ad for 1932 B&H innovative zoom lens
Toronto. We take zoom lenses for granted today. Almost all digital cameras – mirrorless or DSLR – use zoom lenses. We have grown lazy and just adjust the lens to frame the scene rather thsn moving back or forward physically.
Not surprisingly, the first use of zoom lenses was on movie cameras. When I bought my Exakta IIa in the late 1950s, prime lenses were king. Zoom lenses for still cameras were expensive with a rather narrow range of focal lengths and modest apertures.
This announcement by Bell & Howell in the January, 1932 issue of International Photographer gave readers a taste of the future of photographic lenses. Today, smart phones are still in the prime lens stage with recent designs adding multiple lenses and technology to switch from one to the other. Soon we should see the zoom technology on the ubiquitous smart phone too!
A big thanks to our good friend George Dunbar for sharing this unique find with us.
