Voigtlander

Voigtlander was a historic company in optics and photography established originally in Austria in 1756. It ceased operations in the 1970s, and since 1999 Voigtlander exists as a brand of lenses and accessories manufactured by the Japanese optics and camera company Cosina.

Originally founded in Vienna in 1756, Voigtlander manufactured precision mechanical products and optical instruments. In 1797, Voigtlander received a "national commercial license" that granted it the prestige to display the imperial eagle of the Habsburg monarchy and the right to establish branch offices in all major cities of the empire.

From 1840, Voigtlander began manufacturing objective optics for cameras. They were the first mathematically calculated precision objectives in the history of photography. Early products included the world's fastest lens at the time and the world's first all-metal daguerreotype camera. Voigtlander also manufactured photographic plate cameras.

In 1849, Voigtlander relocated to Braunschweig, Germany, and the Vienna business was closed in 1868.

In the decades that followed, Voigtlander remained a leader in photography, introducing the world's first zoom lens for 35mm still photography in 1959.

The Japanese optics company Cosina currently licenses the Voigtlander brand to manufacture a series of manual-focus prime lenses, primarily for Leica M-mount and Sony E-mount.