1954 & 1958: Ilford KI Monobar Type U and Type F
The monorail is possibly the simplest type of camera design, consisting of no more than a lens and shutter mounted on a front panel, linked by bellows to a film holder on a rear panel. The front and back panels are linked by bellows and free to move back and forth for focusing along a rail onto which they are locked into position. In some models the front and back panels can also slide and twist in ways that give the camera movements like rise, fall, shift, swing and tilt. Movements like these are used to manipulate specialised aspects of the image in areas that include scientific and architectural photography.
Traditionally such cameras were made for large format work, but in 1954, Ilford, a company more famous for film and printing papers, introduced the KI Monobar. It was designed by two medical photographers, Charles Engel and Dr Peter Hansell, and beautifully engineered for Ilford by the London firm of Kennedy Instruments. Two models were sold: the Type U and the Type F.
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Type U Monobar
The Type U held the front and back panels that supported the lens and film holder in U-shaped clamps made in a cream stove-enamelled finish. A series of complicated knobs freed or locked the two panels in the required positions. Both allowed rise and fall over a range of 75mm, plus horizontal and vertical tilt or swing through 30 degrees, calibrated in 10 degree and 5 degree increments. The two panels could be moved independent of each other along the rail, or locked together and moved simultaneously.
At the front end, several lenses were available, but the camera was principally seen with Dallmeyer or Schneider lenses in Synchro Compur shutters speeded 1-1/500sec. The lens to film distance could be adjusted from 5cm to 27cm, catering for every type of subject from infinity-focused landscapes down to extremely close macrophotography.
At the back end, a small, 24x36mm ground-glass screen covered by a magnifier was used to focus the image. When ready, the magnifier and screen were slid backwards along their own rail and a film back pre-loaded with 35mm was slotted into the film plane. A thumbwheel in the film back slid a mask in front of the film to prevent fogging when camera and back were separated and moved aside when the back was mounted on the camera. The rear element with film back rotated through 90 degrees for horizontal or vertical subjects. Accessories included a right-angle viewfinder attachment, bag-type bellows and a bulk film holder for loading up to 100ft of 35mm film.
The two versions of the KI Monobar 35mm monorail camers: Type U (left) and Type F.
The Type U version of the KI Monobar with its attractive stove-enamelled finish
How the camera movements could be adjusted for specialised photography.
The magnifier that covered the focusing screen at the rear of the Monobar (far left) and, with the focusing screen plus magnifier withdrawn, the film holder dropped in place.
Type F Monobar
The second model of the Monobar, the Type F, was introduced in 1958. This was very similar in style to the Type U, involving the familiar front and back panels to hold the lens and film. Movement back and forth along the rail for focusing were the same, as was the film loading and focusing procedure. The difference was that the Type F did not provide the rise and fall, tilt and swing movements that made the Type U so versatile. The Type F, therefore, was perfect for those who required a less complicated camera but one that was perfect for close-up and macrophotography.
Left: The Type F black version of the KI Monobar.
Below: Separated from the camera, the film back from the Type F, open and ready for loading with 35mm film. The Type U film back is identical apart from a cream stove-enamelled finish that matches the camera.
