Old Nikons and Other Photographic Items: The object at hand: Copy Stand Device for Akarette/Akarelle

The AkA Akarette/Akarelle copier

Many of the West German leaf-shutter 35mm RF camera manufacturers offered close-up devices for their cameras These usually consisted of a closeup lens that mounted on the front of the prime lens, sometimes combined with a parallax-compensating view-glass that adjusted the rangefinder/viewfinder image for the closer distances. These devices usually dropped the closest focusing distance from a meter to half that distance, or around 18 inches.

Illustration from French ad.

AkA also offered a range of closeup lenses, but in the company’s goal of marketing a full systems camera, they also offered copy stands that could be used with either extension tubes or closeup lenses. By doing so, their Akarette/Akarelle cameras joined a small group of rangefinder 35s that enabled true closeup photography all the way down to a 1:1 ratio.

Each of these companies offered different approaches to solving the same problem: how does one set the focus, then change from viewing to substituting the camera into the film path to take the picture. Does one slide the camera over into position, displacing the focusing ground glass in the process (Leica, Nikon P), remove the focuser/framer and attach the camera (Nikon S, SA, Contax, Leica), or attach both the camera and a focuser to a rotating platform (Contax “revolver”).

The similar in concept Zeiss Ikon 'revolver' for Contax.

AkA appeared to have offered two options: a stand with the lens screwed to a holder and a removable focuser above, or a rotating platform that held both the focuser and the camera. To use the rotating unit, the photographer positions the focusing screen over the lens, composes and focuses, then rotates the platform 180 degrees to substitute the camera and takes the picture. In concept, it is similar to the Zeiss Revolver, except that it is easier to rotate the AkA’s platform since changing does not require lifting the spring-loaded upper part before turning.

In practice, the second type is easy to operate. The ground glass has no condenser, so the view shows edge falloff. It does offer a nice etched grid for composing. With just a normal lens, focus is at about sixteen inches.With a 1.5+ diopter closeup lens the distance drops to six inches. I am not sure what other combinations will yield. One problem is that once the camera is fastened in place, it is impossible to change the the shutter speed. So one needs to plan settings in advance.

The rotating copy stand that I have consists of two aluminum disks each machined out of stock, The top has a machined art deco swirly surface: different and kind of neat. A large screw holds the two together and provides the pivot point. The focuser was missing, as well as the stand. I can use a Zeiss focuser without a problem. The post is internally threaded for 3/8 inch, allowing direct mounting on a tripod, but I also manufactured a new stand out of plumbing pipe. Long ago, the person who assembled this unit etched a number ‘2’ on the inside of both the top and bottom parts.

Inner surface of
bottom plate showing number 2

Otherwise, there is no serial number. We have no idea how many AkA manufactured, but probably not many.
With the copy stand set at maximum height, the lens covers an area of about nine by six inches, or 1/6 life size. With the 1.5x closeup lens added and the lens focus set at its closest distance, the coverage is about 82mm X 50mm, .5X reduction, or half life size.

Results are good but not gee-whiz, due more to the limitations of the front-element focusing Xenar than the copy stand’s potential. Since I like to do closeup work, I will continue to experiment.