Steiner Brelland – Hunter 35

A couple of almost identical cameras have landed on my bench. The Hunter 35, a 35mm rangefinder, and the Brelland, a 35mm viewfinder. Other than the viewer and the engraved name, both are the same.

Tracing back the manufacturer was easy, although searching for ‘Hunter Camera’ yielded tons of hunting/trail/wildlife cameras. However, once I ignored that, it was straightforward.

The cameras were made by Steiner Optic of Bayreuth, a medieval city in the middle of Germany by the Czech border. The city’s claim to fame is where Richard Wagner chose to build an opera house which hosts the Bayreuth Wagner Festival till these days. In an odd twist of fate, the city’s synagogue was saved from being burned down in the Kristallnacht, as it was too close to the beloved opera house.

The company was established in 1947 by Karl Steiner, an ex-employee of Franka. They began by crafting lenses for other camera makers and advanced into camera production, which did not last long. The camera line was based entirely upon a single model, the Steinette, rebranded for distributors. In 1954, Steiner sold the camera line to an ex-Gerlach enterprise, Nixon Kamera Werk of Wuppertal, who continued with an almost identical model named the Ideal Color 35. Further, within a short decade, Nixon sold the line to Nedinsco of Holland, which continued with the same model under the Primo 35. Today, Steiner Optics makes binoculars and scopes.

The camera variants were:

• Steinette VF and RF, under Steiner’s brand, sold in the US as well.
• Brelland, by Foto Brell, Cologne.
• Hunter 35, by F. Hunter, Britain.
• Tanette, by Tatenhorst, Berlin.
• Reporter, by Kaufhof,
• A Tornette variant is mentioned, but no further reference exists.
• Note that Kaufhof used the Reporter name for several unrelated camera models, each made by a different manufacturer.

The cameras are odd, which is a favourable description for not calling it pitiable. It could pass as a fledgeling Dutch model, but it left much to be desired for a West German camera.

• The body is plastic, probably bakelite, which was in fashion at the time. The top, bottom and lens mount are made of punch steel. It is minute-sized and would be uncomfortable for large hands.
• The top has a winder knob, assisted with two knurled pins. A half-turn pulls the film and cocks the shutter.
• A prominent frame counter is by the winder at the camera’s shoulder.
• A rewind knob is at the other end.
• On the back of the top fascia is a serrated fin; press and hold it for rewind.
• The bottom comes off by turning two pins mounted on a rotating disk, marked ‘O’ and ‘C’.
• The locking disk is marked as made in Germany, which makes sense for the Hunter, but it is odd as the Brelland was made for a German distributor.
• The bottom comes off, while the back is part of the camera, in the early Leica style.
• A large take-off spool sits on the bottom cover, with a slot for the film lead.
• A cavity at the other body end takes the #135 cartridge.
• There is no sprocket to guide and pace the film, so frame distance would increase as the film winds up on the take-off spool.
• The take-off spool just sits on the bottom cover and will easily drop off . It is missing on one of the cameras, rendering the camera useless.
• A spring-loaded pressure plate almost touches the image mask, marked with an arrow for where to slide the film.
• At the front of the lens mount are:
  • The aperture setting fin, clearly marked.
  • The shutter speed dial, meagre B, 25-200.
  • The focusing dial.
  • The shutter masquerades as a leaf shutter but is a single-leaf guillotine type.
• The rangefinder model adds a second viewer window. The distance is measured by turning a small disk in front of the rewind knob. It is not coupled with the lens, so manually transfer the value showing to the lens focusing dial.
• The viewer size on the Brelland, the viewfinder model, is useable, but it is centred on the body, so a decent-sized nose is on the way. On the rangefinder model, it is offset, but the size is too small to be practical.
• The camera is not balanced and falls on its nose.

It would be a pass for the collector, other than for a collection based on the specific era cameras.

Brelland images

Hunter 35 images