman, Consitt and the chief optical engineer at Midland at that time Malinowski.  Designs were done via an IBM 1620 computer. Early lenses were C-59  where C is for Canada, later C-138 lenses were used, but it seems the formulas were identical.  Spec was for 60 lines/millimeter. Early testing showed a 25% improvement over the original lens from Pacific Optical.  At the higher aperatures f/22-32 everything was in focus from 20feet to infinity.

Several craftsman have attempted to adapt the lens for focusing on other cameras, but I have not seen any really good results.

 

See photo of my KE-28B.  If you get one, look for all the filters, cassettes and side hand grip, heavy metal case.  My lens is C-138-0457 about midway thru production. It closes to f/32.

IMG_0055.JPG

Alan,

 

Those cassettes look different to the Kodak/Hasselblad/Linhof 70mm cassettes I use in my Combat Graflex.

 

Wilson

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[luigi bertolotti]

...  Designs were done via an IBM 1620 computer...

Wow... the 1620 : a "Fortran only" (*) machine surely loved by engineers...

 

(some were still used in Universities in the '70s : IBM even made for the 1620 a "quick & simple Fortran for beginners" named GOTRAN ... I remember to have written some code for it... )

Edited July 16, 2017 by luigi bertolotti

[wlaidlaw]

That IBM 1620 was a lot more advanced than what I used at university. For goodness it used those new fangled transistors! We had an IBM 704 and an English Electric 2000. Both of those were valve/tube computers and we had two men in long brown lab coats, scurrying around the whole time with a push cart, pulling modules out with a failed tube and replacing with a new module with replaced tubes in it. I used to made drinking money by punching data entry cards for the university X-Ray crystallography department in the evenings. They were both replaced by an ICT and a DEC PDP-10 computer in the late 1960's and I used to rent time on them over the week-ends when they were not in use, to run data analysis for my company. Very basic stuff that nowadays you could run on a spread sheet on a cheap tablet. 

 

Wilson

[luigi bertolotti]

A small Out of theme, Wilson (I have always lived on IT and love its history...)

 

- English Electric... weren't their computers generally named "KDF" ?

- Is your "ICT" a typo for "ICL" or such a brand really existed ?

- And... IBM 704 was the VERY FIRST Computer on which FORTRAN did "run" : a milestone in IT technology : the first real "Language" consistently and conceptually devised by a great mind (John Backus)

Edited July 16, 2017 by luigi bertolotti

[wlaidlaw]

Luigi,

 

ICT and ICL were two different companies. The company became ICL when ICT merged with English Electric in the late 1960's. ICT was the successor to Ferranti, The British Tabulating Machine Co and Powers Samas, after they all combined their computing divisions into one company to try to compete with IBM and Honeywell. Sadly the British computer industry is no more other than hobby/teaching computers like Raspberry Pi and processor design. 

 

Wilson

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[wlaidlaw]

Luigi, 

 

I did not reply to your comment on English Electric. I think the 2000 computer was a prototype and was a direct descendant of EDSAC and LEO. It was housed just off the Rutherford Laboratory. The later KDP and KDF series were British versions of the US RCA computers and used transistors and diodes rather than tubes. The IBM 704 which had been bought second hand from a US university (?Chicago) was housed in the Engineering Department. They both ran Fortran but slightly different versions. This was extremely inconvenient, as you could not use the same data format entry for both and separate programs had to be written for each one and run through their own compilers. 

 

Wilson

[luigi bertolotti]

...Sadly the British computer industry is no more other than hobby/teaching computers like Raspberry... 

Wilson

(Just as an end to this "deviation" from the subject...)

 

Sadly it is like this for all the European computer industry... I remember well the maybe last tentative to join the European forces to counterpart US dominance... it was 1983 or 84... I had my first Job at Honeywell and the European Initiative (that indeed led to nothing, apart grabbing some European financing) had a funny name that whished to express strength... : BISON (from Bull Icl Siemens Olivetti Nixdorf... previously there had been another ill-fated tentative - Unidata - of which Philips too was part)

Edited July 17, 2017 by luigi bertolotti