Praktica - Older Company History

Older Company History

  • 1887 Richard Hüttig founded the first camera manufacturing company in Dresden.
  • 1896 Zeus-mirror reflex camera with plate magazine as first single-lens reflex camera from Dresden by the company Richard Hüttig & Sohn.
  • 1897/98 Foundation of the Aktiengesellschaft für Camera-Fabrikation Heinrich Ernemann in Dresden; Foundation of the Aktiengesellschaft für photographische Industrie Emil Wünsche in Dresden.
  • 1903 Bosco mirror camera for 9 x 9 roll films by the Wünsche AG.
  • 1903 The Ernemann-Kino movie camera uses 17,5mm One-hole-filmstrips for taking and displaying movies. The word Kino(cinema) had been born.
  • 1906 Hüttig-AG becomes the biggest camera manufacturer in Europe with more than 800 employees.
  • 1912 Foundation of the Industrie- und Handelsgesellschaft m.b. H., named Ihagee Kamerawerk GmbH since 1914.
  • 1919 Foundation of the camera shop of Benno Thorsch and Paul Guthe.
  • 1923 Inauguration of the 48m high tower building of the Ernemann AG (see photography on the Pentacon GmbH page).
  • 1924 The high-speed Ernostar lens designed by Ludwig Bertele of Ernemann AG, was first made in f/2, then in f/1.8 maximum aperture. Its unprecedented speed made available-light photography possible for the first time. While it was supplied to a number of other cameras, it was best known on Ernemann's own Er-Nox (later called Ermanox) cameras.
  • 1926 With the help of the Carl Zeiss Stiftung, four German camera manufacturers - Contessa-Nettel (Stuttgart), Ernemann and ICA (both Dresden), and C.P. Goerz (Berlin) were merged to form Zeiss-Ikon AG, and became the largest camera manufacturer in Europe with 3400 employees.
  • 1933 EXAKTA 4 x 6,5, a small roll-film single-lens reflex camera using 127 film, was introduced by Ihagee Kamerawerk Steenbergen & Co.
  • 1935 Contaflex: first 35mm twin-lens reflex camera with interchangeable lens and the first camera with built-in exposure meter was introduced by Zeiss-Ikon AG.
  • 1936 Kine-Exakta: first 35mm single-lens reflex camera introduced by Ihagee Kamerawerk Steenbergen & Co.
  • 1939 Praktiflex introduced by K.W. AG, Dresden-Niedersedlitz
  • 1945 Heavy destruction of the 'Dresdner Kamerabetriebe' (Camera Manufacturing of Dresden) through aerial bombing on February, 13th/14th 1945
  • 1949 Contax S: first 35mm single-lens reflex camera with built-in pentaprism viewfinder (world novelty), offering unreversed viewfinder image, introduced by MECHANIK Zeiss Ikon VEB, at that time a 'state-owned' company. It also introduced the M42X1mm screw lens mount for interchangeable lenses.
  • 1949 PRAKTICA single-lens reflex camera with M42X1mm lens mount
  • 1950 EXAKTA Varex by Ihagee Kamerawerk AG is the first single-lens reflex camera with interchangeable view-finders
  • 1956 PRAKTICA FX2 by VEB Kamera-Werke Dresden-Niedersedlitz is the first 35mm single-lens reflex camera with diaphragm stop-down actuation mechanism built inside the lens mount
  • 1959 Merger of the 'Dresdner Kamerabetriebe' (Camera Manufacturing of Dresden) to 'VEB Kamera- und Kinowerke Dresden' (VEB Pentacon Dresden since 1964).
  • 1965 PRAKTICA mat by VEB Pentacon Dresden is the first 35mm single-lens reflex camera with TTL exposure measurement in Europe.
  • 1969 PRAKTICA LLC is the first 35mm single-lens reflex camera with electrical diaphragm simulation between interchangeable lenses and camera body by the VEB Pentacon (Dresden).

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