Gamma Hungarian Duflex + 3,5/5cm Gammar Lens (1948)

 A tribute to a Genious

Contribution of Zoltàn Fejèr

Ser. Nº 1490450
Very rare and important Hungarian 35mm SLR with viewfinder, first reflex camera to have a metal steel sheet focal plane shutter and eye level view finder, using a special Porro Type image erector. This camera is also known by the introduction of the instant return mirror and the automatic diafragm, at least ten years before these features became of common use.

This camera uses a specially built normal lens, but accepts all telephoto lenses of Contax rangefinder due the small lens register for a reflex camera.

  Conceived, developed and built by Jeno Dulovits, at Gamma Works of Budapest, in 1942. He was the previous inventor of DUTO soft lenses. DUTO= (Jeno DUlovits + Mikos TÓth = partnership in 1930) these  were filter-like lenses that contained in a Fresnel-like finish a slight positive and a slight negative diopters. That way you always have one sharp focused image and two slight defocused images of the main subject. Invariably, other points at the image, not the main subject, will be in focus, a nearer one, and a farther one. This means increased depth of focus and more quantity of focused images.

In 1950 years, the Russian State Optics Institute, developed high aperture lenses with exceptional depth of focus doing such proceedings, directly at the front lens element. Such procedures, although proved to be of too costly  at manufacturing.

  

DUFLEX = DUlovitz reFLEX  

 

Duflex camera with Gammar 3.5/50 

Duflex camera with Maxar 2/50

Other lenses included Artar 3.5/50, the above Gammar and Artar 3.5/90 

(picture from promotion leaflet) 

Petzval camera and lens and Duflex - two Hungarian cameras - 

(picture from promotion leaflet) 

 

Duflex rear view showing the two viewfinders, the Porro finder at lower left and the Albada at the upper center,at its side, the frame counter.

 

 

X-Ray of camera seen from the back.

 

 X-Ray of camera seen from the front. 

Duflex part 2 

 

Rear view of camera mechanics showing its frame size of 24X32mm 

 

Camera and lens. View of bayonets. Note similarity with Contax outer bayonet. 

 

Maxar lens 2/50 

Diagram and curves of Maxar 2/50 lens. Note similarities with Sonnar 1.5/50 and Jupiter-3 1.5/50 clone.

 

 

Duflex modular mirror finder. 

 Duflex modular mirror finder schematics.

  

1-                                                 objective

2-                                                 fixed mirrors

3-                                                 swinging mirror

4-                                                 camera body

5-                                                 ocular

6-                                                 observer

 -        Ray path.

 

 Prototype of second model. Now using pentaprism finder. Rebuilt t MOM Optical Works Budapest (1950) Ludwig Meritar 2.9/45mm in M42 Contax S mount.  

 

Addendum: 

Dulovits Jenő (Bp., 1903. june. 22. – Bp., 1972. july. 24.) Teacher, photographer, cinematogrpher, cameraman, diplomat graduated in 1927, and auto didatic in mathematics.  He played a distinguished role in the formation of backlight photography, the so-called "Hungarian style". The "DUTO" diffusing supplementary lens developed together with Imre Tóth was used all over the world. In 1943 he patented the DUFLEX camera, the first reflex and miniature camera in the world with eye-level shot, horizontal view, working with an objective with automatically setting diaphragm. Some of the technical solutions he applied preceded the international leaders with one decade. Only a small series of these cameras were made in the Gamma Works of Budapest, in the second half of 1940s Responsible by various films: – F. m. Lichtkontraste und ihre Überwindung (Wien, 1936); Művészi fényképezés (Bp., 1940); Meine Technik – meine Bilder (Halle am Saale, 1953); Így fényképezek (Bp., 1957). also.was invited by the film director István Szots s in 1943 to shoot the Ballad of Kádár Kata, and he directed the feature film "A fire burning on the mountain" in 1945.

 

      

Jenó Dulovitz  and the first Duflex proposed body (1939) built together Szolgalat Muszaki and  Laszlo Horvath .

Duto filters 1 & 2 , presentation  cases and  Original Duflex packing.

 

Comments of Ian Platt at “Photographic Alliance of Great Britain” Summer 2005 issue.