Panalux cameras

[elizabeth]

Hello, this is my first post ever on this board.  I am a photo curator working on an exhibition of a photographer active in the 1970s and '80s who sometimes used a Panalux camera.  I understand that this was a World War I era camera that was once used by infantry.  The panoramic prints he made from this camera are excellent quality and they are fairly small 5 x around 16 inches. 

Can anyone tell me about this type of camera and if that information sounds correct?  I'm unsure about this being a World War I era camera that was still making such sharp photos.  What kind of film would it have used?

Thanks very much - I deeply appreciate any info anyone can share.

[raybar]

The word "panalux" does not appear in any of my reference books.

The closest company names are Panon, Panox, and Panorax.

Panon made swing-lens panoramic cameras, the Panon Wide Angle Camera (c1952) using 120 film, and Widelux (from c1959) cameras using 35mm film. One of these is probably what you are looking for.

Panox also made swing lens cameras, the Panophic (c1963) and the Panoix Wide Angle Camera (c1958), both of which used 120 film.

Panorax made the Panorax 35-ZI using 35mm film.

[belgiumreporter]

After consulting different libraries and sites i've come to the same conclusion as Raybar, it seems like no Panalux camera exists, if it did exist it might have been a one off build possibly created on special order for the military to make panoramic overviews of battlefields or such.

For what its worth i can add there's a large misconseption about old photographs being unsharp, even in the late 1800 's pin sharp pictures were made this was possible due to the mostly large format negatives (or plates) used and the static nature of the subjects. Top quality sharp lenses already existed, one of the main problems with these was the lack of (anti reflective) coating wich brought down contrast . This problem was solved after WWII when metal oxides were vaporised on the lens elements (later on, even multiple layers) creating anti reflective coatings wich improved contrast and colour rendering.

[julio1fer]

Do you have any additional information, for instance country of origin, places where it was used, names of camera operators? Can you date the pictures from clothing or other clues?

The aspect ratio of the prints that you mention could be an useful clue to narrow the field, supposing they were made from full negatives.

5 inches is quite wide for rollfilm in a portable instrument. If those are contact prints they most likely came from a special-purpose camera, such as for naval or aerial reconnaissance.