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KW Patent Etui Kamera 9x12
The KW cameras were produced between 1919 and 1938 by KW, Kamera
Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch, a
German manufacturer, founded by Paul Guthe and Benno Thorsch, situated
in Niedersedlitz, a suburb of Dresden. The Patent Etui cameras were
introduced in 1920 and produced until 1938. Their extremely slim case
- or Etui - was slim enough to be slipped into a pocket.They
were made in 2 formats, 6.5x9 and 9x12. As both factory owners were
jews, they sold the factory in 1938 to Charles A. Noble, a Detroit
camera maker, in a swap deal against his Detroit camera factory. Noble
changed the production lines to 35mm cameras, the new
Kamera-Werkstätten Charles A. Noble are mostly known for the
Praktiflex, a 35mm SLR, already developed under the guidance of Benno
Thorsch, which after the war became the famous Praktica.
The KW Patent Etui cameras are top level cameras with luminous lenses
and double extension. This is a 9x12 model.
Lens: Meyer Trioplan 1:4.5 13.5cm, F4.5-36
Shutter:
Compur 1-1/200 B T (working)
Weight: 736 gr. incl. focussing hood
Size: 163x114x37
Some photos:
Camera closed. Tripod socket on the bed.
The camera is extremely flat.
Seen from the right. Brilliant finder, no spirit level, can be switched to
landscape format. Distance scale on the bed.
Seen from the left. The knob of the bed advance has to be pulled to
unblock and pushed to block the bed movement. Tripod socket for landscape
format on the housing.
Lens and shutter.
Rise/fall movements are possible, more than on other cameras, but no
shift. Risen. No screw to do
so, simply push or pull the front standard.
The camera has double extension. You have to press the infinity end of
the distance scale, which is a tab, to unblock extension.
Back. Ground glass and hood
Hood open.
Everything folds neatly into the housing. Do not forget to push the bed
advance knob back before closing.
The
camera opens via a button on the top. Lower the bed until it clicks
into place. Extend, there is an automatic stop. You can either use the
finder and the distance indications or a ground glass to focus. Set
shutter speed and aperture, cock the shutter. Put a film holder into
place, lift the dark slide and take your photo. Do not forget to put
the dark slide again. To shut the camera, push the front standard to
the end of the bed, press the hinges of the bed and it will close.
These cameras are
about a century old. The lenses are uncoated and the shutters are simple.
Nevertheless they are still nice cameras. 9x12
film is still made. Most of these cameras are very
cheap, the 9x12 Patent Etui are rare, so they are a bit more expensive.
They are simple to use and can give a lot of fun.