Category Archives: lens

name game

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Shortly after the Leica was first marketed, Leitz standardized the lens-to-film distance and offered a group of interchangeable lenses suitable for any camera. To compete with the Johnny-cum-lately CONTAX by the mighty Zeiss factories, Leitz looked to others to … Continue reading →

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history in 50-100 years

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The vast majority of photos taken today seem to be taken with a camera in the ubiquitous smart phone. Professionals and advanced (experienced) amateurs migrate to DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. Software makes the technical aspect of photos almost perfect. … Continue reading →

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you can call me Max

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. As you know, a camera needs a lens to capture an image. Leitz had just such a lens designer. In 1912 according to Dr Kingslake in his 1989 book, “A History of the Photographic Lens“, a young Dr Max … Continue reading →

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honey, I shrunk the lens

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Photographic lenses as you likely know once used various elements to eliminate distortion and flatten the field. Early cameras were large and bulky with terribly slow sensitive media. As general rule, the long focal length, slow lens designs required … Continue reading →

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did you hear? the fat’s in the auction!

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The 9cm Elmar was made from 1931 to 1968 – nearly 40 years. It was an early addition to the Leica stable once interchangeable lenses were marketed. The 9cm focal length had a pleasant presentation of head and bust … Continue reading →

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look-a-like-a-leica

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. After WW2, the world was inundated with Leica lookalikes. Some were  flat out copies like the Russian FED and Zorki models; some were copies of Leica features like Canon; and some were marketed as improvements on Leica like the … Continue reading →

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nice Zeiss lens

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. In 1926 Zeiss formed Zeiss-Ikon for its government. The goal was to streamline the redundant over-lapping cameras made by the German camera factories. Belatedly, about a decade later, Zeiss realized that the minicam had taken over the amateur box/folder … Continue reading →

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plus ça change

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. It is said that the more things change, the more they are the same. Like the Zeiss Sonnar lens for example. Larry Gubas in his massive text “Zeiss and Photography” shows the Sonnar as it was initially sold in … Continue reading →

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a different spin on things

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. One serious issue with extreme wide angle lenses in the days of big cameras and film or glass plates was light drop off in the film (or plate) corners. Expose for the centre, and there was serious vignetting. Expose … Continue reading →

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Schneider lenses for the cognecenti

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Schneider Kreuznach has been around as an optical house for many years – in fact over a century going back to 1913 when the firm was founded as the Joseph Schneider Optical Works in Bad Kreuznach, a small town … Continue reading →

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