Lot 105 – an 80-200 f/4 FD Canon zoom lens
Toronto. In the late 1950s, when I bought my Exakta, ZOOM lenses for 35mm cameras were rather short on focal length range, slower than prime lenses, heavier, had serious distortion, and were far more expensive.
In 1959, Kilfitt in Germany produced a 35mm zoom lens with the Exakta mount. A Wikipedia article states, “Kilfitt was one of the best and most innovative German lens makers of the 1950s and 1960s. The Münich factory started to produce the first production zoom lens in 1959 for 35mm still photography, the famous 36-82/2.8 Zoomar.[7][8] It was originally made in Voigtländer Bessamatic and Exakta mount.
Photography has come a long way since as shown by the lovely Canon zoom lens (lot 105) It can shoot from 80mm to 200mm at F/4 or higher (smaller aperture). When zoom lenses became standard fodder for film and later digital cameras, we became lazy, adjusting the zoom focal length to fill the frame rather than changing the prime lenses and moving back and forth. …
By the way, lot 105 refers to a lot in our fall estates auction. Drop in and see the goodies – an item is sure to fit your collection or user gear!
