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DAY 202 | HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY |
Twin-Lens Camera
SEEING WITHOUT A MIRROR
Twin-lens reflex cameras (TLRs) first appeared in the late 19th century, but by the end of the first decade of the 20th century, they had largely faded from practical use. The cameras had two lenses, one to capture the image of a subject on film and the other used for reflex viewing, allowing the photographer to see what was being shot before, during, and after the exposure.
One of the major benefits of the TLR was that there was no mirror movement that could disrupt the exposure. However, the cameras had some drawbacks, including parallax, which is a discrepancy between what the eye sees and what the lens of the camera sees (usually caused when there is a short distance between the camera and the subject). Also, if one lens needed to be changed, both lenses had to be removed.
In 1928, German company Franke and Heidecke decided to reintroduce the format and produced an all-metal model of the formerly wood-box camera. The Rolleiflex became quite popular, spawning waves of imitators. The original model used 117 roll film but the next model, in 1932, used the more readily available 120 film. The newer model also featured a crank to advance the film, an improvement over the knob function on the 1928 version, which became the standard for all TLRs. Over the next four decades, they continued to modify, perfect, and produce a series of more and more sophisticated cameras. —DJG
