Curt Bentzin
Werkstätte für photographische Apparate (1889 - 1945)
Industrieverwaltung Feinmechanik-Optik-Elektrotechnik Sachsen (1945 - 1948)
Primar Kamerwerk-Görlitz (1948 - 1951)
VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz (1951 - )
Görlitz - Dresden - Germany

Curt Bentzin Werkstätte für photographische Apparate was founded in 1889 by Curt Bentzin, and have always be known for its high quality cameras and innovative designs and were one of the most succesful companies in Dresden in their field. From 1939 the company was lead by Curt Bentzin's son, Ludwig who continued the path laid out by his father.The truly innovative camera Primarflex were introduced in the mid-thirties, and were for sure sold as of 1935. During the II World War, Bentzin produced aerial cameras for the Luftwaffe. Immediately after the war, in 1945, the company was put under state control, and finally in 1951 it was taken over by the VEB conglomerate. The list of interesting camera design which came out of the Bentzin factory is long. To name a few; Primar Reflex, Stereo Primar, Studio Primar, Primarflex a.m.o.

Primarflex  SLR
Serial no.: 28100
Format:  6 x 6 on 120 rollfilm
Optics: Meyer Trioplan 1:2,8  100mm (thread mount)
Shutter:  Focal plane  B + 1 sec. => 1/1000 sec. + self timer
Misc.: Interchangeable lenses

This is one extremely beautiful camera. Introduced in 1935 the Primarflex were way ahead of its time and the build quality is exquisit. Of course the Primarflex also have it's "Achilles heel" like most other cameras, and when it comes to this camera it is the cloth focal plane shutter which in many cases gets unprecise, and of course the cloth deteriorates over time. But it IS an old lady. It have always proved to be a problem to get medium format focal plane shutters to operate properly and to be 100% reliable, and similar problems are seen on the Reflex Korelle and the later Pentacon Six. Having said that I will also say, that the Primaflex are a camera worth having restored and repaired. Let's have a look at the camera itself. All controls are on the beautiful die cast plate on the right side, except for the focussing and the aperture setting which are on the interchangeable lens. The shutter release with thread for cable release are placed on the front through the operating panel. There a 2 viewfinders, a sports collapsible viewfinder on top of the viewfinder cover and the ordinary ground-glass screen viewfinder shielded by the most exquisit soft leather.  When opening the back cover, the film insert comes out for easy film loading, allthough film loading on a Primarflex isn't that easy really. The Primarflex models were produced until 1954 when production seized.

Yes, it DOES look a lot like a Hasselblad doesn't it ?, and maybe that's not without reason. When the young Viktor Hasselblad was 18 years old, his father sent him to Dresden to be educated in the photographic industry which blossomed at that time. It must have been around 1924, but it is not known how longed he stayed there. But it is almost certain that he must have got aqquainted with the Curt Bentzin company, and it is suggested that he even worked there for some time. It's is also suggested that Viktor Hasselblad in fact was an early Primarflex user himself, being an entuisiastic bird watcher. Viktor returned to Sweden and opened his own photo store in 1937, and he must surely have known the Primatflex at that point. During the II World War in 1941, a german aircraft crashed over neutral Sweden, and an aerial camera was recovered from the wreck. The swedish army approached Viktor Hasselblad, and commisioned him to design and manufacture a similar camera, and thus was the Hasselblad born. But could it be, that the german aerial camera was a Curt Bentzin Primaflex modification ?. Personally I have no doubts, that Viktor Hasselblad was indeed very familiar with the Primarflex, and that this fine piece of photographic equipment were the main inspiration to him. Who knows, if the Primarflex hadn't excisted, the Hasselblad may have looked very different from the camera we know today.