CA Steinheil & Sons
CA Steinheil Söhne was a Munich- based optical industry company that manufactured astronomical telescopes , camera lenses and other optical devices. The company was founded in 1855 by Carl August von Steinheil and existed until 1995.
History and inventions
Before founding
Carl August von Steinheil had u. a. studied astronomy with Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel in Königsberg and was thus inspired to construct various measuring instruments. In his position as curator of the mathematical-physical collection ("Bavarian State Physicist") Steinheil devoted himself to the construction of large telescopes (see also giant telescopes ). Among other things, he invented a new mirroring method , which was decisive at the time , and which paved the way for large mirror telescopes to triumph in the field of professional astronomy .
The family business (1855–1962)
In 1855 Steinheil complied with a personal request of the Bavarian King Max II and founded an optical workshop in Schwabing , which later became the optical-astronomical institute C. A. Steinheil & Sons .
He was supported by his son Hugo Adolph Steinheil . In 1860 his second son Eduard Steinheil (1830–1878) also joined the company. The company was temporarily located in Suresnes Castle . C. A. Steinheil's interest in photometry was connected to Ludwig Seidel , who also acted as a scientific advisor to the company after the founder's death.
In 1862 the founder's son, Hugo Adolph Steinheil, took over management. In the same year Steinheil brought out the periscope , the first symmetrical camera lens. The invention of the aplanate with a light intensity of 1: 7 (1868) also fell during this period . The wide-angle aplanate followed in 1871 , the first photographic lens for copying images. As a forerunner of the later anastigmats , the Antiplanat was added in 1881 .
Around 1890 Rudolf Steinheil (1865–1930), son of Hugo Adolph, took over management of the company.
In 1893 the orthostigmat was constructed, a symmetrical, cemented anastigmat (light intensity 1: 6.8). The symmetrical, non-cemented anastigmat Unofocal is the next important development in 1903. With the Triplar , Steinheil then brought out a comparatively bright portrait lens in 1908 (light intensity 1: 3.8); The Cassar triplets sold in the 1920s already have luminous intensities of up to 1: 3.5 - for film cameras even up to 1: 2.5.
In the course of time, the previous production lines (astronomical, spectrographic and photographic optics) were expanded to include the manufacture of optical glass . Steilheil was able to devote itself to the special challenges for high-speed camera and large astronomical lenses. After completing his studies, the later well-known optics designer Heinrich Erfle worked at Steinheil from 1907 to 1909.
At the end of the 1930s, the company was renamed Optische Werke C. A. Steinheil Söhne GmbH . As is often the case in the optical industry, the company was then continued as a family business.
Steinheil has been producing target devices for combat aircraft in the Austrian municipality of Lustenau since autumn 1939 . From the spring of 1942 to 1945 the company employed forced laborers from a camp set up in the community.
Checkered history until the end of 1995
In 1962 Steinheil was sold to Elgeet in Rochester (New York) . Two years later it was sold to Lear Siegler in Santa Monica, California. The company based in Ismaning was then called Steinheil-Lear Siegler AG . It was acquired by British Aerospace in 1987 for £ 17 million . and in 1988 registered as "Steinheil" Optronik GmbH with a share capital of DM 4 million in the Munich commercial register (HRB83302). At the beginning of the 1990s Steinheil Optronik had around 500 employees.
In 1995 Steinheil Optronik was largely closed or dissolved. The business with conventional optical viewers went to Atlas Elektronik , a company of the Bremer Vulkan Group. The business with gyroscopes operated from a Hamburg branch was taken over by Rellinger Autoflug GmbH & Co. Some employees went self-employed on site in Ismaning .
The optical shaft measurement technology was taken over by Jenoptik .
Products
Astronomical devices
6-inch refractor from the Mannheim observatory , built in 1859
Steinheil supplied the lens ( 680 mm , f / 31 ) for the "giant telescope" of the Treptow observatory
Large refractor of the Kuffner observatory (third largest refractor in Austria) with Steinheil lens (270 mm, f / 13, 1884–86)
Large refractor of the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam , double refractor with 50 and 80 cm aperture (1899)
Monocentic eyepiece by Steinheil (version from 1880)
The important position of the Steilheil company for the construction of large research telescopes in the second half of the 19th century is based not insignificantly on the invention of an objective type for lens telescopes (refractors), the Steinheil type.
Like the Fraunhofer type, the Steinheil objective is an achromat , i.e. H. the chromatic aberration is corrected for two wavelengths. The arrangement of the lenses is different from that of the Fraunhofer lens. A negative flint glass lens is used as the field-side element , followed by a positive crown glass lens. A narrow air gap separates the two lenses. The inner radii of the lenses are more curved than with the Fraunhofer lens. To avoid zone errors, an area is retouched by hand. This means that the position of the lenses in relation to one another must not be changed. The Russian manufacturer TAL is currently offering its refractors with the Steinheil lens arrangement.
When numerous new observatories were founded at the turn of the 20th century , Steinheil was an important supplier, especially for medium-sized instruments, and was recognized for its high quality. In many cases, these instruments are still used successfully today, including a. at the University Observatory Graz and at numerous German public observatories . Various lens telescopes are also in use in circles of amateur astronomers . a. excellent semi-apochromats from around 1900.
Of the large astronomical devices, the following are to be mentioned in particular:
- the two lenses from 1899 for the double refractor of 50 cm and 80 cm diameter of the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam (founded in 1874),
- the lens for the 68 cm refractor of the Treptow observatory
- and the double lenses of the Hamburg-Bergedorf observatory (60 cm each visually and photographically).
However, historical test reports also document that even the largest lenses produced by the Steinheil company - such as the 80 cm lens in Potsdam - were no longer really satisfactory.
For visual astronomy in particular, not only the lenses of the telescopes are important, but also the eyepieces . Steinheil invented the monocentric eyepiece in 1880 , which is equipped with a cemented triplet. Steinheil also produced eyepieces for military target systems.
Lenses
Cassar 1: 2.9 / 1-7.5 cm lens on a Welta with Compur shutter
Triplet anastigmat Cassar 1: 3.5
Cassar 105 mm f / 4.5 lens on a Braun Norca , ca.1952
Lenses for still cameras
Steinheil was a well-known manufacturer of lenses for photography. Important early contributions were the inventions of the aplanate (approx. 1866) and the double anastigmate ( Unofocal ). Actinar brand Steinheil anastigmats (e.g. 1: 4.5 / 13.5 cm) or the Cooke triplet Triar can be found in old bellows and box cameras . The Unofocal (e.g. 1: 4.5 / 19.5 cm) was also built into plate cameras that we made ourselves .
After the Second World War, Steinheil equipped cameras from companies such as Carl Braun (" Paxette ") and ADOX with fixed lenses, sometimes with interchangeable lenses (e.g. from the Cassar and Cassarit brands ).
From the late 1940s to the 1970s, extensive series of interchangeable lenses were also manufactured for the Ihagee Exakta or with the standard M42 lens thread (Quinaron, Quinon, Quinar, Tele-Quinar, Culminar, Cassar, Cassaron, Culmigon, Cassarit, Macro -Quinaron, Macro-Quinon, Macro-Quinar, Macro-Cassarit, Exagon, Tele-Exaktar). Lenses have also been manufactured for Leica cameras ( lens thread M39 : e.g. a Culminar 1: 4.5 / 135).
One of the more bizarre products is a 1: 2.5 / 12.5 mm lens for the spy camera from SIPE, Krefeld, which is housed in a digital wristwatch .
Steinheil-Casca with Culminar lens (1948)
Projection lens Stellar for slide projectors
Telephoto lens Culminar 1: 4.5 / 135 mm with M42 thread
Auto-D-Tele-Quinar 1: 2.8 / 135 mm telephoto lens with M42 thread
Lenses for film cameras
For film camera Nizo -Exposomat which were Culminon 1.9 / 13 mm and a 1 addifocus 26 mm lens manufactured.
Lenses for enlargers
With the increase in the popularity of 35mm photography (24x36 mm) at the beginning of the 1930s, large-format enlargements of these negatives were now required in addition to the previously common flat and roll film contact copies . Steinheil supplied various manufacturers and quickly developed an extensive range in this area. From 1950 the company Agfa in Munich was supplied with Steinheil culminars for their Varioscop enlarger . Some were sold under the name Agfa Magnolar.
Cameras
Plate cameras were manufactured at the beginning of the 20th century. One example is a Steinheil folding camera that was equipped with a unofocal double anastigmatic 1: 4.8 / 105 mm. The Casca , manufactured in 1948, was a Steinheil viewfinder camera . As photographic accessories u. a. Polarizing filters and sun visors are produced.
Projection lenses for slide projectors and enlargers
Variants of the Cassar ( Cassar P 80 mm f / 2.8 or Cassar 150 mm f / 3.5) can be found as the objective of slide projectors . Stellar projection lenses (e.g. f / 2.8 / 85 mm) can occasionally be found on 35mm slide projectors from the 1960s .
The culminon (e.g. Culminon f 1: 4/150) also served as a lens for photographic enlargers .
Other optical devices
Steinheil offers magnifying glasses and binoculars , e.g. B. 8 × 40 standard binoculars with Porro prism . A special feature is a monocular (single-eyed telescope) 6x30, which can also serve as an auxiliary lens for a camera. Instead of a normal lens, a telephoto lens is then available.
In modern production, cameras screens of Find continue to photographing oscilloscope ( Oscillophot ) and military optics (z. B. periscopes as panorama telescopes for tank destroyer ).
Web links
- Catalogs from 1876 and 1922
- Link to Voit, E. (1906) via www.digitalis.uni-koeln.de
- Collection of camera lenses manufactured by CA Steinheil & Sons in the Wolfen Industrial and Film Museum at museum-digital
literature
- Ernst Voit: Precision mechanics in Bavaria. In: Representations from the history of technology in industry and agriculture in Bavaria, the Royal Technical University in Munich was given the centenary of the acceptance of the royal dignity by Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of Bavaria. Oldenbourg, Munich 1906, pp. 169-195.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ernst Voit: Precision mechanics in Bavaria. In: Representations from the history of technology in industry and agriculture in Bavaria, the Royal Technical University in Munich was given the centenary of the acceptance of the royal dignity by Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of Bavaria. Oldenbourg, Munich 1906, p. 183ff.
- ^ Finding aid: Steinheil company archive. In: Deutsches Museum, Archive Info 2007/2, p. 4.
- ↑ Wolfgang Scheffknecht: 100 years market town Lustenau . Lustenau 2003, ISBN 3-900954-06-2 , pp. 236-243 .
- ^ Seth G. Jones : The rise of European security cooperation. Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-68985-4 .
- ^ Company History. British Aerospace, on answers.com
- ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: British Aerospace to acquire Steinheil-Lear Siegler. In: PR Newswire. July 7, 1987. )
- ↑ P. Polshuk: Litton's LITEF GmbH and Steinheil Optronic GmbH form Alliance to Meet European Gyro Stabilized Sight Market. In: Fiber Optic Sensors and Systems 2. (11) 6 (1992), ISSN 1051-1946 , p. 14.
- ↑ Helmut Franz: Steinheil - Munich optics with tradition. Lindemanns, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-89506-197-2 .
- ^ Thomson Financial Mergers & Acquisitions: STN Atlas Elektronik (Bremer) acquires Steinheil Optronic-Conventiona from Steinheil Optronic. 5th September 1995.
- ↑ Alcoastore information sheet ( Memento from July 18, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ H. Walden (1998) As lubricated - arms production and arms trade in the Hamburg area. A black book. Komzi Verlags GmbH, Idstein. Online excerpt , accessed on August 4, 2011.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 3, 2012
- ↑ The large refractor of the Kuffner observatory on kuffner-sternwarte.at
- ↑ a b Gebhard Kuhn (2003) Doppelrefraktor Potsdam - evaluation of the lenses 800/12 000 and 500/12 500 - test report with a short overview of the historical quality statements. 4H Jena Engineering GmbH (PDF; 1.5 MB), accessed June 21, 2001
- ↑ Steinheil 2 ″ large field eyepiece (35mm / 67 °) made in Germany. (PDF; 247 kB)
- ↑ Steinheil Exakta Lenses. ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.)
