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Braun Super Paxette
The Braun Super Paxette (also known as the Braun Super II) was a rangefinder camera that was made in Nürnberg, West Germany, in the 1950's. This is not the same German company that is known for making coffeemakers and electric razors today, the name is coincidental.
The Braun Paxette was, as they say, 'made to a price'. During the immediate post-WWII years in England, cameras made in Germany were prohibited - this meant no Leicas or Contaxes could be imported. However, they weren't banned by name - they were banned by price. The Braun was made to sell for less money - so it could be imported into Great Britain. It is a fun camera - but it is no Leica.
The Paxette was made in several varieties over the years, some with interchangeable lens capability and some without. The camera was also made with an old-fashioned 'extinction meter' in place of a rangefinder. Only the cameras designated 'super' had a coupled rangefinder. It was possible to obtain the Paxette in four variations; with or without rangefinder, and with or without removable lenses.
Interestingly enough, the Paxette lens mount (for the cameras which permitted the lens to be removed) used a 39mm thread mount that was quite similar to the Leica thread mount. The thread pitch was slightly different, but it was very close, and so Paxette lenses can be screwed onto a Leica camera body, and in fact, they are often mistaken for Leica lenses made by third parties.
However, these lenses will not work on a Leica camera. The 'flange-to-film' distance from the rear of the lens to the film plane is significantly different. The Leica uses a focal-plane shutter, while the Braun Paxette has a Compur leaf shutter. The leaf shutter is thicker than a cloth shutter, so the distance between the rear of the lens and the Leica film plane is 28.8 mm, while the Paxette's is 44 mm. This means that in order to focus correctly, a Paxette lens would have to have a spacer 15.2 mm thick inserted between the lens and the body of the Leica - and of course, it would not have rangefinder coupling.
Braun did not make their own lenses for the Paxettes. They were made by a large variety of West German third-party lens makers - virtually a 'who's who' of German glass. The best-known were made by companies like Zeiss, Schneider-Kreuznach, and others less known, such as Staeble and Roeschlein-Kreuznach.
I don't think that Paxettes are the most wonderful cameras ever made, but they they are fun to use, and with a bit of care, they are capable of making excellent photographs. There are probably 30 different lenses that were made for it, as well as at least three body styles, which makes collecting a complete set a bit of a challenge.
Here are some sample images recently taken with the camera shown above and the two lenses pictured - a 90 mm and a 50 mm.
You can find more photos taken with this Super Paxette on my Flickr set, here:
Braun Super II Flickr Photo Set
Here are some links to more information about Paxettes:
Braun Paxette @ Retrophotography
Paxette @ Camerapedia
Braun Paxette @ UK Camera
Braun Paxette II @ The Living Image Vintage Camera Museum
Paxette Super II Manual - Butkus
29.10.2007. 14:29
As a dedicated Paxette fan (someone has to love them), I'd like to congratulate you on an amazing job at covering all the major bases in a clear, easy to read style. Given the number of Paxettes out there, the misinformation to fact ratio is regrettably high in a lot of sources. Rather than trying to put people right myself, I'll refer them to this page.
From my own perspective, I have found the later Paxettes (I have several Super II L and Super II BL) more robust and easier to work on/clean than internet reputation suggests. That said, I agree that they are no competition for Leica & Contax as far and materials and build quality go.
Cheers,
Michael.
Annette Kersting on 29.01.2008. 19:36
I found your name while doing some research in order to find an old photography store in Royal Oak Michigan. Do you know what happens to old photos &/or negatives when a shop goes out of busisness? This studio was called Clinards Photography. I would appreciate any clues on how to follow up on this. Thank you so much, I know this is outside of your busisness and interest, your time is greatly appreciated. Our wedding (June, 1979) photograph album was recently destroyed in a flood and this contains some of the last photos of some of our family.
Thanks again,
Ammette Kersting
PARMSLK@aol.com
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