13 and 12 researched events on one shared scale. Linhof 1887–present, Meyer-Optik Görlitz 1896–present.
The axis stretches where either maker has research and collapses where neither does, so a year sits opposite the same year on both. Event counts differ because research depth differs, not because one company did less.
Valentin Linhof founded a Munich precision-mechanical workshop in 1887 and pursued metal camera construction while wooden plate cameras remained common. Early upright, square, stereo-panorama, and large plate cameras established the company’s long-running emphasis on rigid standards, controlled movement, and repeatable manufacture.
Historische Kameras · Linhof 1957 Product Catalog · Linhof History
Optician Hugo Meyer and merchant Heinrich Schätze founded the Optisch-Mechanische Industrie-Anstalt Hugo Meyer & Co. in Görlitz in 1896. The workshop began with photographic optics, expanded beyond its first Löbauer Straße premises, and moved production to Biesnitzer Straße in 1901. Early Aplanat and Aristostigmat products established the firm's place in the Görlitz camera and optical cluster.
Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · 100 Jahre Plasmat — Photographie
Meyer acquired the Görlitz-based Optische Anstalt Schulze & Billerbeck in 1911 and absorbed its Euryplan line. Trioplan production is documented by the mid-1910s, although published dates and designer attributions conflict. The company also expanded into projection optics and products for the growing camera and cine markets.
History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · 100 Jahre Plasmat — Photographie
Former Carl Zeiss designer Paul Rudolph began collaborating with Meyer around 1920 on the Plasmat family. Doppel-Plasmat, Kino-Plasmat, Makro-Plasmat, and related designs extended Meyer's technical range, while OEM supply to Ihagee and other camera makers made interchangeable lenses a larger part of the business. Period evidence places the Trioplan, Euryplan, Aristostigmat, Plasmat, Primoplan, and Tele-Megor names within a varied catalog rather than a single system.
Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta · History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · 100 Jahre Plasmat — Photographie
Nikolaus Karpf entered the family firm, completed the Ur-Technika prototype in 1934, and refined the folding technical camera for production. The Technika name joined a protected metal body and drop bed with view-camera movements, creating the portable professional platform that would become Linhof’s defining product line.
The firm adopted the name Optische und Feinmechanische Werke Hugo Meyer & Co. in 1936. Civil photographic production gave way to military optical work during the war, and manufacturing was partly relocated. In 1945 the production equipment was removed to the Soviet Union as reparations, forcing a physical reconstruction of the works.
Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · The Meyer-Optik Story
The rebuilt Munich works introduced the Technika III in 1946 and developed coupled-rangefinder Super Technika versions for export during the 1950s. By 1957 Linhof offered 6×9, 4×5, and 5×7 bodies, the Technika Press, and the Aero Technika, supported by tested lenses from specialist German optical makers.
1956: Linhof Technika Press · Linhof 1957 Product Catalog · Linhof History
Production restarted on a small scale in 1946. The enterprise entered public ownership as VEB Optisch-Feinmechanische Werke Görlitz and was renamed VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz in 1948. Archival balance-sheet holdings begin with the 1 July 1946 opening balance, while later histories describe the legal confirmation and name transition as a process rather than a single instantaneous event.
Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Saxon State Archive holdings: opening balances for Hugo Meyer & Co. and related photographic firms · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Sechzig Jahre Meyer-Optik: Festschrift des VEB Feinoptisches Werk, Görlitz
Linhof translated its precision-camera practice into the Kardan optical bench. Color, Bi, Standard, and Super Color versions placed movable standards on rails for long extension, format changes, and controlled perspective in studio, industrial, and architectural work, complementing rather than replacing the folding Technika.
Linhof General Catalog 6603/52e · Historische Kameras · Linhof 1957 Product Catalog · Linhof History
The VEB installed antireflection-coating capability in 1952 and sold lenses under the Meyer-Optik product mark. Trioplan, Primoplan, Telemegor, Helioplan, and Primotar lines were joined or replaced by designs such as Lydith, Oreston, Orestor, Orestegon, and Orestegor. Period brochures show supply for several 35mm mounts and for Praktisix/Pentacon Six, while long telephotos used interchangeable rear adapters. A new Görlitz building with surface-treatment facilities opened in 1966.
Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta · Tele Megor and Telemegor — Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz · History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Publicity for lenses for the Praktisix and Pentacon Six · Zeittafel DDR-Kleinbild-Wechselobjektive · Sechzig Jahre Meyer-Optik: Festschrift des VEB Feinoptisches Werk, Görlitz
Technika 70, Press 70, Aero Press, Electric 70, and the fixed-lens Linhof 220 explored faster roll-film work. Bright-frame finders, coupled lenses, exposure metering, motorized transport, and interchangeable backs carried Linhof precision into press, travel, aerial, and industrial photography beyond the classic 4×5 field camera.
Linhof General Catalog 6603/52e · 1966: Linhof 220 · Historische Kameras · Linhof Technika 70
Super Technika V bodies in 4×5, 5×7, and 6×9 refined the drop-bed system with rangefinder coupling, triple extension, revolving backs, and extensive movements. The formats were distinct cameras, not interchangeable labels; the large 5×7 branch continued through 1986 while smaller versions followed their own production paths.
Linhof General Catalog 6603/52e · Historische Kameras · 1964: Super Technika V 13x18/5x7
VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz was integrated into the Kombinat VEB Pentacon Dresden in 1968. Meyer-Optik markings continued during a transition, but Pentacon publicity and surviving objects show the old lens names and maker label being replaced around 1970-1971. Integration date, brochure date, and engraving date must therefore be recorded separately.
Saxon State Archive holdings: SED organization at VEB Pentacon, Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz · Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta · History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Publicity for lenses for the Praktisix and Pentacon Six · Zeittafel DDR-Kleinbild-Wechselobjektive
The former Görlitz works continued manufacturing within Pentacon. Several Meyer calculations and mechanical platforms persisted as Pentacon or Pentacon Prakticar lenses, and export names could obscure origin further. Post-1970 serials do not form a dependable universal year sequence; low-number blocks can follow much larger serials, and model, mount, and barrel evidence become essential.
Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Publicity for lenses for the Praktisix and Pentacon Six · Zeittafel DDR-Kleinbild-Wechselobjektive
Aero Technika 45 EL combined motorized large-format transport, vacuum film flatness, and interchangeable focusing lenses for aerial work. Linhof records American and European mission use, while the later Aerotronica 69 adopted a rotating high-speed shutter and a large 6×9 motor cassette for mapping and observation.
Linhof Precision Cameras and Systems · Historische Kameras · Linhof History
The fixed-lens Technorama 617 began Linhof’s 6×17 panoramic line in 1976. A redesigned body, the 612pc II with built-in rise, and the interchangeable-lens 617s III expanded the idea. Shift accessories and lens modules brought architectural control to rigid roll-film cameras before original lens supply ended.
Technikardan cameras rotated their standards around a telescoping monorail for compact transport, combining field portability with direct view-camera movements in 6×9 and 4×5. In parallel, Kardan Master GT and GTL systems offered heavier modular studio construction, yaw-free controls, and conversions through larger sheet-film formats.
The Görlitz operation moved into the VEB Carl Zeiss Jena combine during the 1984-1985 reorganization. In 1990 it was separated as Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz GmbH and again shipped some Meyer-Optik-marked products. The short-lived company did not establish a competitive production base and the Görlitz works closed on 30 June 1991. Some 1990-1991 Meyer-marked large-format lenses were actually supplied from the Carl Zeiss Jena Saalfeld plant.
Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta · History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991
Master Technika models carried the folding 4×5 lineage into current production. The classic retained coupled rangefinder use, while the 2000 and later 3000 emphasized ground-glass focusing and extreme wide-angle operation. Modern accessories also connect film-era bodies to roll-film and digital-back workflows.
Linhof Precision Cameras and Systems · Historische Kameras · Linhof Price Listing, valid as of February 1, 2023 · Linhof History
Introduced in 1996, the M 679 was conceived for both medium-format film and digital backs. The M 679cc added direct rear-standard correction in 2000; the M 679cs of 2004 integrated a leveling panorama base and refined movements, making one studio platform adaptable across rapidly changing capture systems.
Development stages of the Linhof M 679 · Linhof Price Listing, valid as of February 1, 2023 · Linhof History
Linhof Präzisions-Systemtechnik GmbH was founded in 1998 and remains registered in Munich. Its current program continues precision camera manufacture, including Technika, Technikardan, Kardan, M 679, Techno, panoramic, and reproduction platforms, while the factory openly limits service for many older discontinued models.
Linhof Impressum · Service and spare parts · Linhof Price Listing, valid as of February 1, 2023 · Linhof History
The Linhof Techno combines Technika lensboards with the M 679 rear standard in a compact platform for digital backs and roll-film cassettes. Wide-angle bellows, front and rear shifts, and interchangeable adapters show how Linhof has carried the mechanical language of the technical camera into contemporary location photography.
Linhof Price Listing, valid as of February 1, 2023 · Linhof History
Koblenz-based net SE relaunched the Meyer Optik Görlitz name at photokina 2014 and marketed manual lenses through conventional sales and crowdfunding. The enterprise was a trademark revival rather than a continuation of the Görlitz factory. net SE filed for insolvency in July 2018 with multiple projects and customer obligations unresolved.
History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · net SE insolvent: the end of Meyer Optik Görlitz, C. P. Goerz and Oprema Jena? · Meyer Optik Görlitz is to be revived
OPC Optical Precision Components Europe GmbH acquired the Meyer Optik Görlitz trademark rights and design materials from the insolvent net SE or SEMI Verwaltung GmbH in December 2018, without assuming the predecessor's debts. OPC audited the inherited portfolio, rejected the modified Russian Somnium and modified Chinese Nocturnus lines, and released a rebuilt Trioplan 100 II in June 2020 followed by additional II-series lenses.
History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Company history · Successful start to the year for Meyer Optik Görlitz · Meyer Optik Görlitz relaunched by OPC Optics following insolvency
A new Meyer Optik Görlitz GmbH began operating in 2021 within the OPC group, and a Hamburg lens manufactory opened that November. Official material describes optical-component production within the German group, German precision-mechanical suppliers, and hand assembly in Hamburg. Current products are manual-focus, full-frame lenses offered in several legacy and modern mounts. The current legal entity is registered in Hamburg; official group pages and a 2026 registry mirror should be reconciled before stating exact current ownership or control.
Manufactory: Handcrafted Camera Lenses Made in Germany · Trioplan 100 f2.8 II · Meyer Optik Görlitz GmbH, Hamburg · Company history · Meyer Optik Görlitz — a real company again · Legal notice · Frequently Asked Questions · Meyer Optik Görlitz — New manufactory in the heart of Hamburg · Legal notice
Read either maker on its own: Linhof · Meyer-Optik Görlitz
