Three German Firms Develop Digital View Camera System

Three German makers of photography equipment have joined forces to develop a digital view camera. At the heart of the system is an improved Plaubel PL 69 view camera in which the axis of the back standard has been precisely aligned with the pixel plane from the sensor of Eyelike's Jenoptik camera back. The system is designed to use Schneider Kreuznach's Digitar digital lens series, including its two new extreme 24- and 35-mm wide-angle lenses that make 24- to 150-mm focal lengths available to users of digital backs. The new wide-angle lenses are designed to produce low distortion (less than 0.8%) and extremely slight lateral chromatic aberration. In addition, Schneider Kreuznach also launched a new size 0 electronic shutter with electronic aperture control. All functions of the shutter can be controlled by a serial interface; no additional control module is necessary.

For controlling the new Schneider aperture, Jenoptik integrated the new interface into its Eyelike precision series of digital backs. The camera back's FireWire interface transmits additional control signals so that only one cable is necessary to connect the system to the computer. Additionally, complete control of the electronic shutter has been integrated in the Eyelike software. Following a simple procedure, users can control shutter speed and capture directly from the computer. (Jenoptik Laser, Optik, Systeme GmbH: www.eyelike.com; Plaubel Feinmechanik und Optik GmbH: www.plaubel.com; Jos. Schneider optische Werke GmbH: www.schneiderkreuznach.com)