8 researched events, 1877 to 2013. Each is dated as its sources date it and carries the references it rests on.
Read the Rodenstock company history →
Josef Rodenstock founded the optical business in Würzburg in 1877; it relocated to Munich during the 1880s and developed into an integrated optical manufacturer.
Dated in the sources as “1877-1880s”. Mixed decade and year wording normalized for scaling.
A period catalog documents a mature photographic range built around Eurynar double anastigmats, Pantogonal extreme wide-angle lenses, and telephoto combinations.
Rodenstock marketed Clarovid folders and the Imagon soft-focus system; museum evidence shows complete cameras could combine purchased bodies with Rodenstock lenses and Deckel shutters.
Dated in the sources as “early 1930s”. Approximate wording normalized to a year range for scaling.
Rodenstock Clarovid II (6 x 9 / 4.5 x 6 cm) · Rodenstock Clarovid · Rodenstock Photographic Camera
Rodenstock supplied fixed, convertible-component, and DKL interchangeable lenses for Kodak Retina cameras while maintaining medium- and large-format families.
Dated in the sources as “1950s-1960s”. Decade wording normalized to its full calendar span for scaling.
G. Rodenstock Lenses - Dealer Notebook Pages · Kodak Retina IIIC Instruction Book · The Retina Guide
The dated dealer notebook lists Sironar, Grandagon, Heligon, Rotelar, Ysarex, Apo-Ronar, Imagon, and Rodagon configurations.
Catalogs reorganized the large-format program around Sironar-N, Grandagon, Apo-Ronar, Imagon, Geronar, and Geronar-WA, alongside a broad enlarging-lens range.
Camera Lenses · Rodenstock Enlarging Lenses · Rodenstock Lenses Sales Brochure 543490400301
The precision-optics branch was separated from the ophthalmic company; LINOS acquired Rodenstock Präzisionsoptik in 2000.
Dated in the sources as “1990s-2000”. Mixed decade and year wording normalized for scaling.
The photographic branch passed through Qioptiq, which Excelitas acquired in 2013.
