Wollensak Optical was an American manufacturer of audio-visual products located in Rochester, New York . At the height of their popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, many brands of movie cameras came with a Wollensak Velostigmat lens. Wollensak reel-to-reel tape recorders were prized for their robust construction and value. In the 1960s, Wollensak was the choice tape recorder for amateur home, school, and office uses. They were produced in both stereo and mono designs.
9-399: The firm was founded in 1899 by Andrew Wollensak to produce camera shutters. At its peak in the 1950s, it employed over 1000 people. The company had several owners, including Revere Camera Company and 3M Company. Wollensak ceased operation in 1972. Wollensak began making camera lenses in 1902. The company also produced camera shutters for large format cameras. They made shutters such as
18-527: A rate of 10,000 frames/second. Fastax cameras were used for recording projectiles and explosions, including nuclear explosions. The cameras, with the rotating prism removed, were used for "streak" and "smear" photography . Wollensak made only one still camera model, the "Stereo 10" 35 mm 3D camera . They formed a partnership with the Revere Camera Company that led to them offering some movie cameras (mostly 8 mm) under their name in
27-558: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Revere Camera Company The Revere Camera Company was started in 1920 by Samuel Briskin, who also started Wollensak Recorders and Opticals. The Revere Camera Company was founded in the early 1920s in Chicago, Illinois , as the Excel Auto Radiator Company by Ukrainian immigrant Samuel Briskin. Built for Excel – and designed by Alfred S. Alschuler ,
36-641: The Dremel Moto-tool . The Revere-O-Matic was a 0.55 ampere model that operated at 15,000 r.p.m. (Model No. RG-1). The tools that attached to its collet are compatible with the Dremel tool. The standard product included a table mount and a system for duplicating objects, adaptable to the Dremel without modification. Samuel Briskin was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 1960 and sold the company to 3M for $ 17 million (equivalent to $ 175 million in 2023). This United States corporation or company article
45-470: The 1950s and early 1960s. 3M also used the Wollensak brand name on audio tape recorders for many years; the Wollensak recorders were solidly built with all-metal construction. They were among the first manufacturers of cassette decks, as well as 8-track decks for home use. This electronics-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This photography-related article
54-598: The Betax, Alphax, Optimo and, for the Graflex Corporation, Rapax. The Betax shutters were patented in 1912 and remain popular for large format photographers. Betax shutters are made in sizes from #0 to the huge size #5. These shutters are very reliable and relatively easy to repair. Wollensak purchased the Fastax high speed rotating-prism camera developed by Bell Labs from Western Electric , and improved it to
63-621: The depression. In November 1952, Revere purchased the nearby Atwell Building – also designed by Alfred S. Alschuler – at 221 E. Cullerton St., Chicago, Illinois – and operated machinery on four of the building's eight floors. In the 1950s, the company was the second largest manufacturer of small movie cameras in the United States. In order to grow that business further the company took over their primary lens and shutter supplier, New Jersey–based Wollensak Optical Co. The Revere brand name had become synonymous with budget cameras; soon after
72-597: The manufacturing facility was located at 320 E. 21st St., Chicago, Illinois. They started making budget 8 mm movie cameras in 1939 through a subsidiary run by Briskin's sons, such as the Revere 88 Movie Camera and the Revere 85 8mm Projector. That company was later merged into Excel Auto Radiator Co., which then changed its name to Revere Camera Co. The Revere name is taken from the Revere Copper Company , which provided financial backing for Excel during
81-423: The take-over Wollensak models appeared that were mechanically almost-identical to the standard Revere models but had better lenses, more stylish casing, and sold for a premium price. Revere started manufacturing tape recorders in the early 1950s. That side of the business never became an important part of the company's output. Revere, starting probably in the 1950s, produced a rotary grinding hand tool similar to
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