Carl Zeiss

The optics

Carl Zeiss of Germany are among the most renowned of lens manufacturers. It is a part of the Carl Zeiss Foundation, which also owned the Zeiss Ikon camera maker until it disappeared in 1972. The company was founded in Jena in 1856 and called Carl Zeiss Jena. Carl Zeiss Jena created such classic lens formulae as the Tessar, Planar, Biogon, and Sonnar, and equipped many camera makers, the first of which being obviously Zeiss Ikon.

After World War II, Jena being in the Eastern part of Germany, the company split in two. One part was recreated in West Germany and based in Oberkochen, and kept within the Zeiss Foundation. The other part remained in Jena, but soon lost the right to use the traditional names, like Zeiss and the other famous lens names. In the Western countries it was known as aus Jena (means from Jena), and used obvious abreviations, or other names reminding the past (for ex. T for Tessar, S for Sonnar). In the countries of the Eastern block, they continued to use the full names.

Carl Zeiss Oberkochen made lenses for the Western Zeiss Ikon after the war, but they have also made dedicated lenses for other camera marques. They continue to do so, notably for Rollei and Hasselblad. The Zeiss lenses for the Hasselblad series of medium format SLR cameras are known for their high quality, precision tolerances, resolution, and color rendition, and have been used by many well-known photographers.

From 1973, Carl Zeiss made a range of lenses with a bayonet mount for Yashica and Contax 35mm SLR cameras, in partnership with Yashica Camera Co. Ltd. The resulting Zeiss T* lenses were made both in Germany and under license in Japan, and developed a reputation for superb optical quality. Kyocera, which acquired Yashica, later partnered with Zeiss to introduce still other Zeiss T* lenses, including rangefinder and autofocus-mount models. In 2005, Kyocera ceased all camera production and discontinued the marketing of Carl Zeiss lenses.

Very recently the Carl Zeiss foundation has revived the Zeiss Ikon name for a new type of rangefinder camera, with lenses designed by Carl Zeiss and manufactured by Cosina in Japan.

Some trademarks used by Carl Zeiss

• Biogon
• Biometar (East only)
• Biotar
• Distagon (West only)
• Flektogon (East only)
• Flexon (East only)
• Pancolar (East only)
• Planar
• Sonnar
• Tessar
• Topogon
• Triotar

Lenses marked Novar were three element lenses, not made by Carl Zeiss but bought to other manufacturers.

The Zeiss lenses of the Icarex had the names Ultron, Skoparex and Dynarex, that were originally Voigtländer trademarks.

See also

The links go directly to the Zeiss section:

• 39mm screw lenses
• 42mm screw lenses
• Contax rangefinder lenses
• Exakta lenses
• Praktina lenses
• Praktiflex lenses
• Rolleiflex SL35 lenses
• Yashica / Contax lenses
• Contax SLR Pages

The cameras

The Jena Contax

See Contax rangefinder.

The Werra

See Werra.