Meyer-Optik Görlitz

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.

History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · 100 Jahre Plasmat — Photographie · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991

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 · 100 Jahre Plasmat — Photographie · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991

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.

History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · 100 Jahre Plasmat — Photographie · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta

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

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 · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Saxon State Archive holdings: opening balances for Hugo Meyer & Co. and related photographic firms · Sechzig Jahre Meyer-Optik: Festschrift des VEB Feinoptisches Werk, Görlitz

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.

History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Publicity for lenses for the Praktisix and Pentacon Six · Zeittafel DDR-Kleinbild-Wechselobjektive · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta · Sechzig Jahre Meyer-Optik: Festschrift des VEB Feinoptisches Werk, Görlitz · Tele Megor and Telemegor — Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz

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.

History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Saxon State Archive holdings: SED organization at VEB Pentacon, Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz · Publicity for lenses for the Praktisix and Pentacon Six · Zeittafel DDR-Kleinbild-Wechselobjektive · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta

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.

Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Publicity for lenses for the Praktisix and Pentacon Six · Zeittafel DDR-Kleinbild-Wechselobjektive · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta

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.

History: Meyer Optik 1896-today · Hugo Meyer — Geschichte der Fotoindustrie in Görlitz · Large Format Lenses from the Eastern Bloc Countries, 1945-1991 · Hugo Meyer and Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses for Exakta

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 · Meyer Optik Görlitz is to be revived · net SE insolvent: the end of Meyer Optik Görlitz, C. P. Goerz and Oprema Jena?

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 · Meyer Optik Görlitz relaunched by OPC Optics following insolvency · Successful start to the year for Meyer Optik Görlitz · Company history

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.

Meyer Optik Görlitz — a real company again · Meyer Optik Görlitz — New manufactory in the heart of Hamburg · Company history · Legal notice · Legal notice · Meyer Optik Görlitz GmbH, Hamburg · Frequently Asked Questions · Trioplan 100 f2.8 II · Manufactory: Handcrafted Camera Lenses Made in Germany