My Ermanox Journey

Vince Lupo

Vince Lupo

Nobody's Mentor
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Oct 17, 2007
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I figure this is as good a time as any to start this thread, as I just got the camera back and it's now working.

I've been thinking about this camera for the last 31 years, and finally decided to pull the trigger earlier this year. Why specifically 31 years? Back in November 1990 I had the good fortune to interview Alfred Eisenstaedt in his tiny 28th floor office at the Time Life Building in NYC. I was a first-year undergrad photo student at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, and I chose Alfred Eisenstaedt as my subject for an assignment. Very long story short, during the course of our interview I casually mentioned that I had seen an Ermanox for sale at 28th St. Photo the previous day. He got very excited and asked me about it, and then we had a conversation about the camera and his use of it, as well as the father of photojournalism, Dr. Erich Salomon. Eisenstaedt told me that he always regretted selling his. From that day of our interview until this year, I've thought about the Ermanox.

This camera was purchased from the LeicaShop in Vienna, and of course it wasn't working. So off to the Marshman it went, and he made it brilliantly come back to life (well, mostly). Though the camera is capable of offering twenty different shutter speed combinations (tension number plus slit width), it is most reliable on only five shutter speeds, plus B (O) and T (Z). Frank told me that the springs were weak, so it's best on 1/25, 1/40, 1/80, 1/150 and 1/300. Replacing the springs would likely only gain me three additional speeds at the top end. For now we'll see how we get on with five.

Here's the kit -- original case and cap, plus I now have a whole bunch of 4.5 x 6cm glass plate holders:


Ermanox1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

The lens is the 100/2 Ernostar, which suggests that it's an early version of the camera (plus it does not have the Zeiss Ikon badge), so likely 1924.

Here's a short, shaky video of the shutter in action (click on the photo and it will take you to the video):


Ermanox Shutter by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

And amazingly, I managed to find a 127 format roll film back that fits perfectly:


Rollex 127 Back for Ermanox by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Now the rest is up to me. I can't even hope to achieve anything close to what Erich Salomon did, but I'd like to try to shoot some kind of small indoor event the way he did. For the moment I'll likely get used to the camera via the roll film back, and then put my J. Lane glass plates to use.

One thing that I think is kinda cool -- I was in touch with the Technology and Industry Museum in Dresden (it's housed in the former Ernemann factory building), and they are very interested in acquiring any photos and original glass plates that I might make with the camera!

I hope I'll be able to make this worthwhile for you, if you choose to follow along.
 
What an interesting camera, a very historic one at that and not a common camera.

Kudos to you to tackle such a project .
 
Dr Salomon died in Auschwitz 1944. His work unfinished. Perhaps you can extend his legacy.

A very interesting camera. Sounds like it was the forbearer of the Minox spy camera....in the way it was used.
 
Many memories here. I've seen two or three of these in my lifetime. One lives in a temperature-controlled case in a camera shop in, I think, Queensland. I saw it in the early '00s, so details have been forgotten. I do recall it looked as new, 'tho whether or not it worked, I don't know. I suspect it may be the only one here in Australia - for sure, Ermanoxes didn't grow on coconut palms.

I grew up in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and got into photography in 1961. A very old gentleman in my home town had been the town's commercial photographer in his time. He had a Zeiss Super Ikonta which I coveted, also an Ermanox. In 1962 or 1963 I visited him for an afternoon and he showed me what was left of his gear, including that Ermanox. At the end of my time there, he took me out and shot three negatives of me on his back porch. I processed those in my home darkroom (I do remember I did them in Kodak DK-60A) and I still have them, somewhere in my archives.

As a callow 15-year old I wasn't impressed with his Ermanox (I was more impressed b his Super Ikonta) but I now realise what a rarity it was and of course I've read its history. there cannot be more than a mere handful of those left in the world now, and Vince, you are so fortunate to have one in so-so working condition, able to still make images after almost a century.

He passed away a year or so later. The family emptied the house and sold it. I was told most of his things went to the town dump. In those days old cameras were seen as old things, and if that Ermanox survived it was probably sold off for cents on the dollar, to someone who sold it on, put it away and forgot about it, or turned it to scrap. As most everyone did back then wth many unappreciated old things. If only I had thought of...

Looking for anything in my messy photo archives means an expedition and can take weeks, but I must try to find those negatives and print them.

My congratulations to you, Vince, for having taken the time and made the effort to save this valuable historical item. Your interview with Alfred Eisenstadt rates a thread of its own. I hope you will do this some time soon.
 
ozmoose said:
Many memories here. I've seen two or three of these in my lifetime. One lives in a temperature-controlled case in a camera shop in, I think, Queensland. I saw it in the early '00s, so details have been forgotten. I do recall it looked as new, 'tho whether or not it worked, I don't know. I suspect it may be the only one here in Australia - for sure, Ermanoxes didn't grow on coconut palms.

I grew up in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and got into photography in 1961. A very old gentleman in my home town had been the town's commercial photographer in his time. He had a Zeiss Super Ikonta which I coveted, also an Ermanox. In 1962 or 1963 I visited him for an afternoon and he showed me what was left of his gear, including that Ermanox. At the end of my time there, he took me out and shot three negatives of me on his back porch. I processed those in my home darkroom (I do remember I did them in Kodak DK-60A) and I still have them, somewhere in my archives.

As a callow 15-year old I wasn't impressed with his Ermanox (I was more impressed b his Super Ikonta) but I now realise what a rarity it was and of course I've read its history. there cannot be more than a mere handful of those left in the world now, and Vince, you are so fortunate to have one in so-so working condition, able to still make images after almost a century.

He passed away a year or so later. The family emptied the house and sold it. I was told most of his things went to the town dump. In those days old cameras were seen as old things, and if that Ermanox survived it was probably sold off for cents on the dollar, to someone who sold it on, put it away and forgot about it, or turned it to scrap. As most everyone did back then wth many unappreciated old things. If only I had thought of...

Looking for anything in my messy photo archives means an expedition and can take weeks, but I must try to find those negatives and print them.

My congratulations to you, Vince, for having taken the time and made the effort to save this valuable historical item. Your interview with Alfred Eisenstadt rates a thread of its own. I hope you will do this some time soon.
Click to expand...

Wow great story - if you do happen to find those images, I’d love to see them.

As far as my Ermanox goes, right now I think it only demonstrates my ability to spend money (and I’m very, very good at that). The next, more important step is to make some meaningful pictures with it.
 
Great camera Vince, well done to find and restore it. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures!
 
Vince, the camera has certainly fallen into the right hands! It will be used, rather than decorate a shelf, and it will be used well. Given the work you've shown here on RFF, I'm quite sure you could do splendid work with a Pocket Instamatic.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
Vince, the camera has certainly fallen into the right hands! It will be used, rather than decorate a shelf, and it will be used well. Given the work you've shown here on RFF, I'm quite sure you could do splendid work with a Pocket Instamatic.
Click to expand...

Many thanks - I just hope that I figure out the appropriate subjects to point this camera at!
 
Hi Vince,
I have had my Ermanox for about 10 years now.
The shutter works but is sluggish on slow speeds.
I do not have the correct film holder or roll film back
so have not used it.
Mine is about 7,000 numbers later than yours but still no Zeiss marks.
My training and some of my work was done with glass plates, for
use on the electron microscope.
I have admired the work of Eric Salomon and have a book of his work.
Now to find a cut film holder.
Cheers
Philip
 
Congratulations! I am - like everyone else - very curious how the lens performs.

I see a serial number on the edge of the shutter. Hard to believe there are 1184852 other Ermanox cameras!

Erik.
 
kangaroo2012 said:
Hi Vince,
I have had my Ermanox for about 10 years now.
The shutter works but is sluggish on slow speeds.
I do not have the correct film holder or roll film back
so have not used it.
Mine is about 7,000 numbers later than yours but still no Zeiss marks.
My training and some of my work was done with glass plates, for
use on the electron microscope.
I have admired the work of Eric Salomon and have a book of his work.
Now to find a cut film holder.
Cheers
Philip
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the comment Philip -- I'd love to see a picture of yours!

Yes the glass plate backs and particularly the roll film holder are hard to find. I've been lucky in that the two Ernemann cameras that I have (this one as well as a Miniatur Reflex Klapp which takes the same size holder) came with a number of plate holders, plus I was lucky enough to find more here and there (and it seems that you specifically need Ernemann-branded plate holders, not just any 4.5 x 6cm holder). As well, Jason Lane (of J. Lane Glass Plates) was kind enough to make some custom-sized ASA 25 glass plates for me.

The roll film holder is quite another matter -- it's a 127 film holder, not 120. Plus it's a very specific 127 holder -- I bought another 127 holder that looks very similar to the one pictured above, but it doesn't fit. It has to have that little notch in the upper right corner of the film back in order to engage the little locking latch on the back of the camera. I didn't know that until I got this holder that fits. A case of 'I don't know what I don't know', as this is all new territory for me. Even the Technical and Industry Museum in Dresden (located where the camera was made!) has very little technical information on the camera. So both they and I are learning through this particular camera.

I managed to take my very first 'official' photo with the Ermanox this morning -- of my loving wife, of course. I'm pretty sure that had our cat Millie been still alive, it likely would have been her :)
 
Erik van Straten said:
Congratulations! I am - like everyone else - very curious how the lens performs.

I see a serial number on the edge of the shutter. Hard to believe there are 1184852 other Ermanox cameras!

Erik.
Click to expand...

Many thanks Erik -- I'd suspect that serial number relates to all Ernemann cameras starting in 1889, not strictly Ermanox cameras.
 
Wonderful, compelling story, Vince!

Such a cool camera and a delight that you have one that's working! I look forward to seeing Ermanox photos from you, whether 127 roll film or glass plate ... :)

And you remind me that I loaded my Mamiya Press 23 Super film holders a couple of months ago now with Ilford direct positive paper but have not yet made any exposures... Really have to get on that! LOL!

G
 
Such a compact and innovative design. You have to wonder why it was not widely copied. I guess the closest competitor would have been the compact folding plate cameras like the Patent Etui. Perhaps the Ermanox was just a lot more expensive to produce with that big lens.
 
mconnealy said:
Such a compact and innovative design. You have to wonder why it was not widely copied. I guess the closest competitor would have been the compact folding plate cameras like the Patent Etui. Perhaps the Ermanox was just a lot more expensive to produce with that big lens.
Click to expand...

You're likely right regarding the price of the camera with that lens. One thing is for sure -- you'd definitely get a workout carrying this camera plus all the glass plates around. The camera weighs over 3 lbs!
 
hap said:
Dr Salomon died in Auschwitz 1944. His work unfinished. Perhaps you can extend his legacy.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly what I thought, too. One can find 12 pages of Dr. Salomon's legacy here: https://sammlung-online.berlinische...dule=artist&objectId=7969&viewType=detailView, and those able and/or willing to read German, here https://www.achgut.com/artikel/erich_salomon_ein_grosser_fotoreporter is a short summary of his life, achievements, and death.

Pity and shame, that there is no actual book in print by him; just 2nd hand items. - Very witty man, too, and, together with Eisenstaedt, one of the pioneers of political photo journalism.

Let alone the fact that, two days ago, I lost an online auction for an Ermanox by ten bucks... Enjoy this gem of a historical camera!
 
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