Ludwig Bertele

Ludwig Jakob Bertele (25 December 1900 – 16 November 1985) was a German optics constructor. His developments received universal recognition and serve as a basis for considerable part of the optical designs used today.

Biography Ludwig Jakob Bertele was born 25 December 1900 in Munich, to an architect's family.

At Ernemann In 1916, Bertele was employed as the assistant of an optics designer at Rodenstock in Munich. In 1919, he moved to Dresden to work for Heinrich Ernemann at under the supervision of August Klughardt, as a designer of optics. In the same year, Bertele would begin the development of the design. Its basis was the optical scheme of the Ultrastigmat cinema lens, a modified Cooke triplet, which had been developed by Charles C. Minor in 1916 and produced by Gundlach Company. The main purpose of Bertele's developmental work was to increase the light-gathering power of a lens as well as diminishing optical aberration.

In 1923, after four years of development, Bertele patented his first ultra high-aperture [objective?], the Ernostar , with successive versions following in the years up to 1926. The lens was fitted to the Ermanox camera, which was specially developed for photo reportage. The Ermanox with Ernostar was the first camera with sufficient speed and image quality for successful candid photography in natural or otherwise unaltered light conditions. The pictures of prominent political figures taken using the lens by Erich Salomon are widely known.

At Zeiss After the foundation of Zeiss Ikon in 1926, as a result of integration of companies ICA, Optische Anstalt CP Goerz, Contessa-Nettel and with Carl Zeiss, Bertele continued his work in Dresden except for a short trip to United States in 1929. An experimental optical workshop was given at Bertele's disposal, where he would develop and produce all examples and prototypes from his own calculations. Every lens was given a unique five-cipher number, and the current number of the variant was often engraved upon lenses. derived from the German word ("sun"). (The name "Sonnar" had been used previously by the Contessa Company for one of their folding cameras, and for the Tessar-type lens fitted to it.) After Contessa became part of Zeiss Ikon, the name Sonnar became Zeiss's property. In addition, Bertele developed objectives for Schacht, where he was assigned for the computation of ocular lenses, as well as the development of a number of other specialist products. Bertele retired in 1973, but continued his work in optical development, receiving worldwide patents for lens designs as late as 1976-78 and applying for a German patent in 1983.

Bertele resided in the small town of Wildhaus in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland in his later years. He died on 16 November 1985.