Wilhelm Will (Wetzlar)

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The Wilhelm Will KG , optical drive, is a traditional German company in the optical industry from Wetzlar -Nauborn ( " Will, Wetzlar "). The focus of production was on microscopy , projection and camera optics . The company was merged into Helmut Hund GmbH.

history

The company was initially founded by Wilhelm Will (1898-1959) as a one-man operation in Nauborn near Wetzlar in 1923. Will did an apprenticeship as an optician with Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar from 1912 to 1915 and stayed there for some time as an assistant. In 1939, thanks to the young company's economic success, it was possible to move into larger premises for 30 employees in the same location. The program initially comprised microscope optics, later also binocular optics. After 1945 he ran the company with his sons Willi (1921-1998) and Erich (* 1923). From 1950 laboratory microscopes were also manufactured. In 1973 3,000 microscopes were sold with 350 employees. In 1977 the company name was changed to Will Wetzlar KG in order to be able to continue to use the traditional name Wetzlar despite the amalgamation of Wetzlar and Gießen to form the city ​​of Lahn .

Willi and Erich Will sold 25% of the company to Minox GmbH in the 1970s . This stake was taken over by Wild Leitz GmbH (today Leica-Microsystems GmbH) at the end of the 1970s and gradually increased until it was fully taken over in 1986. In 1988 the Will company was completely taken over by Helmut Hund GmbH - as was Artur Herzog KG in 1984 with its blank press technology for glass lenses for projectors and car headlights. Both companies were merged into Helmut Hund GmbH, which now employs more than 400 people.

Inventions

Patents

At least three patents have been granted to Will:

  • Stand for optical devices (filed in 1972 in the USA as patent 3795377, German patent DE 1813374)
  • Opto-electronic microscope (filed 1975, US patent 4115802)
  • Dovetail Guide (US Patent 3813132)

Products

  • Super-Stellar 85 mm f / 2.8 projection lens for 35mm slides

  • ADOX-Maginon 1: 2.8 / 85 mm for 35mm slide projector ADOX 300

  • bright Maginon 1: 2.5 / 85 mm (additional meniscus front lens)

  • Maginon 1: 2.8 / 100 mm

Microscopes and microscope accessories

Microscopes from Will Wetzlar's range were the V300 , the BX 100 or the “Wilozyt” phase contrast microscope BX 300 continued by Hund . There is also a Wilozyt V 365 , a Wilovet reflected light microscope or the Bino-Lupe 2194 . Appropriate lenses were also produced for the microscopes.

The Dynascope attachment made it possible to display the microscopic image on a screen as early as 1976.

Camera components and lenses

For the MINOX 35 camera, Will designed (and initially manufactured) the viewfinder and lens in the manner of a Tessar .

Adoxar

The Adox company had the Adoxar lens manufactured by Will for their Golf medium format camera . For example, Adoxare had a light intensity of 1: 4.5 or 1: 6.3 with a focal length of 75 mm.

Wilon & Wastar

The Petietux and Petitux IV small cameras were in the late 1950s, early 1960s and the like. a. equipped with Wilon lenses from Will (Wilon 25 mm f / 2.8). Another very small lens with an M42 connector is the Vastar 50 mm f / 2.8 with a coated lens.

Enlarger lenses

Will also sold lenses for photographic enlargers under the Wilon name . One customer was the English company Gnome . Wilone was available, for example, in the configurations 1: 4.5 / 50 mm, 1: 3.5 / 50 mm (with M25 connection), 1: 4.5 / 75 mm or 1: 4.5 / 105. Some wilons were also directly identified as gnome wilons .

A second enlarger lens is the Macro-Doryt . For example, it was produced in the versions 1: 3.5 / 50 mm and 1: 4.5 / 105 mm with an M39x1 / 26 connection.

Projection lenses

Far more projection lenses than camera lenses are known from Will.

Maginon

A popular series of projection lenses for slide projectors is the Maginon . There are variants that are labeled as "Adox Maginon" or "Gnome Maginon". Most Maginons are designed to be Cooke triplets ; H. three-lens constructions. However, the maximum light intensity is 1: 2.8 even when using high-quality lanthanum glasses. The Maginon series starts here with a focal length of 85 mm (for example for the Braun Type D300 slide projector or the Reflecta AF 1800 ). 90 mm is also common. Longer focal lengths are usually combined with a reduced light intensity (e.g .: 1: 3.0 / 150 mm, 1: 3.5 / 200 mm or 1: 4/250 mm special MC). If another meniscus front lens is attached in front of the triplet , a light intensity of 1: 2.5 can be achieved (focal lengths 85 and 90 mm: Maginon Optimal ).

Slide projectors such as the Adox 800 M or Adox 300 M were equipped with the Adox Maginon 1: 2.8 / 85 mm lens . Accordingly, there was a Will-Gnome Maginon for Gnome projectors , for example with the very short focal length 1: 2.8 / 50 mm or the long focal length 1: 3.5 / 150 mm.

Later there were also zoom and vario versions of the Maginon. Examples are the Vario-Maginon 1: 3.5 / 70–120 mm (tube diameter 42 mm) or the Zoom-Maginon 85–150 mm with multiple coating (“MC”).

Further lenses for slide projectors and episcopes

Another series of projection lenses had the brand name Stellar . There is a Super Stellar 85 mm f / 2.3 with a 42 mm tube and a Vario Stellar 95–160 mm f / 2.8.

The multi- coated Lumagon 150 mm f / 2.8 with a 62 mm tube had a particularly large tube for the projection of medium format slides . The Braun-Super-Paxigon 1: 3.5 / 200 mm is also intended for large templates - e.g. for use in episcopes (use e.g. in the Braun Praxiskop 650 ).

Lenses for film projectors

Vario-Travenon 16.5-30mm

Will produced projection lenses for Super 8 film projectors of the Vario-Travenon brand in several versions . The light intensity varied from 1: 1.5 (16.5–30 mm, for example on the Noris Norisound 410 , 1978–79), over 1: 1.4 / 15–30 mm and 1: 1.3 / 16.5–30 mm (e.g. in Rollei P8400S magnetic or Noris Record D 100 ) up to 1: 1.2 / 16.5–30 mm with multiple coating for devices such as the Braun 500/1000/2000 series.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dieter Gerlach: History of microscopy . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1781-9 , pp. 920 .
  2. ↑ http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3795377.html
  3. ↑ http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3813132.pdf
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ Wilozyt phase contrast microscope BX300 (1983) in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Volume 21, Issue 10, ISSN  1437-4331 (online), ISSN  1434-6621 (print), doi : 10.1515 / cclm.1983.21.10.U , // 1983
  6. ↑ Annals of Hematology Volume 32, Number 5 / May 1976, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, ISSN  0939-5555 (Print) ISSN  1432-0584 (Online)
  7. ↑ http://gsteinbach.de/Historie.htm
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2014 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.adox.de
  9. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 19, 2010 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thecamerasite.net
  10. ↑ [2]
  11. ↑ [3]
  12. ↑ [4]
  13. ↑ [5]
  14. ↑ [6]
  15. ↑ [7]
  16. ↑ http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00JgyC
  17. ↑ [8]