Voigtländer Prominent

Prominent refers to two distinct lines of rangefinder cameras made by Voigtländer.

Prominent
ProminenT with Ultron 50 mm f/2.0 double-Gauss lens
Overview
MakerVoigtländer
Type35mm rangefinder camera
Lens
Lens mountproprietary bayonet
Focusing
Focusmanual
Exposure/metering
Exposuremanual
Shutter
ShutterSynchro-Compur leaf, behind-lens
Shutter speeds1–1⁄500 + B, X/M
General
Dimensions5+1⁄4 in × 3+5⁄8 in × 3+1⁄4 in (133 mm × 92 mm × 83 mm) (with lens)[1]
Weight25 oz (710 g) (without lens)[1]

The first Prominent, stylized in all-caps as PROMINENT and also known as the Prominent 6×9 to distinguish it from the later camera line, was a folding, fixed-lens rangefinder camera that used 120 film and was first marketed in 1932. Relatively few were sold and the post-war Prominent, using 135 film, is better known.

The second Prominent (stylized with small caps as ProminenT) was a line of 35mm interchangeable lens cameras built after World War II in the 1950s, equipped with leaf shutters. The second line of Prominent cameras were marketed as professional system cameras against the Leica threadmount and M bayonet mount and Zeiss Ikon Contax rangefinder camera lines. Voigtländer also sold the Vitessa and Vito lines of compact 35mm rangefinders contemporaneously, generally equipped with fixed, collapsible normal lenses, as less-expensive alternatives to the Prominent.

Cameras

Prominent 6×9

The Prominent 6×9 was introduced in 1932 as the top-of-the-line folding rollfilm camera from Voigtländer, which also sold similar models with fewer features as the Bessa, Virtus, Perkeo, and Inos.[2] The base-board opens when a button is depressed, and the spring-loaded lens carrier advances to the correct position, making the camera ready for exposure.[3]: 4  It is equipped with a fixed Heliar anastigmat 105 mm f/4.5 lens, developed contemporaneously with and similar to the Carl Zeiss Tessar, and one of two supplemental Focar close-up lenses can be added for portraits or macro photography.[3]: 7–8  The Compur leaf shutter features speeds ranging from 1–1⁄250 sec, plus "B"ulb and "T"imer settings along with a self-timer delayed release.[3]: 9–11  An extinction meter is used to set the appropriate aperture and shutter speed.[3]: 12–13 

Records indicate that approximately 10,000 Prominent 6×9 cameras were made from 1932 to 1935, including 5 prototypes with a faster "Turbo" shutter with a top speed of 1⁄400 sec.[4] The Prominent 6×9 was renamed to the Bessa Rangefinder starting in 1935, capitalizing on the more recognized branding.

"Miniature" Prominent 35mm
ProminenT II with Nokton lens

The "miniature" Prominent which takes 135 film was introduced in 1952 and produced until 1958, when it was succeeded by the ProminenT II, which was produced until 1960.[5] The original Prominent (135) included numerous detail improvements over its production run, mainly to minor items including the inclusion of strap lugs and a film reminder on the baseplate with later models; the Prominent II has a distinctive, larger Albada-type viewfinder and square rangefinder window, while the original Prominent has a smaller, rectangular viewfinder and round rangefinder window, although the camera bodies are basically the same. The earliest Prominent (135) has a Synchro-Compur shutter with a top speed of 1⁄400 sec, which was updated to 1⁄500 sec within a year.[6]

Operation

Exposure (aperture and shutter speed) are set on the lens, while focus is set using a knob on the top deck, operated by the photographer's left hand.[7]

Lenses

The primary normal lenses were branded Ultron and Nokton; both lens types were designed by Albrecht Tronnier.[8][9][10] Stephen Gandy notes the "Nokton was one of the very best fast lenses of the 50's, even a good performer by today's standards."[11]

The initial set of accessory lenses, the Ultragon wide-angle and the Telomar telephoto, were each attached to a reflex housing to assist focus; the Telomar also was designed by Tronnier.[12]

Lenses for the Prominent (135)[7][13][14][15]
FL (mm)ApertureNameConstructionNotes
EleGrp
24f/5.8 Ultragon 75 Retrofocus design,[16]: Table III  attached to reflex housing
35f/3.5 Skoparon 54 Retrofocus design,[16]: Table III  negative front meniscus with Skopar[17]
50f/1.5 Nokton 75 Modified double Gauss lens
f/2.0 Ultron 65 Modified double Gauss lens
f/3.5 Color-Skopar 43 Tessar-type
100f/4.5 Dynaron 6 ? Rangefinder-coupled
f/5.5 Telomar 53 Attached to reflex housing
150f/4.5 Super Dynaron  ? ? Rangefinder-coupled

References
  1. "Voigtländer: known the world over (brochure)" (PDF). Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library. Voigtländer. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. "Voigtlander Prominent 6X9". Photographica Pages. Pacific Rim Camera. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  3. "Instructions for Use, Prominent (Nr. 3167/233)" (PDF). Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library. Voigtländer. 1953. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. "Prominent 6x9 (1932-1935)". Voigtländer Camera Collection. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  5. Bertacchi, Massimo (21 June 2003). "Voigtlander Prominent". Corso Polaris (in Italian). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  6. "Prominent Series". Voigtländer Camera Collection. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  7. "Prominent: A Milestone in Progress!" (PDF). Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library. Voigtländer. March 1952.
  8. US Patent 2649023, Albrecht Wilhelm Tronnier, "Modified Gauss-type four-component photographic objective", published August 18, 1953
  9. DE Patent 969778C, Albrecht W. Tronnier, "Sphärisch, chromatisch, astigmatisch und komatisch korrigiertes Objektiv", published August 28, 1958, assigned to Voigtländer & Sohn AG
  10. US Patent 2645155A, Albrecht W. Tronnier, "Photographic objective of high light-transmitting capacity of the gauss type", published July 14, 1953, assigned to Voigtländer & Sohn AG
  11. Gandy, Stephen (November 26, 2003). "Voigtlander Prominent Luxury Leaf Shutter Rangefinder". CameraQuest. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  12. US Patent 2662446A, Albrecht W. Tronnier, "Photographic teleobjective having a composite positive front part axially spaced from a composite negative rear part", published December 15, 1953, assigned to Voigtländer & Sohn AG
  13. "Voigtländer Cameras and Equipment (brochure)" (PDF). Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library. Voigtländer.
  14. "The Prominent and its System" (PDF). Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library. Voigtländer.
  15. "The Prominent camera and its accessories" (PDF). Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library. Voigtländer.
  16. Kingslake, Rudolf (March 1966). "The Reversed Telephoto Objective: A Tutorial Paper". Journal of the SMPTE. 75: 203–207.
  17. US Patent 2746351A, Albrecht Wilhelm Tronnier, "Photographic objective of the modified triplet type and a meniscus shaped negative member axially separated therefrom", published May 22, 1956, assigned to Voigtländer & Sohn AG
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