Flexaret
Encyclopedia
Flexaret is a brand of camera
s manufactured from 1939 to 1970 in the Czechoslovakia
by the company Meopta
. All models of Flexaret are twin-lens reflex camera
s with aluminum body, taking square "6×6" format photographs on a 120
roll film
. Some models were also capable of working with 35 mm film
with the help of a special adapter.
. Optiotechna initially developed and improved older models (known as Autoflex and Flexette). The development of a new camera called Flexaret started in the post-World War II
years in the Meopta company, founded in 1946. The camera was intended rather for amateur photography; the handling was easy and technical parameters were simple. The Flexaret rapidly became popular in Czechoslovak households and its popularity lasted until the 1960s. However, the strategy of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance among communist states demanded subordination of national interests to the central planning process dictated by the Soviet Union
. In 1970, the production was moved to East Germany. The tradition and competition were suppressed by political interests. The last cameras were produced in 1970, after which the brand was replaced by poorly designed and constructed Lubitel Soviet cameras.
The Czech photographer Jan Saudek
called Flexaret "our [Czech] national pride".
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s manufactured from 1939 to 1970 in the Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
by the company Meopta
Meopta
Meopta is Czech-American global manufacturer of precision optics, specializing in the design, engineering and assembly of complex optical, opto-mechanical and opto-electronic systems. Meopta makes stuff for the consumer, industrial and military markets....
. All models of Flexaret are twin-lens reflex camera
Twin-lens reflex camera
A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
s with aluminum body, taking square "6×6" format photographs on a 120
120 film
120 is a film format for still photography introduced by Kodak for their Brownie No. 2 in 1901. It was originally intended for amateur photography but was later superseded in this role by 135 film...
roll film
Roll film
Rollfilm or roll film is any type of spool-wound photographic film protected from white light exposure by a paper backing, as opposed to film which is protected from exposure and wound forward in a cartridge. Confusingly, roll film was originally often referred to as "cartridge" film because of its...
. Some models were also capable of working with 35 mm film
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
with the help of a special adapter.
History
In 1939, the company Optiotechna bought a factory producing photographic equipment in PřerovPrerov
Přerov is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic where the Bečva river flows through. Přerov is a statute town . It has population of about 47,373 to January 2, 2008. Přerov is about 22 km south west of Olomouc. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the...
. Optiotechna initially developed and improved older models (known as Autoflex and Flexette). The development of a new camera called Flexaret started in the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years in the Meopta company, founded in 1946. The camera was intended rather for amateur photography; the handling was easy and technical parameters were simple. The Flexaret rapidly became popular in Czechoslovak households and its popularity lasted until the 1960s. However, the strategy of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance among communist states demanded subordination of national interests to the central planning process dictated by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In 1970, the production was moved to East Germany. The tradition and competition were suppressed by political interests. The last cameras were produced in 1970, after which the brand was replaced by poorly designed and constructed Lubitel Soviet cameras.
The Czech photographer Jan Saudek
Jan Saudek
Jan Saudek is a Czech art photographer.- Life :Saudek's father was a Jew and the family was therefore persecuted by Germans. Many of his family members died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Jan and his brother Karel were held in a children's concentration camp located...
called Flexaret "our [Czech] national pride".
Literature
- Einhorn, Erich: Fotografujeme zrcadlovkou Flexaret, Prague: SNTL, 1960
- Einhorn, Erich: Flexaret v praxi: Příručka o jeho obsluze a příslušenství i o možnostech jeho využití v jednotlivých oborech fotografické práce, Prague: SNTL, 1968