Zeiss
Encyclopedia
Carl Zeiss AG is a German manufacturer of optical systems
, industrial measurements and medical devices, founded in Jena
, Germany in 1846 by Carl Zeiss
, Ernst Abbe, and Otto Schott
. There are currently two parts of the company, Carl Zeiss AG
located in Oberkochen
with important subsidiaries in Aalen
, Göttingen
and Munich
, and Carl Zeiss GmbH located in Jena.
The organisation is named after a founder, the German optician
Carl Zeiss
(1816–1888).
Carl Zeiss is the premier company of the Zeiss Gruppe, one of the two large divisions of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung
. The Zeiss Gruppe is located in Heidenheim and Jena.
The other division of the Carl Zeiss Foundation, the glass manufacturer Schott AG and Jenaer Glaswerk, is located in Mainz
and Jena.
Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest existing optics manufacturers in the world.
Carl Zeiss
opened an optics workshop in Jena in 1846. By 1847 he was making microscopes full-time. By 1861 Zeiss was considered to be among the best scientific instruments in Germany with about 20 people working under him with his business still growing. By 1866 the Zeiss workshop sold their 1,000th microscope. In 1872 physicist
Ernst Abbe joined Zeiss and along with Otto Schott
designed greatly improve lenses for the optical instruments they were producing. After Carl Zeiss's death in 1888, the business was incorporated as the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung in 1889.
By World War I
, Zeiss was the world's largest location of camera production. Zeiss Ikon represented a significant part of the production along with dozens of other brands and factories, and also had major works at Dresden
.
In 1928 Hensoldt AG was acquired by Carl Zeiss and has produced the Zeiss binoculars and riflescopes since 1964., occasionally resulting in twin products being offered under both the Hensoldt and Zeiss brand names. The Hensoldt System Technology division (resulting from a merger of the military optics operations of Leica and Hensoldt) was continued by Zeiss under the Hensoldt name until 2006.
As part of Nazi Germany
Zwangsarbeiter program, Zeiss used forced labour during the Second World War.
The destruction of the war caused many companies to divide into smaller subcompanies and others to merge together. There was great respect for the engineering innovation that came out of Dresden—before the war the world's first 35 mm single-lens reflex camera
, the Kine Exakta
, and the first miniature camera with good picture quality were developed there.
At the end of the war Jena was occupied by the US Army. When Jena and Dresden were incorporated into the Soviet occupation zone, later East Germany, Zeiss Jena was assisted by the US army to relocate to the Contessa manufacturing facility in Stuttgart
, West Germany, while the remainder of Zeiss Jena was taken over by the (Eastern) German Democratic Republic
as Kombinat VEB Zeiss Jena http://www.contaxcameras.co.uk/history.asp. As part of the World War II reparations, the Soviet army
took most of the existing Zeiss factories and tooling back to the Soviet Union as the Kiev camera works, which produced copies of the Contax and other Zeiss Ikon products.
The western business was restarted in Oberkochen (in southwestern Germany) as Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1946, which became Zeiss-Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1947, but was soon renamed to Carl Zeiss. West German Zeiss products were labelled Opton for sale in the Eastern bloc, while East German Zeiss products were labelled "Zeiss Jena" for sale in Western countries.
In 1973, the Western Carl Zeiss AG entered into a licensing agreement with the Japanese camera company Yashica
to produce a series of high-quality 35 mm film cameras and lenses bearing the Contax
and Zeiss brand names. This collaboration continued under Yashica's successor, Kyocera
, until the latter ceased all camera production in 2005. Zeiss later produced lenses for the space industry and, more recently, has again produced high-quality 35 mm camera lenses.
Following German reunification
, VEB Zeiss Jena became Zeiss Jena GmbH, which became Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH in 1990. In 1991, Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena was split in two, with Carl Zeiss AG (Oberkochen) taking over the company's divisions for microscopy and other precision optics (effectively reuniting the pre-war Carl Zeiss enterprise) and moving its microscopy
and planetarium
divisions back to Jena. Jenoptik
GmbH was split off as a specialty company in the areas of photonics
, optoelectronics
, and mechatronics
.
The Hensoldt AG was renamed Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH on 1 October 2006.
The companies of the Zeiss Gruppe in and around Dresden have branched into new technologies: screens and products for the automotive industry
, for example. Zeiss nonetheless still continues to be a camera manufacturer, and still produces the Pentacon, Prakticahttp://www.praktica.de, and special-use lenses (e.g., Exakta).
Today, there are arguably three companies with primarily Zeiss Ikon heritage: Zeiss Germany, the Finnish/Swedish Ikon (which bought the West German Zeiss Ikon AG), and the independent eastern Zeiss Ikon.
Abbe was instrumental in the development of the famous Jena optical glass. When he was trying to eliminate astigmatism from microscopes, he realised that the range of optical glasses available was insufficient. After some calculations, he realised that performance of optical instruments would dramatically improve, if optical glasses of appropriate properties were available. His challenge to glass manufacturers was finally answered by Dr Otto Schott, who established the famous glassworks at Jena
from which new types of optical glass began to appear from 1888 to be employed by Zeiss and other makers.
The new Jena optical glass also opened up the possibility of increased performance of photographic lenses. The first use of Jena glass in a photographic lens was by Voigtländer
, but as the lens was an old design its performance was not greatly improved. Subsequently the new glasses would demonstrate their value in correcting astigmatism
, and in the production of apochromatic lenses. Abbe started the design of a photographic lens
of symmetrical design with five elements, but went no further.
Zeiss' domination of photographic lens innovation was due to Dr Paul Rudolph
. In 1890, Rudolph designed an asymmetrical lens with a cemented group at each side of the diaphragm, and appropriately named "Anastigmat". This lens was made in three series: Series III, IV and V, with maximum apertures of f/7.2, f/12.5, and f/18 respectively. In 1891, Series I, II and IIIa appeared with respective maximum apertures of f/4.5, f/6.3, and f/9 and in 1893 came Series IIa of f/8 maximum aperture. These lenses are now better known by the trademark "Protar" which was first used in 1900.
At the time, single combination lenses, which occupy one side of the diaphragm only, were still popular. Rudolph designed one with three cemented elements in 1893, with the option of fitting two of them together in a lens barrel as a compound lens, but it was found to be the same as the Dagor by C.P. Goerz, designed by Emil von Hoegh. Rudolph then came up with a single combination with four cemented elements, which can be considered as having all the elements of the Protar stuck together in one piece. Marketed in 1894, it was called the Protarlinse Series VII, the most highly corrected single combination lens with maximum apertures between f/11 and f/12.5, depending on its focal length.
But the important thing about this Protarlinse is that two of these lens units can be mounted in the same lens barrel to form a compound lens of even greater performance and larger aperture, between f/6.3 and f/7.7. In this configuration it was called the Double Protar Series VIIa. An immense range of focal lengths can thus be obtained by the various combination of Protarlinse units.
Rudolph also investigated the Double-Gauss
concept of a symmetrical design with thin positive meniscii enclosing negative elements. The result was the Planar Series Ia of 1896, with maximum apertures up to f/3.5, one of the fastest lenses of its time. Whilst it was very sharp, it suffered from coma
which limited its popularity. However, further developments of this configuration made it the design of choice for high-speed lenses of standard coverage.
Probably inspired by the Stigmatic lenses designed by Hugh Aldis for Dallmeyer of London, Rudolph designed a new asymmetrical lens with four thin elements, the Unar Series Ib, with apertures up to f/4.5. Due to its high speed it was used extensively on hand cameras.
The most important Zeiss lens by Rudolph was the Tessar
, first sold in 1902 in its Series IIb f/6.3 form. It can be said as a combination of the front half of the Unar with the rear half of the Protar. This proved to be a most valuable and flexible design, with tremendous development potential. Its maximum aperture was increased to f/4.7 in 1917, and reached f/2.7 in 1930. It is probable that every lens manufacturer has produced lenses of the Tessar configuration.
Rudolph left Zeiss after the First World War, but many other competent designers such as Merté, Wandersleb, etc. kept the firm at the leading edge of photographic lens innovations. One of the most significant designer was the ex-Ernemann man Dr Ludwig Bertele
, famed for his Ernostar high-speed lens.
With the advent of the Contax
by Zeiss-Ikon, the first serious challenge to the Leica in the field of professional 35 mm cameras, both Zeiss-Ikon and Carl Zeiss decided to beat the Leica in every possible way. Bertele's Sonnar series of lenses designed for the Contax were the match in every respect for the Leica for at least two decades. Other lenses for the Contax included the Biotar, Biogon, Orthometar, and various Tessars and Triotars.
The last important Zeiss innovation before the Second World War was the technique of applying anti-reflective coating to lens surfaces. A lens so treated was marked with a red "T", short for "Transparent". The technique of applying multiple layers of coating was developed from this basis after the war, and known as "T✻" (T-star).
After the partitioning of Germany, a new Carl Zeiss optical company was established in Oberkochen
, while the original Zeiss firm in Jena
continued to operate. At first both firms produced very similar lines of products, and extensively cooperated in product-sharing, but they drifted apart as time progressed. Jena's new direction was to concentrate on developing lenses for the 35 mm single-lens reflex camera, and many achievements were made, especially in ultra-wide angle designs. In addition to that, Oberkochen also worked on designing lenses for large format cameras, interchangeable front element lenses such as for the 35 mm single-lens reflex Contaflex, and other types of cameras.
Since the beginning of Zeiss as a photographic lens manufacturer, it has had a licensing programme which allows other manufacturers to produce its lenses. Over the years its licensees included Voigtländer
, Bausch & Lomb
, Ross, Koristka, Krauss, Kodak. etc. In the 1970s, the western operation of Zeiss-Ikon got together with Yashica to produce the new Contax
cameras, and many of the Zeiss lenses for this camera, among others, were produced by Yashica's optical arm, Tomioka. As Yashica's owner Kyocera
ended camera production in 2006, and Yashica lenses were then made by Cosina
, who also manufactured most of the new Zeiss designs for the new Zeiss Ikon coupled rangefinder camera. Another licensee active today is Sony
who uses the Zeiss name on lenses on its video and digital still cameras.
Now over 150 years old, Zeiss continues to be associated with expensive and high-quality optical lenses. Zeiss lenses are generally thought to be elegant and well-constructed, yielding high-quality images. Even old lens designs such as the Tessar demonstrate engineering elegance and in the modern age of plastic parts, many Zeiss lenses are still made with predominantly metal components.
Zeiss licenses its technology to be manufactured by third-party companies and indeed, many have done so. Notable names include Hasselblad
, a famous name in medium format professional cameras. Rollei
, Yashica
, Sony
, Logitech
and Alpa
amongst others, have used or manufactured lenses under Zeiss license. The Contax
line of 35 mm cameras, first produced by Yashica and subsequently Kyocera
until 2005 are perhaps the most well known to fit Zeiss lenses. Notably absent from this list are Canon, Nikon
, and Pentax
, who by and large produce their own lenses.
On 27 April 2005 the company announced a collaboration with Nokia
in the camera phone market. The first product to emerge out of this collaboration is the Nokia N90
.
Outside the world of cameras and imaging, Zeiss also produces spectacle lenses, particularly lenses made from high refractive index
glass, allowing people whose prescriptions
require stronger spectacles to use thinner lenses. These are sold in many countries, though not in the United States. As of 2010 Carl Zeiss eyeglass lenses are sold in the United States through Carl Zeiss Vision Inc.
The Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology subsidiary is a respected source of coordinate measurement machines and mutidimensional metrology systems. Zeiss is a recognized partner to the automotive industry.
A unique triplet of ultra-fast 50 mm lenses originally created by Zeiss for NASA's lunar program had the distinction of being reused by Stanley Kubrick in the filming of his historical drama, "Barry Lyndon". The period atmosphere of the film demanded that several indoor scenes be filmed by candlelight. To facilitate this, Kubrick had, with great difficulty, the lenses modified to mount onto a cinema camera and two of them subsequently further modified in separate ways to give wider angles of view.
Zeiss is currently in the process of designing the optical components for the James Webb Space Telescope
set to replace the Hubble Space Telescope
sometime in 2014.
and spotting scope
s, eyeglasses and lenses, planetarium
s and dome video-systems, optics for military applications (head tracker systems
, submarine periscope
s, targeting systems, ...), optical sensors, industrial metrology systems and ophthalmology
products. The largest part of Carl Zeiss AG's revenue is generated by its Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies division, which produces lithographic systems for the semiconductor industry as well as process control solutions (electron microscopes, mask repair tools, helium ion microscopes).
. It is divided in Ophthalmology/Optometry, Neurosurgery, ENT, Spine, P&R, Dentistry, Radiotherapy and Gynecology.
measurement machines (non-medical), optical measuring equipment, metrology software and measurement sensor systems. The Industrial Metrology subsidiary provides this equipment to a wide range of manufacturing facilities worldwide.
Zeiss has manufactured coordinate measuring machines (CMM's) since 1919, offering very basic manually operated CMM's. In 1973, Zeiss introduced the UMM 500, using a Zeiss sensor system and Hewlett Packard computer. Zeiss has since vastly improved and diversified their product line and now feature many high accuracy CMM's, the Metrotom, a CT x-ray scanning measuring machine, with the ability to quickly and completely measure a part in 3 dimensions without ever touching the part, and the O-INSPECT, a fully optical measurement machine.
Zeiss is currently a member of the International Association of CMM Manufacturers (IACMM).
Many of the sensor systems produced by Zeiss are proprietary technologies, using technologies exclusively patented by Zeiss, and therefore can offer better accuracy and repeatability than its competitors.
Zeiss was the first manufacturer of coordinate measurement machines to introduce computer numerical control (CNC) technology to a coordinate measuring machine. Zeiss was the first company to offer CNC stylus changer capability for coordinate measuring machines.
Zeiss Ikon is the name given to a range of top-quality cameras produced by a sister company of Carl Zeiss. Over the years, a number of camera models had carried the same name, leading to confusion among users who are unfamiliar with Carl Zeiss naming system. Zeiss Ikon users usually refer to their cameras using Zeiss' catalogue number, as everything sold by Zeiss was assigned one.
The latest Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera
was introduced by Zeiss in 2004 and is similar to the Leica M series cameras. The new camera, manufactured in Japan by Cosina, is fully compatible with Leica and other lenses with the Leica M mount
.
The name Zeiss Ikon can also be found in old cinemas, for example on fire shutters on the projection windows. These had heat fuses that melted and dropped the shutter over the hole if the film caught fire in the projection booth.
Current models of Zeiss cinema lenses are:
. The Biogon large format lens was designed to be used at a fully open aperture on 4x5 press cameras with limited degradation in image quality. While Zeiss large format lenses have entered a niche market, companies such as Schneider Optics
, Rodenstock
, and Nikon
dominate the field; some modern lens designs are based on Zeiss's Biogon design including the popular Nikkor 90mm F8 SW large format lens.
and for the new Zeiss Ikon camera. They are also compatible with other rangefinder camera
bodies with M Mount e.g. the Konica Hexar RF
(KM Mount), the Cosina Voigtländer
Bessa RxM/RxA series (VM mount), the Rollei 35RF and the Epson R-D series. Some lenses are manufactured in Germany by Zeiss, some in Japan by Cosina
.
and fit the Sony
Alpha/Konica Minolta
/Minolta
A mount
. They are fully dedicated autofocus
lenses with 8 electrical contacts, ROM-IC, and distance encoder ('(D)-function' to support ADI flash).
to Zeiss specifications.
ZE lenses fit the Canon EOS EF mount. They feature electronic contacts allowing for focus-confirmation, and electric aperture operation as with standard Canon EF lenses.
ZF lenses fit the Nikon F-mount
. They are manual-focus designs Nikon AI-S type aperture indexing. Four design variations are designated ZF, ZF.2, ZF-I, and ZF-IR. The ZF series is the original product line. ZF.2 lenses are CPU-enabled (similar to Nikon AI-P lenses) offering electronic focus confirmation, as well as full metering compatibility with the full range of AF Nikon SLR cameras. ZF-I lenses add mechanical locks for focus and aperture, and additional environmental sealing, for industrial applications. ZF-IR lenses are adapted to infrared
imaging, with coatings that transmit wavelengths up to 1100 nm, and focus scales marked for infrared.
ZK lenses fit the Pentax K mount
. They have no electronics, are manual focus only, KA couplers. Zeiss announced in September 2010 the discontinuation of the ZK line.
ZS lenses fit the M42 lens mount
(Pentacon/Practica/Pentax screw mount). By use of mount adapters they can be adapted to most 35 mm bayonet camera mounts including Canon FD and EF, Pentax K, Minolta SR and Sony/Konica Minolta/Minolta A mounts (with the exception of Nikon F mount), usually losing open-aperture-metering, multi-segment metering, focus confirmation, automatic flash zoom capabilities as well as some built-in shake reduction performance and EXIF data accuracy.
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
, industrial measurements and medical devices, founded in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, Germany in 1846 by Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...
, Ernst Abbe, and Otto Schott
Otto Schott
Friedrich Otto Schott was a German chemist, glass technologist, and the inventor of borosilicate glass. He was the son of a window glass maker, Simon Schott. From 1870 to 1873 Schott studied chemical technology at the technical college in Aachen and at the universities of Würzburg and Leipzig...
. There are currently two parts of the company, Carl Zeiss AG
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
located in Oberkochen
Oberkochen
Oberkochen is a town in the Ostalbkreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Economy:After WWII the allied troops moved parts of the Carl Zeiss Company in Jena to Oberkochen. Today the headquarter of the Carl Zeiss AG is located in Oberkochen...
with important subsidiaries in Aalen
Aalen
Aalen is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district, and its largest city, as well as the largest city within the Ostwürttemberg region. In spatial planning, Aalen is designated a Mittelzentrum...
, Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and Carl Zeiss GmbH located in Jena.
The organisation is named after a founder, the German optician
Optician
An optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...
(1816–1888).
Carl Zeiss is the premier company of the Zeiss Gruppe, one of the two large divisions of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung
Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung
The Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung , located in Heidenheim an der Brenz and Jena, Germany, is the sole shareholder of the two companies Carl Zeiss AG and Schott AG. It was founded by Ernst Abbe and named after his long-term partner Carl Zeiss...
. The Zeiss Gruppe is located in Heidenheim and Jena.
The other division of the Carl Zeiss Foundation, the glass manufacturer Schott AG and Jenaer Glaswerk, is located in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
and Jena.
Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest existing optics manufacturers in the world.
Zeiss corporate history
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss was a German maker of optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena . Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses...
opened an optics workshop in Jena in 1846. By 1847 he was making microscopes full-time. By 1861 Zeiss was considered to be among the best scientific instruments in Germany with about 20 people working under him with his business still growing. By 1866 the Zeiss workshop sold their 1,000th microscope. In 1872 physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
Ernst Abbe joined Zeiss and along with Otto Schott
Otto Schott
Friedrich Otto Schott was a German chemist, glass technologist, and the inventor of borosilicate glass. He was the son of a window glass maker, Simon Schott. From 1870 to 1873 Schott studied chemical technology at the technical college in Aachen and at the universities of Würzburg and Leipzig...
designed greatly improve lenses for the optical instruments they were producing. After Carl Zeiss's death in 1888, the business was incorporated as the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung in 1889.
By World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Zeiss was the world's largest location of camera production. Zeiss Ikon represented a significant part of the production along with dozens of other brands and factories, and also had major works at Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
In 1928 Hensoldt AG was acquired by Carl Zeiss and has produced the Zeiss binoculars and riflescopes since 1964., occasionally resulting in twin products being offered under both the Hensoldt and Zeiss brand names. The Hensoldt System Technology division (resulting from a merger of the military optics operations of Leica and Hensoldt) was continued by Zeiss under the Hensoldt name until 2006.
As part of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Zwangsarbeiter program, Zeiss used forced labour during the Second World War.
The destruction of the war caused many companies to divide into smaller subcompanies and others to merge together. There was great respect for the engineering innovation that came out of Dresden—before the war the world's first 35 mm single-lens reflex camera
Single-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera is a camera that typically uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system that permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to pre-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly...
, the Kine Exakta
Exakta
The Exakta is a pioneer brand camera produced by the Ihagee Kamerawerk in Dresden, Germany, founded as the Industrie und Handels-Gesellschaft mbH, in 1912.- Characteristics :Highlights of Exakta cameras include:...
, and the first miniature camera with good picture quality were developed there.
At the end of the war Jena was occupied by the US Army. When Jena and Dresden were incorporated into the Soviet occupation zone, later East Germany, Zeiss Jena was assisted by the US army to relocate to the Contessa manufacturing facility in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, West Germany, while the remainder of Zeiss Jena was taken over by the (Eastern) German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
as Kombinat VEB Zeiss Jena http://www.contaxcameras.co.uk/history.asp. As part of the World War II reparations, the Soviet army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
took most of the existing Zeiss factories and tooling back to the Soviet Union as the Kiev camera works, which produced copies of the Contax and other Zeiss Ikon products.
The western business was restarted in Oberkochen (in southwestern Germany) as Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1946, which became Zeiss-Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1947, but was soon renamed to Carl Zeiss. West German Zeiss products were labelled Opton for sale in the Eastern bloc, while East German Zeiss products were labelled "Zeiss Jena" for sale in Western countries.
In 1973, the Western Carl Zeiss AG entered into a licensing agreement with the Japanese camera company Yashica
Yashica
Yashica was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras.-History:The company began in December, 1949 in Nagano, Japan, when the Yashima Seiki Company was founded with an initial investment of $566. Its eight employees originally manufactured components for electric clocks...
to produce a series of high-quality 35 mm film cameras and lenses bearing the Contax
Contax
Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
and Zeiss brand names. This collaboration continued under Yashica's successor, Kyocera
Kyocera
is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...
, until the latter ceased all camera production in 2005. Zeiss later produced lenses for the space industry and, more recently, has again produced high-quality 35 mm camera lenses.
Following German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, VEB Zeiss Jena became Zeiss Jena GmbH, which became Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH in 1990. In 1991, Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena was split in two, with Carl Zeiss AG (Oberkochen) taking over the company's divisions for microscopy and other precision optics (effectively reuniting the pre-war Carl Zeiss enterprise) and moving its microscopy
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
and planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
divisions back to Jena. Jenoptik
Jenoptik
Jenoptik is an optoelectronics group located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany and a descendant of the pre-war Zeiss company. The business is divided into five divisions: Optical Systems, Lasers & Material Processing, Industrial Metrology, Traffic Solutions and Defense & Civil Systems.- Company profile...
GmbH was split off as a specialty company in the areas of photonics
Photonics
The science of photonics includes the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, detection and sensing of light. The term photonics thereby emphasizes that photons are neither particles nor waves — they are different in that they have both particle...
, optoelectronics
Optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared, in addition to visible light...
, and mechatronics
Mechatronics
Mechatronics is the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, control engineering, and systems design engineering in order to design, and manufacture useful products. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is...
.
The Hensoldt AG was renamed Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH on 1 October 2006.
The companies of the Zeiss Gruppe in and around Dresden have branched into new technologies: screens and products for the automotive industry
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
, for example. Zeiss nonetheless still continues to be a camera manufacturer, and still produces the Pentacon, Prakticahttp://www.praktica.de, and special-use lenses (e.g., Exakta).
Today, there are arguably three companies with primarily Zeiss Ikon heritage: Zeiss Germany, the Finnish/Swedish Ikon (which bought the West German Zeiss Ikon AG), and the independent eastern Zeiss Ikon.
Innovations
The Zeiss company was responsible for many innovations in optical design and engineering. Early on, Carl Zeiss realised that he needed a competent designer so as to take the firm beyond just being another optical workshop. In 1866, the service of Dr Ernst Abbe was enlisted. From then on novel products appeared in rapid succession which brought the Zeiss company to the forefront of optical technology.Abbe was instrumental in the development of the famous Jena optical glass. When he was trying to eliminate astigmatism from microscopes, he realised that the range of optical glasses available was insufficient. After some calculations, he realised that performance of optical instruments would dramatically improve, if optical glasses of appropriate properties were available. His challenge to glass manufacturers was finally answered by Dr Otto Schott, who established the famous glassworks at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
from which new types of optical glass began to appear from 1888 to be employed by Zeiss and other makers.
The new Jena optical glass also opened up the possibility of increased performance of photographic lenses. The first use of Jena glass in a photographic lens was by Voigtländer
Voigtländer
Voigtländer is an optical company founded by Johann Christoph Voigtländer in Vienna in 1756 and is thus the oldest name in cameras. It produced the Petzval photographic lens in 1840, and the world's first all-metal daguerrotype camera in 1841, also bringing out plate cameras shortly afterwards...
, but as the lens was an old design its performance was not greatly improved. Subsequently the new glasses would demonstrate their value in correcting astigmatism
Astigmatism
An optical system with astigmatism is one where rays that propagate in two perpendicular planes have different foci. If an optical system with astigmatism is used to form an image of a cross, the vertical and horizontal lines will be in sharp focus at two different distances...
, and in the production of apochromatic lenses. Abbe started the design of a photographic lens
Photographic lens design
The design of photographic lenses for use in still or cine cameras is intended to produce a lens that yields the most acceptable rendition of the subject being photographed within a range of constraints that include cost, weight and materials...
of symmetrical design with five elements, but went no further.
Zeiss' domination of photographic lens innovation was due to Dr Paul Rudolph
Paul Rudolph (physicist)
Paul Rudolph was a German physicist who designed the first anastigmatic lens while working for Carl Zeiss. After World War I, he joined the Hugo Meyer optical company, where he designed most of their cine lenses. -Work:...
. In 1890, Rudolph designed an asymmetrical lens with a cemented group at each side of the diaphragm, and appropriately named "Anastigmat". This lens was made in three series: Series III, IV and V, with maximum apertures of f/7.2, f/12.5, and f/18 respectively. In 1891, Series I, II and IIIa appeared with respective maximum apertures of f/4.5, f/6.3, and f/9 and in 1893 came Series IIa of f/8 maximum aperture. These lenses are now better known by the trademark "Protar" which was first used in 1900.
At the time, single combination lenses, which occupy one side of the diaphragm only, were still popular. Rudolph designed one with three cemented elements in 1893, with the option of fitting two of them together in a lens barrel as a compound lens, but it was found to be the same as the Dagor by C.P. Goerz, designed by Emil von Hoegh. Rudolph then came up with a single combination with four cemented elements, which can be considered as having all the elements of the Protar stuck together in one piece. Marketed in 1894, it was called the Protarlinse Series VII, the most highly corrected single combination lens with maximum apertures between f/11 and f/12.5, depending on its focal length.
But the important thing about this Protarlinse is that two of these lens units can be mounted in the same lens barrel to form a compound lens of even greater performance and larger aperture, between f/6.3 and f/7.7. In this configuration it was called the Double Protar Series VIIa. An immense range of focal lengths can thus be obtained by the various combination of Protarlinse units.
Rudolph also investigated the Double-Gauss
Double-Gauss
The double Gauss lens is a compound lens used mostly in camera lenses that reduces optical aberrations over a large focal plane.-Design:The double Gauss lens consists of two back-to-back Gauss lenses making two positive meniscus lenses on the outside with two negative meniscus...
concept of a symmetrical design with thin positive meniscii enclosing negative elements. The result was the Planar Series Ia of 1896, with maximum apertures up to f/3.5, one of the fastest lenses of its time. Whilst it was very sharp, it suffered from coma
Coma (optics)
In optics , the coma in an optical system refers to aberration inherent to certain optical designs or due to imperfection in the lens or other components which results in off-axis point sources such as stars appearing distorted, appearing to have a tail like a comet...
which limited its popularity. However, further developments of this configuration made it the design of choice for high-speed lenses of standard coverage.
Probably inspired by the Stigmatic lenses designed by Hugh Aldis for Dallmeyer of London, Rudolph designed a new asymmetrical lens with four thin elements, the Unar Series Ib, with apertures up to f/4.5. Due to its high speed it was used extensively on hand cameras.
The most important Zeiss lens by Rudolph was the Tessar
Tessar
The Tessar is a famous photographic lens design conceived by physicist Paul Rudolph in 1902 while he worked at the Zeiss optical company and patented by Zeiss; the lens type is usually known as the Zeiss Tessar....
, first sold in 1902 in its Series IIb f/6.3 form. It can be said as a combination of the front half of the Unar with the rear half of the Protar. This proved to be a most valuable and flexible design, with tremendous development potential. Its maximum aperture was increased to f/4.7 in 1917, and reached f/2.7 in 1930. It is probable that every lens manufacturer has produced lenses of the Tessar configuration.
Rudolph left Zeiss after the First World War, but many other competent designers such as Merté, Wandersleb, etc. kept the firm at the leading edge of photographic lens innovations. One of the most significant designer was the ex-Ernemann man Dr Ludwig Bertele
Ludwig Bertele
Ludwig Jakob Bertele was a German optics constructor. His developments received universal recognition and serve as a basis for considerable part of optical designs, which are used in modern world.-Biography:...
, famed for his Ernostar high-speed lens.
With the advent of the Contax
Contax
Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
by Zeiss-Ikon, the first serious challenge to the Leica in the field of professional 35 mm cameras, both Zeiss-Ikon and Carl Zeiss decided to beat the Leica in every possible way. Bertele's Sonnar series of lenses designed for the Contax were the match in every respect for the Leica for at least two decades. Other lenses for the Contax included the Biotar, Biogon, Orthometar, and various Tessars and Triotars.
The last important Zeiss innovation before the Second World War was the technique of applying anti-reflective coating to lens surfaces. A lens so treated was marked with a red "T", short for "Transparent". The technique of applying multiple layers of coating was developed from this basis after the war, and known as "T✻" (T-star).
After the partitioning of Germany, a new Carl Zeiss optical company was established in Oberkochen
Oberkochen
Oberkochen is a town in the Ostalbkreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Economy:After WWII the allied troops moved parts of the Carl Zeiss Company in Jena to Oberkochen. Today the headquarter of the Carl Zeiss AG is located in Oberkochen...
, while the original Zeiss firm in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
continued to operate. At first both firms produced very similar lines of products, and extensively cooperated in product-sharing, but they drifted apart as time progressed. Jena's new direction was to concentrate on developing lenses for the 35 mm single-lens reflex camera, and many achievements were made, especially in ultra-wide angle designs. In addition to that, Oberkochen also worked on designing lenses for large format cameras, interchangeable front element lenses such as for the 35 mm single-lens reflex Contaflex, and other types of cameras.
Since the beginning of Zeiss as a photographic lens manufacturer, it has had a licensing programme which allows other manufacturers to produce its lenses. Over the years its licensees included Voigtländer
Voigtländer
Voigtländer is an optical company founded by Johann Christoph Voigtländer in Vienna in 1756 and is thus the oldest name in cameras. It produced the Petzval photographic lens in 1840, and the world's first all-metal daguerrotype camera in 1841, also bringing out plate cameras shortly afterwards...
, Bausch & Lomb
Bausch & Lomb
Bausch & Lomb, an American company based in Rochester, New York, is one of the world's leading suppliers of eye health products, such as contact lenses and lens care products today. In addition to this main activity, in recent years the area of medical technology has been developed...
, Ross, Koristka, Krauss, Kodak. etc. In the 1970s, the western operation of Zeiss-Ikon got together with Yashica to produce the new Contax
Contax
Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
cameras, and many of the Zeiss lenses for this camera, among others, were produced by Yashica's optical arm, Tomioka. As Yashica's owner Kyocera
Kyocera
is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...
ended camera production in 2006, and Yashica lenses were then made by Cosina
Cosina
is a designer and manufacturer of cameras and lenses, and a glassmaker, based in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-History:Cosina is the successor to Nikō , a company set up as a manufacturer oflenses in 1959...
, who also manufactured most of the new Zeiss designs for the new Zeiss Ikon coupled rangefinder camera. Another licensee active today is Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
who uses the Zeiss name on lenses on its video and digital still cameras.
Reputation
Zeiss licenses its technology to be manufactured by third-party companies and indeed, many have done so. Notable names include Hasselblad
Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium-format cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden.The company is best known for the medium-format cameras it has produced since World War II....
, a famous name in medium format professional cameras. Rollei
Rollei
Rollei is a German manufacturer of optical goods founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras...
, Yashica
Yashica
Yashica was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras.-History:The company began in December, 1949 in Nagano, Japan, when the Yashima Seiki Company was founded with an initial investment of $566. Its eight employees originally manufactured components for electric clocks...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Logitech
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
and Alpa
Alpa
Alpa was formerly a Swiss camera design company and manufacturer of 35 mm SLR cameras. The current owners bought the company name after bankruptcy of the original company and the company exists today as a designer and manufacturer of high-end medium-format cameras.-History:Alpa was an offshoot of...
amongst others, have used or manufactured lenses under Zeiss license. The Contax
Contax
Contax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
line of 35 mm cameras, first produced by Yashica and subsequently Kyocera
Kyocera
is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...
until 2005 are perhaps the most well known to fit Zeiss lenses. Notably absent from this list are Canon, Nikon
Nikon
, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
, and Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...
, who by and large produce their own lenses.
On 27 April 2005 the company announced a collaboration with Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
in the camera phone market. The first product to emerge out of this collaboration is the Nokia N90
Nokia N90
The Nokia N90 multimedia is a smartphone with two displays and Carl Zeiss optics . It has a 2 megapixel built-in digital camera with autofocus, 20× digital zoom, integrated flash, macro mode and the ability to record high quality video . The phone has no vibration feature...
.
Outside the world of cameras and imaging, Zeiss also produces spectacle lenses, particularly lenses made from high refractive index
Refractive index
In optics the refractive index or index of refraction of a substance or medium is a measure of the speed of light in that medium. It is expressed as a ratio of the speed of light in vacuum relative to that in the considered medium....
glass, allowing people whose prescriptions
Eyeglass prescription
An eyeglass prescription is an order written by an eyewear prescriber, such as an optometrist or ophthalmologist, that specifies the value of all parameters the prescriber has deemed necessary to construct and/or dispense corrective lenses appropriate for a patient.If an examination indicates that...
require stronger spectacles to use thinner lenses. These are sold in many countries, though not in the United States. As of 2010 Carl Zeiss eyeglass lenses are sold in the United States through Carl Zeiss Vision Inc.
The Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology subsidiary is a respected source of coordinate measurement machines and mutidimensional metrology systems. Zeiss is a recognized partner to the automotive industry.
A unique triplet of ultra-fast 50 mm lenses originally created by Zeiss for NASA's lunar program had the distinction of being reused by Stanley Kubrick in the filming of his historical drama, "Barry Lyndon". The period atmosphere of the film demanded that several indoor scenes be filmed by candlelight. To facilitate this, Kubrick had, with great difficulty, the lenses modified to mount onto a cinema camera and two of them subsequently further modified in separate ways to give wider angles of view.
Zeiss is currently in the process of designing the optical components for the James Webb Space Telescope
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope , previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope , is a planned next-generation space telescope, optimized for observations in the infrared. The main technical features are a large and very cold 6.5 meter diameter mirror, an observing position far from Earth,...
set to replace the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
sometime in 2014.
Products
Zeiss and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of products related to optics and vision. These include camera and cine lenses, microscopes and microscopy software, binocularsBinoculars
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
and spotting scope
Spotting scope
A spotting scope is a small portable telescope with added optics to present an erect image, optimized for the observation of terrestrial objects...
s, eyeglasses and lenses, planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
s and dome video-systems, optics for military applications (head tracker systems
Head-mounted display
A head-mounted display or helmet mounted display, both abbreviated HMD, is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet, that has a small display optic in front of one or each eye .- Overview :...
, submarine periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
s, targeting systems, ...), optical sensors, industrial metrology systems and ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
products. The largest part of Carl Zeiss AG's revenue is generated by its Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies division, which produces lithographic systems for the semiconductor industry as well as process control solutions (electron microscopes, mask repair tools, helium ion microscopes).
Sports Optics
Carl Zeiss Sports Optics division produces rifle scopes, spotting scopes, binoculars, and distance measuring devices for outdoors enthusiasts. The two main product lines are the Conquest line, which is manufactured in Germany and assembled in the United States, and Victory line, which is produced entirely in Germany. Zeiss Sports Optics are revered among the best in the world, and are utilized by military and law enforcement angencies in countries around the world.Medical Solutions
This branch of Carl Zeiss is managed by Carl Zeiss MeditecCarl Zeiss Meditec
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is a multinational medical technology company. It manufactures tools for eye examinations and medical lasers as well as solutions for neurosurgery, dentistry, gynecology and oncology. Among its products are the most common tools used by ophthalmologists and optometrists.Carl...
. It is divided in Ophthalmology/Optometry, Neurosurgery, ENT, Spine, P&R, Dentistry, Radiotherapy and Gynecology.
Industrial Metrology
Zeiss Industrial Metrology specializes in high accuracy measurement systems, including coordinate measuring machines, computed tomographyComputed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
measurement machines (non-medical), optical measuring equipment, metrology software and measurement sensor systems. The Industrial Metrology subsidiary provides this equipment to a wide range of manufacturing facilities worldwide.
Zeiss has manufactured coordinate measuring machines (CMM's) since 1919, offering very basic manually operated CMM's. In 1973, Zeiss introduced the UMM 500, using a Zeiss sensor system and Hewlett Packard computer. Zeiss has since vastly improved and diversified their product line and now feature many high accuracy CMM's, the Metrotom, a CT x-ray scanning measuring machine, with the ability to quickly and completely measure a part in 3 dimensions without ever touching the part, and the O-INSPECT, a fully optical measurement machine.
Zeiss is currently a member of the International Association of CMM Manufacturers (IACMM).
Many of the sensor systems produced by Zeiss are proprietary technologies, using technologies exclusively patented by Zeiss, and therefore can offer better accuracy and repeatability than its competitors.
Zeiss was the first manufacturer of coordinate measurement machines to introduce computer numerical control (CNC) technology to a coordinate measuring machine. Zeiss was the first company to offer CNC stylus changer capability for coordinate measuring machines.
Microscopes
Zeiss offers many different types of microscopes:- Optical microscopeOptical microscopeThe optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small samples. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microscope and were possibly designed in their present compound form in the...
s - Laser Scanning MicroscopesConfocal laser scanning microscopyConfocal laser scanning microscopy is a technique for obtaining high-resolution optical images with depth selectivity. The key feature of confocal microscopy is its ability to acquire in-focus images from selected depths, a process known as optical sectioning...
(LSMs) - Scanning Electron MicroscopeScanning electron microscopeA scanning electron microscope is a type of electron microscope that images a sample by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern...
s (SEMs) - Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEMs)
- Scanning Helium Ion MicroscopeScanning Helium Ion MicroscopeA Scanning Helium Ion Microscope is a new imaging technology based on a scanning helium ion beam. This technology has several advantages over the traditional scanning electron microscope...
s (SHIMs)
Zeiss Ikon Camera
The latest Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera
Rangefinder camera
A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...
was introduced by Zeiss in 2004 and is similar to the Leica M series cameras. The new camera, manufactured in Japan by Cosina, is fully compatible with Leica and other lenses with the Leica M mount
Leica M mount
The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been on all the Leica M series up to the current film Leica M7 and digital Leica M9....
.
The name Zeiss Ikon can also be found in old cinemas, for example on fire shutters on the projection windows. These had heat fuses that melted and dropped the shutter over the hole if the film caught fire in the projection booth.
Cinema lenses
Carl Zeiss AG has long been renowned for its motion picture lenses. Zeiss manufactures prime, and zoom lenses for 35mm, 16mm, and 65mm film production. They also make lenses for digital cinema, and high definition video. Zeiss is mainly known in the trade for their association with the German camera manufacturer Arri for whom they currently produce lenses.Current models of Zeiss cinema lenses are:
Medium Format Lenses
Carl Zeiss AG produces lenses for Hasselblad, and Rollei. For decades until the introduction of their 35mm still lenses this was Zeiss's mainstay in the photographic market.Large Format Lenses
Although rarely seen today Zeiss once produced lenses for large format photography. One notable Zeiss lens used for large format photography was the Zeiss BiogonBiogon
Biogon is a brand name of Carl Zeiss for a series of photographic camera lenses. Biogons are typically wide angle lenses.The first Biogon was created in 1935 by Ludwig Bertele, then referenced by designer Zeiss Ikon Dresden, the Contax created as a modification of the then Sonnar...
. The Biogon large format lens was designed to be used at a fully open aperture on 4x5 press cameras with limited degradation in image quality. While Zeiss large format lenses have entered a niche market, companies such as Schneider Optics
Schneider Kreuznach
Schneider Kreuznach is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics....
, Rodenstock
Rodenstock GmbH
The Rodenstock GmbH is a renowned German manufacturer headquartered in Munich and the only brand producer of the entire spectacles product worldwide...
, and Nikon
Nikkor
Nikkor is the brand of lenses produced by Nikon Corporation, including camera lenses for the Nikon F-mount.thumb|right|Nikko parent company brand, from which the Nikkor brand evolved....
dominate the field; some modern lens designs are based on Zeiss's Biogon design including the popular Nikkor 90mm F8 SW large format lens.
ZM lenses
The ZM line are lenses made for the Leica M mountLeica M mount
The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been on all the Leica M series up to the current film Leica M7 and digital Leica M9....
and for the new Zeiss Ikon camera. They are also compatible with other rangefinder camera
Rangefinder camera
A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...
bodies with M Mount e.g. the Konica Hexar RF
Hexar RF
The Konica Hexar RF was a 35 mm rangefinder camera sold by Konica. Itwas introduced to the market on 13 October 1999. and subsequently discontinued some time before the end of 2003...
(KM Mount), the Cosina Voigtländer
Cosina Voigtländer
Cosina Voigtländer refers to photographic products manufactured by Cosina under the Voigtländer name since 1999. Cosina leases rights to the Voigtländer name from Ringfoto...
Bessa RxM/RxA series (VM mount), the Rollei 35RF and the Epson R-D series. Some lenses are manufactured in Germany by Zeiss, some in Japan by Cosina
Cosina
is a designer and manufacturer of cameras and lenses, and a glassmaker, based in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-History:Cosina is the successor to Nikō , a company set up as a manufacturer oflenses in 1959...
.
- Carl Zeiss Distagon T✻ 1:2.8 15 mm
(Made in Germany) - Carl Zeiss Distagon T✻ 1:4.0 18 mm
- Carl Zeiss Distagon T✻ 1:2.8 21 mm
- Carl Zeiss C Biogon T✻ 1:4.5 21 mm
("C" for "compact") - Carl Zeiss Biogon T✻ 1:2.8 25 mm
(Zeiss claims this lens has a resolution of 400 line pairs per millimetre in the centre of the image at the aperture f/4; this value represents the calculated diffraction limit for the aperture f/4, meaning that it physically doesn't get any better, resolution-wise) - Carl Zeiss Biogon T✻ 1:2.8 28 mm
- Carl Zeiss Biogon T✻ 1:2.0 35 mm
- Carl Zeiss C Biogon T✻ 1:2.8 35 mm
("C" for "compact") - Carl Zeiss C Sonnar T✻ 1:1.5 50 mm
("C" for "compact" and "classic") - Carl Zeiss Planar T✻ 1:2.0 50 mm
- Carl Zeiss Tele-Tessar T✻ 1:4.0 85 mm
- Carl Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 1:2.0 85 mm
(Made in Germany)
ZA lenses
ZA lenses are manufactured by SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and fit the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Alpha/Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta
is a Japanese manufacturer of office equipment, medical imaging, graphic imaging, optical devices, and measuring instruments. It is headquartered in the Marunouchi Center Building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with a Kansai office in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture...
/Minolta
Minolta
Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It is perhaps best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera system...
A mount
Minolta AF
The Minolta Alpha camera system was a collection of photographic equipment from Minolta. The system used a lens mount called A-mount, with a flange focal distance 44.50 mm. The new mount was larger than the older SR-mount making old manual lenses incompatible with the new system...
. They are fully dedicated autofocus
Autofocus
An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus fully automatic or on a manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication...
lenses with 8 electrical contacts, ROM-IC, and distance encoder ('(D)-function' to support ADI flash).
- Sony α Carl Zeiss Distagon T✻ 1:2.0 24 mm ZA SSM [SAL-24F20Z]
- Sony α Carl Zeiss Planar T✻ 1:1.4.0 85 mm ZA [SAL-85F14Z]
- Sony α Carl Zeiss Sonnar T✻ 1:1.8.0 135 mm ZA [SAL-135F18Z]
- Sony α Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T✻ 1:2.8 16–35 mm ZA SSM [SAL-1635Z]
- Sony α Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T✻ DT 1:3.5-1:4.5 16–80 mm ZA [SAL-1680Z]
- Sony α Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T✻ 1:2.8 24–70 mm ZA SSM [SAL-2470Z]
Z-series manual-focus SLR lenses
Zeiss produces optically identical manual-focus lenses for multiple SLR lens mounts under the ZE, ZF, ZK, and ZS lines, manufactured in Japan by CosinaCosina
is a designer and manufacturer of cameras and lenses, and a glassmaker, based in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-History:Cosina is the successor to Nikō , a company set up as a manufacturer oflenses in 1959...
to Zeiss specifications.
ZE lenses fit the Canon EOS EF mount. They feature electronic contacts allowing for focus-confirmation, and electric aperture operation as with standard Canon EF lenses.
ZF lenses fit the Nikon F-mount
Nikon F-mount
The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35 mm SLR cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three lug bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5 mm...
. They are manual-focus designs Nikon AI-S type aperture indexing. Four design variations are designated ZF, ZF.2, ZF-I, and ZF-IR. The ZF series is the original product line. ZF.2 lenses are CPU-enabled (similar to Nikon AI-P lenses) offering electronic focus confirmation, as well as full metering compatibility with the full range of AF Nikon SLR cameras. ZF-I lenses add mechanical locks for focus and aperture, and additional environmental sealing, for industrial applications. ZF-IR lenses are adapted to infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
imaging, with coatings that transmit wavelengths up to 1100 nm, and focus scales marked for infrared.
ZK lenses fit the Pentax K mount
Pentax K mount
The Pentax K mount, sometimes referred to as the "PK mount", is a lens mount standard for mounting interchangeable photographic lenses to 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras. It was created by Pentax in 1975, and has been used by all Pentax 35 mm and digital SLRs since...
. They have no electronics, are manual focus only, KA couplers. Zeiss announced in September 2010 the discontinuation of the ZK line.
ZS lenses fit the M42 lens mount
M42 lens mount
The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras, primarily single-lens reflex models. It is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread of 42 mm diameter and 1 mm thread pitch...
(Pentacon/Practica/Pentax screw mount). By use of mount adapters they can be adapted to most 35 mm bayonet camera mounts including Canon FD and EF, Pentax K, Minolta SR and Sony/Konica Minolta/Minolta A mounts (with the exception of Nikon F mount), usually losing open-aperture-metering, multi-segment metering, focus confirmation, automatic flash zoom capabilities as well as some built-in shake reduction performance and EXIF data accuracy.
| Optical design | ZE | ZF | ZF.2 | ZF-I | ZF-IR | ZK | ZS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18mm ƒ/3.5 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 21mm ƒ/2.8 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 25mm ƒ/2.0 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| 25mm ƒ/2.8 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 28mm ƒ/2.0 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 35mm ƒ/1.4 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| 35mm ƒ/2.0 Distagon T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 50mm ƒ/1.4 Planar T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 50mm ƒ/2.0 Makro-Planar T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 85mm ƒ/1.4 Planar T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| 100mm ƒ/2.0 Makro-Planar T✻ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Super-rotator lenses
These are 360° tilt/shift lenses (based on Zeiss medium format lens designs) for 35 mm format including full-frame digital. Available mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha/Konica Minolta/Minolta A mount. Other mounts on request. Manual focus only, no electronics. Manufactured in Germany and Ukraine.- HartbleiHartbleiHartblei is a Ukrainian manufacturer of optical equipment for photography based in Kiev. They are primarily known for producing tilt-shift lenses . Taking lens designs produced by Kiev-Arsenal they modify these into tilt and shift designs of their own...
Superrotator Carl Zeiss Distagon T✻ IF 1:4.0 40 mm - Hartblei Superrotator Carl Zeiss Planar T✻ 1:2.8 80 mm
- Hartblei Superrotator Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T✻ 1:4.0 120 mm
See also
- ContaxContaxContax was a camera brand noted for its unique technical innovation and a wide range of Zeiss lenses, noted for their high optical quality. Its final incarnation was a line of 35 mm, medium format and digital cameras engineered and manufactured by Kyocera, and featuring modern Zeiss optics...
- Laboratory equipmentLaboratory equipmentLaboratory equipment refers to the various tools and equipment used by scientists working in a laboratory. These include tools such as Bunsen burners, and microscopes as well as speciality equipment such as operant conditioning chambers, spectrophotometers and calorimeters...
- Rangefinder cameraRangefinder cameraA rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus...
- Telescopic sightTelescopic sightA telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...
- Walther BauersfeldWalther BauersfeldWalther Bauersfeld was a German engineer, employed by the Zeiss Corporation, who, on a suggestion by the German astronomer Max Wolf, started work on the first projection planetarium in 1912. This work was stopped by military needs during World War I, but resumed after the war...
- Zeiss projectorZeiss projectorA Zeiss projector is one of a line of planetarium projectors manufactured by the Carl Zeiss Company.The first modern planetarium projectors were designed and built in 1924 by the Zeiss Works of Jena, Germany in 1924. Zeiss projectors are designed to sit in the middle of a dark, dome-covered room...