Voigtländer brillant 6x6 medium format camera - early 1930s - fully tested

4 A beautiful and very characteristic piece of photographic history, this Voigtländer Brillant is an early German medium-format camera dating from the early 1930s. It features the Voigtländer Anastigmat Voigtar 7.5 cm f/7.7 lens and uses standard 120 roll film, producing large 6×6 cm medium-format negatives. The Brillant is particularly interesting because of its distinctive twin-lens-style construction and large waist-level finder. Unlike a conventional later TLR, the upper lens is used for viewing while the taking lens is focused separately. Its bright viewing system was one of the features that made the Brillant an unusual and attractive camera in its time. earlyphotography.co.uk This example is in good overall condition considering its age and has been fully tested and carefully checked before sale. The light sealing and film chamber have been tested, and no unwanted light enters the camera when it is closed. The main mechanical functions have also been checked. The aperture control works correctly, the shutter-speed selector operates normally, the shutter fires correctly, the focusing mechanism operates smoothly and the film controls are working as intended. The taking lens glass is clean and the viewing lens is also clean. The focusing/viewing screen is in good usable condition, with some small age-related imperfections visible, as can be seen in the detailed photographs. These do not prevent normal viewing or use of the camera. The shutter has also been checked using an electronic shutter-speed tester. The shutter is fully operating, although, as can be expected from a mechanical camera more than 90 years old, the speeds are not perfectly calibrated. Approximate measured results were: 1/25 setting → approximately 1/50–1/55 1/50 setting → approximately 1/60–1/64 In practical terms, the 1/25 and 1/50 settings are therefore quite close to one another in actual exposure. The camera is still perfectly usable for photography, but this difference should simply be taken into consideration when calculating exposure. The Bulb mode has also been tested and works correctly, keeping the shutter open for as long as the shutter release is held down. On the upper folding viewing hood there are four panels that normally open automatically. On one of these panels, the small spring/hinge mechanism that normally raises and supports it is broken or missing, leaving that particular panel slightly loose. The panel can still remain open by resting against the neighbouring panel. For regular shooting, a very simple solution is to attach it lightly to the neighbouring panel with a small piece of removable tape so that it remains securely in position. This issue is limited to the viewing hood and does not affect the lens, shutter, focusing mechanism, film transport or the ability of the camera to take photographs. Overall, this is a fully working and usable early Voigtländer Brillant, approximately nine decades old, with clean optics and functioning mechanical controls. It can be enjoyed as a beautiful decorative piece, added to a vintage camera collection, or actually loaded with 120 film and used for real medium-format photography. The two points to keep in mind are simply the loose viewing-hood panel and the shutter speeds being somewhat faster than their marked values, both of which are clearly described above.