Gossen Sixtomat
Sixtomat exposure meter.
The Sixtomat, manufactured by Gossen in Erlangen Germany, is a exposure meter to be used for photographic and cine purposes. The meter only measures reflected light. The sensor can be shut off for light by a metal rolling blind. This roller blind protects the sensitive parts of the meter like the sensor and the glass of the reading scale. The blind is made of special V2a rustles steel.
The Sixtomat has been made in different versions and also in different colors. Most common is the black version rare are the dark blue and dark red versions. The first production date is around 1950 and since then a large number of these meter have been made. Later on this meter has been improved and merged into the Sixtomat J the Sixtomat X2 and the Sixtomat X3. There are some minor differences in the production versions like the color of the scale on the film sensitivity knob and the knob itself. The meter has been developed shortly after the Sixtus 2. The Sixtus 2 is the first post WW2 meter since 1936. The Sixtomat is a complete new design after the well known bakelite versions.
An application for the German patent was done on December 24 1949, the USA patent for the Sixtomat was requested at June 2 1950 by P. Gossen & Co. GMBH Erlangen Germany under number 2,699,087. The inventors are the son of Paul Gossen, Hans Gossen and Erwin Pfaffenberger.
In December 1950 the American Cinematographer has placed an article in their magazine presenting this meter; “Sixtomat. New, Automatic Exposure Meter.” The Sixtomat is being imported and distributed in the USA by the Mitropa Corporation, New York City and the retail price in that time was about US $32.50. This article describes the function of the meter extensively.
It is clearly an automated version of his predecessors, the Photolux, Ombrux, Blendux, Cimbrux, Sixtus, Ombrux 2 and Sixtus 2. The red button for changing the sensitivity of the meter is now incorporated in the mechanism. When rotating the knob, you can see the scale changing from red to black or vice versa. A internal switch changes this sensitivity accordingly, replacing manual pressing the button. It is a meter of the next generation of Gossen exposure meters for photographic and cine purposes, measuring reflected and incident light (some of them) by use of what Gossen called the ‘rollo’ a movable blind. The electrical function of the Sixtomat is still based on the older predecessors with the red button on top. This button enables the meter to measure with different light sensitivity. This function is incorporated into the Sixtomat but invisible for the user because it is mounted on the axle were also the knob is mounted. The sensitivity changes when the scale goes from black to red and vice versa. In the newer versions of the Sixtomat this function has been removed. The notch on the axle is still there but the switch has been removed at the same time the metal roller blind has been replaced by a diffuse one enabling the meter to measure reflected light en when the blind is in front of the sensor. also to measure incident light.
The first Sixtomat exposure meter, from the early fifties and still available in the early seventies so it last for more than two decades. In a Gossen brochure from 1971 it still available and in the meantime, more than 1.500.000 meters have been produced. The types that are manufactured are as far as we know the Sixtomat, the Sixtomat X2, The Sixtomat X3, the Sixtomat Deluxe I, the Sixtomat J. Even between the meters of the same type, there are differences in manufacturing. Also there are meters made in different colors but of the same model, like the Sixtomat normally in black is also in dark blue and even in dark red. The Sixtomat X3 has been made with a complete transparent housing.
There are several versions of the Sixtomat from 1950 to the 1970th onwards;
Sixtomat, first Sixtomat with metal roller curtain only for reflected light.
Sixtomat, as above but with a ‘L’ on the read out scale and different exposure times, for Leica?
Sixtomat-I deluxe, the metal curtain has been changed to a plastic one enabling measurement of incident light
Sixtomat J, still figuring out what exactly the differences are
Sixtomat Dual,
Sixtomat X2, predecessor of the Sixtomat X3 except for the color finder
Sixtomat X3, Final Sixtomat for measuring reflected light, incident light and color temperature. Sold until the seventies.
Sixtomat X3, version in a transparent housing
Sixtomat X3 with ‘Tower’ label’, version for Sears.
See versions for an overview.
Gossen and Leica.
During time, gossen has made several Leica versions of their meters. Some of them are recognisable by the word Leica or just the “L” on the sacle or the meter itself but some others have no special mark but can be recognised by the values on the scale.
Special thanks to Richard W Holzman and Simon Spaans for additional information and articles.
via Gossen Sixtomat.
[If you like this blog, please take a few seconds to take a look of the ads below. Thank you. TLRgraphy will continuously collect the best information about twin-lens reflex cameras]
Why We Love Old Cameras?
- They are fun! Some are so simple to use… you just aim and shoot! Others, like my LeCoultre Compass, are so complicated to operate that I have to re-learn the controls every time I pick it up. Figuring them out is half the fun.
- Results may vary. Older, non-coated lenses give images a very different look than modern optics. Soft focus, lower contrast images can give you a look that is difficult to imitate with your EOS 5D. On the other hand, some older lenses are on par with today’s best. Sometimes newer isn’t always better!
- They are inexpensive. Except for rare collectible cameras, you don’t have to spend much to buy a precision made classic. Most of the hundreds of cameras in the Seawood Museum I purchased for under $20.00 at yard sales and flea markets. $200 will buy you a old camera that would have cost your grandfather four months salary when new. With so many people dumping their film cameras for digital, there have never been so many available, and that has resulted in record-low prices.
- They interface with modern technology. Why not scan your film and digitally manipulate images shot with classics? Just because the camera was made in 1938 doesn’t mean you have to have to set up your own darkroom. Unless you want to!
- Cameras are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. It’s also fun to see how bad some of them were! I have a simple Agfa Billy Record 6×9 camera that takes incredible images. Probably cost $20 when new. By comparison, I also have a high-end Voightlander Bessa II that has a great reputation but produces mediocre results.
this is a nice summary by Graham Law, Seawood Photo
[If you like this blog, please take a few seconds to take a look of the ads below. Thank you. TLRgraphy will continuously collect the best information about twin-lens reflex cameras]
Camera lens cleaning
It is very normal that the lens of a camera gets dirty… especially for TLRs that are at least 20 years old.
Very often photographers need to clean their lens. Many time i have seen newbies that using inappropriate method to clean lenses that almost destroy the surface coating.
Below is an articles from bhphotovideo on how to properly clean a lens.
The first question most people ask when shopping for a new lens is “Is it sharp?”, yet if you were to pop the lens cap off that new lens a month down the line there’s a 50-50 chance you’ll find dust and a fingerprint or two on it. And if it’s not on the lens, there’s a 50-50 chance there’s dust or a fingerprint or two on the “protective filter,” which was purchased to keep dust and fingerprints off that new lens. And that’s on a DSLR.
If it’s a point-and-shoot camera, there’s even a greater chance of dust or fingerprints on the lens because when you turn the camera off, the lens usually slips behind little louver blades that A) protect the lens, and B) hide the fact there’s dust or a fingerprint on the lens.
Checking your lens for dust and smudges is something you should do on a regular basis, not only to ensure you’re getting the sharpest possible pictures, but also because a fingerprint or alien smudge left to “ripen” can cause permanent damage to the lens coatings. Keeping your lenses clean isn’t rocket science, but nonetheless, is a chore that should be performed carefully, thoughtfully and with the proper tools and techniques.
Dust and smudges on the front element of your lens (or your filter) are the easiest to spot because they’re front and center. While dust and smudges on the front element can diminish sharpness and contrast levels, you lose greater levels of sharpness and contrast when you have dust or smudges on the rear lens element because that’s the one that ultimately projects your image onto the camera’s sensor (or film). If your “projector lens” isn’t clean, your pictures won’t be sharp as they can be.
The Proper Tools for Cleaning Lenses and Filters
- Air blower (Not canned air!)
- Camel-hair brush
- Lens tissue or micro-fiber cloth
- Methyl alcohol (aka methanol or wood alcohol)
The Proper Technique for Cleaning Your Lens or Filter
The surface of your camera’s lens has special coatings designed to maximize contrast, color saturation and color fidelity as well as minimize flare. These coatings can be scratched easily, and as such, when cleaning your lens it’s always a good idea to keep things simple. If dust or loose grit is the only villain, the best way to get rid of it is to gently brush the surface of the lens with a soft, camel-hair brush or give it a few blasts of air using a bulb-style air blower. Avoid using pressurized canned air. Avoid grinding grit into the lens surface with a cleaning cloth.
Smudges and fingerprints take a bit more effort, and here too, you should be as gentle as possible. Start by taking a soft micro-fiber cloth or a piece of lens tissue (folded, not bunched up), breathe onto the lens surface (never dry-clean a lens) and gently wipe the lens surface in a circular motion. Repeat if needed using a fresh piece of lens tissue or clean portion of the micro fiber cloth. If this doesn’t work, try dampening the tissue or cloth with a few drops of methanol (wood alcohol) or alcohol based lens-cleaning fluid and try again by gently wiping the lens in a circular motion.
Alcohol or lens-cleaning fluid should never be applied directly onto the lens surface. Doing so can possibly harm the lens coatings and/or compromise the adhesives that hold the lens elements in place.
If you’re out on a shoot and need to clean dust or smudges off your lens, and do not have a micro-fiber cloth or lens tissue with you, a cotton t-shirt or similar cotton-based material (preferably old and not freshly starched) should do the job equally well. What you never want to use is facial tissue, paper towels, polyester-based material, or any type of coarse or abrasive fabric or paper surface.
If the above procedures fail to do the job, or if gritty particles that can scratch the lens coatings are embedded in the smudge, you’d be wise to have a qualified technician address the problem.
If you can see a few bits of dust floating around between your lens’s inner elements, they’re not worth fretting over, as they will have little if any visible impact on the sharpness levels of your photographs, and are certainly not worth the time, trouble, or expense of having the lens taken apart, cleaned and reassembled.
Dust on your Mirror and Imaging Sensor
A common misconception about dust is that you can see it in your camera’s viewfinder. The truth is the specs of dust you see in your viewfinder are not on your lens, but on your camera’s mirror. These dust marks, as distracting as they may be, do not affect your picture quality. Now before you take your lens off and try to clean your mirror, be advised the mirror in your camera is a surface-coated mirror finish, which can be permanently scratched with little effort on your part. Never, ever try blasting dust off with canned air, because you’ll most likely pit or scar the mirrored coating, or even blow the mirror off its hinges altogether.
The most drastic action you should take is to try removing the dust particles by gently blowing them off with a bulb-type air blower. If this doesn’t do the trick, bring the camera to a trained technician or simply live with it because as noted above, dust on the mirror is annoying, but will not affect your picture quality.
Dust marks on your image files―specifically, blurry smudge-like marks that appear repeatedly on the same portions of all of your image files―are caused by dust on your camera’s imaging sensor. Here too, the most drastic and least invasive action you should try on your own is to remove the lens, set your camera to the mirror-lock position, and gently blow it off with a bulb-style air blower while holding the camera face down. If this does not work, it’s recommended that you have a trained technician clean your camera’s sensor. And just as you should never blast your mirror with canned air, the same goes for your camera’s imaging sensor.
TLRgraphy 