Siegfried Böhm (designer)

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Siegfried Böhm (born July 18, 1921 in Witzschdorf , Erzgebirge , † July 23, 2016 in Dresden ) was a German designer who worked for the state-owned optical industry in Dresden in the middle of the 20th century. Böhm became known as the man behind the success of the Praktica . He retired in 1981.

Life

After training as a technical draftsman, Böhm worked for Zeiss Ikon AG from the age of 18 . In the evening course he trained as a technician. During the Second World War he was seriously wounded as a soldier.

Contributions to camera technology

After the war, Böhm worked again at Zeiss Ikon and its successor companies. The next formative professional position took him to the camera workshops in Dresden-Niedersedlitz - the company that brought Praktiflex out. The Praktiflex was the world's first 35mm single-lens reflex camera with a rear-swinging mirror. It was developed from 1937 by Benno Thorsch and Alois Hoheisel at the camera workshops Guthe & Thorsch GmbH . The successor company, the camera workshops Charles A. Noble, concentrated on this product and launched it in 1939. The company remained undestroyed in World War II , but its owners were abducted and expropriated after the war.

In 1945, the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) required the camera workshops to deliver 50,000 cameras of the Praktiflex and Pilot Super models every year . Due to the fact that production in the Niedersedlitz plant was largely based on manual processes, it was impossible to achieve such a production output. In order to speed up production, the Zeiss Ikon designer Böhm was sent to the company.

Böhm started on January 12, 1946. He introduced the first design changes with version 13 of the second generation of the Praktiflex. With this Praktiflex II the lens connection was changed from M40 to M42 . According to Blumtritt, the representatives of SMAD forced this changeover by briefly imprisoning Böhm. The first Praktica was redesigned in important parts based on the Praktiflex by Böhm in 1948. The Praktica was presented to the public in 1949.

Böhm was also involved in the development of the internship intended for professional use (prototype 1952). The Praktina was the world's first 35mm system reflex camera with full interchangeability of optical components and accessories. The development of the Pentacon Six at Pentacon also took place under his responsibility. Also in the development of the Council for the entire room for Mutual Economic Assistance ( CMEA designed) PENTAKTA - microfilm system's Böhm was instrumental in (1968-1972).

Böhm as operations manager and technical director

On January 1, 1948, Böhm was appointed operations manager at VEB Kamerawerke Niedersedlitz . In personal union, he was also technical manager and chief designer. Even the modest production figures of 1948 could only be achieved through "barter deals" that were illegal at the time. Böhm organized such barter deals and was denounced. However, an official investigation was suspended in early 1950. It was only for the Praktica in 1950 that Böhm was able to introduce industrial construction and production methods, which resulted in notable increases in production.

With the formation of the VEB Camera and Kinowerke Dresden, Böhm became technical director of the company on June 1, 1959. Among other things, he introduced the assembly line production of the Praktica (1965) and ensured that in 1964, despite the spatial fragmentation of the Pentacon production facilities, at least the rotationally symmetrical components for large-scale production were manufactured centrally.

After his retirement in 1981, Böhm continued to work on tasks of fundamental importance and as an advisor to the Pentacon operations director.

Honors

Siegfried Böhm received a number of GDR honors:

Patents

Siegfried Böhm was granted a number of patents as an inventor. Applicants for the Federal German patents are either VEB Kamerawerke Niedersedlitz, (mostly) Elba-Kamera-Gesellschaft mbH, Dresden, or VEB Feinmeß Dresden. The international patents (USA, Switzerland, Austria) sometimes have slightly different inventors with essentially the same content. The VEB Camera and Kinowerk Dresden and VEB Pentacon , Dresden, - its successor company - are added as patent holders . With the exception of the patent DBP 1123553, Böhm is always the first named inventor.

  • Focal plane shutter with an escapement that can be adjusted in two stages (with Heinz Kröbel and Karl Wunderlich, DBP 1098809, registration 1952)
  • Photographic focal plane shutter with presetting of the exposure slit (with Heinz Kröbel and Karl Wunderlich, DBP 1144103, registration 1952)
  • Two-film camera (DBP 1021245, registration 1953)
  • Release mechanism for photographic camera with focal plane shutter (DBP 1062540, registration 1953)
  • Light shaft with side panels and viewfinder lens (with Günther Hausmann and Rudolf Hainy, DBP 1039358, registration 1954)
  • Photoelectric exposure meter for a reflex camera (with Gerhard Jehmlich , DBP 969693, registration 1955)
  • Photographic camera with focal plane shutter (with Friedrich Winkler, Horst Fischer and Horst Huhle, DBP 1032086, registration 1956)
  • Focal plane shutter with device for setting and regulating the exposure time (DBP 1117379, application 1956)
  • Photographic camera with adjustable shift platform (with Günther Hausmann, DBP 1037257, registration 1956)
  • Photographic camera with swiveling floor (with Günter Hausmann, DBP 1108067, registration 1957)
  • Two-film camera (with Heinrich Skolaude, DBP 1135282, registration 1957)
  • Single-lens two-film camera (with Rudolf Hainy, DBP 1157474, registration 1957)
  • Device for determining the slide of walking floor cameras (with Günter Hausmann and Friedrich Winkler, DBP 1086542, registration 1958)
  • Device for determining the standard of large format cameras (with Günter Hausmann, Friedrich Winkler and Herbert Wilsch, DBP 1123553, registration 1958)
  • Measuring viewfinder for large format cameras (with Gerhard Jehmlich, Günter Hausmann and Friedrich Winkler, DBP 1206300, registration 1958)
  • Release and locking device for single-lens reflex cameras (with Wolfgang Viehrig and Friedrich Winkler, DBP 1125757, registration 1958)
  • Lightning contact device for cameras with focal plane shutter (with Friedrich Winkler, DBP 1158826, registration 1958)
  • Photographic camera with coupled controls for exposure time and distance (with Werner Hahn, Walter Hennig, Klaus Hintze and Johannes Weise, DBP 1181048, registration 1960)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Praktica designer Böhm died in Dresden Dresdner Latest News from August 25, 2016
  2. ^ A b Jan-Peter Wittenburg (2006): The internship - a “Böhm” reflex . PhotoDeal IV / 2006
  3. ^ A b c d Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The history of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. P. 189f
  4. ^ Gerhard Jehmlich (2009): The VEB Pentacon Dresden - History of the Dresden camera and cinema industry after 1945 . Sandstone publisher. P. 220
  5. ↑ a b c d e Gerhard Jehmlich (2009): The VEB Pentacon Dresden - History of the Dresden camera and cinema industry after 1945 . Sandstone publisher. Pp. 68-72
  6. ^ MDR : Portrait of Sir John H. Noble ( memento of July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), February 11, 2005
  7. ↑ Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The story of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. P. 132
  8. ↑ Wolfgang Mesow, Heinz Kuhn: Photography: 150 years of cameras from Dresden . Publisher: VEB Pentacon Dresden, 1988.
  9. ↑ Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The story of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. P. 175f
  10. ↑ Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The story of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. P. 163
  11. ↑ Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The story of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. P. 168
  12. ↑ Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The story of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. P. 190
  13. ↑ Herbert Blumtritt (2001): The story of the Dresden camera industry . 2nd edition, Verlag der H. Lindemanns Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. Pp. 176, 190
  14. ↑ Proof of individual patents via the German Patent and Trademark Office: DEPATISnet , accessed on June 22, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Bohm, Siegfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German designer
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Witzschdorf , Ore Mountains
DATE OF DEATH 23rd July 2016
Place of death Dresden