Paxette was a line of 35mm film viewfinder and rangefinder cameras made by the Braun company in Nuremberg, Germany in the middle part of the 20th century. These cameras were of high quality, with excellent optics. Some of the models in this line had interchangeable lenses, something that was notable since these cameras all used Prontor leaf shutters, rather than the focal plane shutters typically used on such cameras (like the Leica). The interchangeable-lens models, which offered several different lines of lenses made by different noted lens manufacturers, included sizes from 35mm (moderate wide angle) to 135mm (telephoto).
The Paxette lenses had a M39 screw mount mechanically compatible to the Leica M39 screw mount (Leica thread mount, LTM), but the flange focal distance differs, because the leaf shutter needs more space than a focal plane shutter, so the Paxette lenses are not interchangeable with the Leica lenses.
There were also Paxette SLR models, the Paxette Reflex.
Later models of the interchangeable-lens cameras, the Super Paxettes, included a coupled rangefinder, some even a coupled selenium meter.
Paxette Super camera
Paxette models[]
Models list is as to McKeown's pp.152-155, 157-158
- The attached letters indicate the model features:
- I= basic model
- II= exchangeable screwmount lens
- B= light meter
- F= built-in flash
- L= lever rewind
- C= Compur-shutter
- L= Bright framefinder
- LK= light meter, Compur-shutter
- M= uncoupled rangefinder
- Auto= automatic exposure
- Paxette series:
- Braun Paxette (1951)
- Paxette I (1953)
- Paxette I 1954
- Ia (1956)
- I AL (1958)
- Ib (1956)
- I M (1954)
- I L (1958)
- Paxette II series:
- Paxette II (1952)
- II L (1958)
- II BL (1958)
- II M (1953)
- Super Paxette I series:
- Super Paxette I (1956)
- Ib (1956)
- I L (1958)
- Super Paxette II series:
- Super Paxette II (1956)
- II B (1957)
- II L (1958)
- II BL (1958)
- II M
- Paxette 35 series:
- Paxette 35 (1964)
- 35 Auto (1964)
- 35 B (1964)
- 35 LK (1964)
- 35 SB (1964)
- Paxette Automatic series:
- Paxette Automatic (1958)
- Super III (1961)
- Automatic I (1958)
- Paxette Electromatic series:
- Paxette Electromatic (1959)
- I (1960)
- I A (1962)
- II (1960)
- IIs (1960)
- III (1961)
- Paxette 28 series:
- Paxette 28 (1964)
- I (1965)
- Auto (1965)
- B (1964)
- BC (1965)
- F (1965)
- LK (1965)
- Paxette Reflex series:
- Paxette Reflex (1958)
- Reflex automatic (1960)
- Reflex automatic (1962)
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Links[]
- Paxette viewfinder and rangefinder
- Braun Paxette section at Retrography.com by Simon Simonsen, Denmark
- Braun Paxette Camera Manuals (PDF) : Photo-Manuals.com
- Paxette, Paxette I, Paxette Im, Paxette IIm on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand
- Super Paxette 1b review and cleaning instructions on Dominic's Classic Cameras.