The Plaubel Makina was a series of

medium format Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the used in 35&nbs ...

press camera A press camera is a medium or large format view camera that was predominantly used by press photographers in the early to mid-20th century. It was largely replaced for press photography by 35mm film cameras in the 1960s, and subsequently, by ...

s. Makina cameras had

leaf shutter In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period, exposing photographic film or a photosensitive digital sensor to light in order to capture a permanent image of a scene. A shutter can also be used to all ...

s and rangefinder focusing with collapsible

bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...

, except for the specialized 69W Proshift model. The original Makina was manufactured by Plaubel & Co., in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany, from 1912 to 1953. Plaubel was later sold to Doi Group, which designed new Makina cameras that sold from 1978 to the 1980s. The Japanese-made Plaubel Makina was a major redesign with

Nikkor Nikkor is the brand of lenses produced by Nikon Corporation, including camera lenses for the Nikon F-mount. Nikko parent company brand, from which the Nikkor brand evolved. The ''Nikkor'' brand was introduced in 1932, a Westernised rendering of ...

lenses and integrated metering. It was manufactured first by

Copal Copal is tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree ''Protium copal'' (Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includes re ...

and later by

Mamiya is a Japanese company that manufactures high-end cameras and other related photographic and optical equipment. With headquarters in Tokyo, it has two manufacturing plants and a workforce of over 200 people. The company was founded in May 1940 b ...

Plaubel Makina I - III

German-made Plaubel Makina models include the 1, 2, 2s, 3, and 3R.

Plaubel Makina 67, W67 & 670

Models 67 and 670 have

80mm f/2.8 lenses. Both models take ten 6×7cm exposures on 120 rollfilm, while the 670 model also accepts 220 rollfilm (20 exposures per roll). Model W67 is similar to the 670 model, but with a wide-angle Nikkor 55 mm lens (roughly equivalent to a 28 mm lens in 135 format). The 55 mm was considered one of the sharpest and most flare-free of any produced during the analogue photography era.

Plaubel Makina 69W Proshift

The 69W Proshift has a 47 mm Schneider Super-Angulon and makes eight 6×9cm exposures per roll of 120 film. The lens is mounted on a sliding flange which allowed for perspective control in the same manner as shifting the front standard of view camera.

External links

Plaubel GmbH - Service and repair of Makina cameras
(German)

Photography companies of Germany 120 film cameras German cameras {{photo-stub