Difference between revisions of "Zuiko"

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'''Zuiko''' is the name of the camera lenses made by [[Olympus]], from the first one, mounted in 1936 on the [[Semi Olympus]], to the present day. All the Olympus cameras use the Zuiko lenses made by the company.
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'''Zuiko''' is the name of the camera lenses made by [[Olympus]], from the first one, mounted in 1936 on the [[Semi Olympus]], to the present day. All Olympus cameras use lenses made by the company, but the word 'Zuiko' is not mentioned on some of the cheaper point and shoot compact models.
  
 
Zuikō is written 瑞光 in Japanese and can be translated as "auspicious optics" or "auspicious light". The name was adopted after a contest open to the company employees,<REF> Maitani, [http://www.olympus-zuiko.com/dev_spirits/maitani/vol01/index.html "Kamera-zukuri he no bōken"]; Sakai, p.7 of {{KKS}} no.20; Francesch, p.19. </ref> being a contraction of the first characters of "Mizuho Kōgaku Kenkyūjo" (瑞穂光学研究所, meaning Mizuho Optical Research Institute), name of a branch of Takachiho Seisakusho (the later Olympus) founded to develop the camera lens.
 
Zuikō is written 瑞光 in Japanese and can be translated as "auspicious optics" or "auspicious light". The name was adopted after a contest open to the company employees,<REF> Maitani, [http://www.olympus-zuiko.com/dev_spirits/maitani/vol01/index.html "Kamera-zukuri he no bōken"]; Sakai, p.7 of {{KKS}} no.20; Francesch, p.19. </ref> being a contraction of the first characters of "Mizuho Kōgaku Kenkyūjo" (瑞穂光学研究所, meaning Mizuho Optical Research Institute), name of a branch of Takachiho Seisakusho (the later Olympus) founded to develop the camera lens.

Revision as of 11:52, 16 July 2009

Zuiko is the name of the camera lenses made by Olympus, from the first one, mounted in 1936 on the Semi Olympus, to the present day. All Olympus cameras use lenses made by the company, but the word 'Zuiko' is not mentioned on some of the cheaper point and shoot compact models.

Zuikō is written 瑞光 in Japanese and can be translated as "auspicious optics" or "auspicious light". The name was adopted after a contest open to the company employees,[1] being a contraction of the first characters of "Mizuho Kōgaku Kenkyūjo" (瑞穂光学研究所, meaning Mizuho Optical Research Institute), name of a branch of Takachiho Seisakusho (the later Olympus) founded to develop the camera lens.

Where a lens is denominated with a letter before the Zuiko name (e.g. D.Zuiko or F.Zuiko) it represents the number of optical elements in the lens. The letter's placing in the alphabet corresponds to the number of elements present — so a D.Zuiko lens has 4 elements, and a F.Zuiko has 6. Olympus began to phase out these letter designations when introducing new products in the early 1980s (e.g. the XA-3 and XA-4).

Zuiko interchangeable lenses

Zuiko for other companies

The Zuiko lenses were also mounted on some cameras made by other Japanese companies:

List of Zuiko lenses

13.5×18mm lenses

A range of 'Zuiko Digital'-branded lenses developed for the Four-Thirds digital SLR system. See Four-Thirds lenses for further details.

18×24mm lenses

A range of interchangeable SLR lenses for the half-frame Pen F system — see Olympus Pen F lenses for further details.

24×36mm lenses

A single lens was made in Leica screw mount; see Zuiko 4cm f/2.8 for Leica. Other Zuiko lenses may have been remounted for Leica by third-party workshops (see the high-aperture lenses below).[2]

A single lens was made in Exakta mount; see Zuiko 4cm f/3.5 for Exakta.

A small range of interchangeable lenses in 42mm screw mount was developed for the Olympus FTL; see 42mm screw lenses for further details.

A large range of interchangeable lenses for the 35mm OM system was developed over a period of thirty years; see Olympus OM lenses for further details.

4×4cm lenses

  • 60/2.8 Olympus D.Zuiko, 4 elements, taking and viewing lens of the f/2.8 Eye 44
  • 60/3.5, taking and viewing lens of the f/3.5 Eye 44

4×5cm lenses

Interchangeable lenses of the Olympus Standard: see Olympus Standard.

4.5×6cm and 6×6cm lenses

The first prototype lenses made by Takachiho in 1936 include the 75/4.5 mounted on the Semi Olympus, a 105/4.5 for 6.5×9cm format (listed below), and perhaps a 75/3.5.[3]

565416670_afe13fe9e9_m_d.jpg 2448062815_86594ae13a_m_d.jpg 2448915986_cdaaa427ee_m_d.jpg
Zuikô 75mm f/4.5 no.1137. Picture by Henk. (Image rights)
Zuikô 7.5cm f/4.5 no.3620. Picture by Adrian Gotts. (Image rights)
Zuiko-S 7.5cm f/4.5 no.12507. Picture by M. Walters. (Image rights)

The "lowest" and "highest" numbers correspond to the serial numbers actually observed.

  • 75/4.5, four elements in three groups
    • marked Takatiho Tôkyô Zuikô 1:4.5 f=75mm. No.xxxx, black face (lowest 1048, highest 1142):
    • marked Zuikô 1:4,5 f=75mm Takatiho Tokyo No.xxxx, black face (lowest 1221, highest 1221):
    • marked Zuikô 1:4,5 f=7.5cm Takatiho Tokyo No.xxxx, black face (lowest 144x, highest 3797):
    • marked Zuiko 1:4,5 f=7.5cm Takatiho Tokyo No.xxxx, black face (lowest 5253, highest 7157):
  • 75/4.5, five elements in three groups, wartime
    • marked Zuiko–S 1:4,5 f=7,5cm Takatiho Tokyo No.1xxxx, black face (lowest 12507, highest 13501):
  • 75/3.5, four elements in three groups, prewar and wartime
  • 75/3.5, five elements in three groups, wartime
    • marked Zuiko–S 1:3,5 f=7,5cm Takatiho Tokyo No.1xxxx, silver face (lowest 12126, highest 12126):
  • 75/3.5, four elements in three groups, recomputed in 1946
    • marked Zuiko 1:3,5 f=7,5cm Takatiho Tokyo No.xxxxx, silver face (lowest 20016, highest 3476x and perhaps 43001):
    • marked Zuiko 1:3.5 f=7.5cm Takatiho Tokyo No.xxxxx, black face:
    • marked Olympus Zuiko Coated 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No.xxxxx, silver face (lowest 52230, highest 58379):
    • marked Olympus Zuiko Coated 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No.xxxxx, red Zuiko, silver face:
    • marked Olympus Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No.xxxxx, red C., silver face (lowest 89442, highest 944x4):
    • marked Olympus Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No.xxxxx, red Zuiko C., silver face:
    • marked Olympus Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No.xxxxxx, black C., silver face (lowest 113x92, highest 115576):
    • marked Olympus Zuiko F.C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No.xxxxxx, silver face (lowest 118701, highest 12x309):
    • marked Olympus Zuiko F.C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm No,xxxxxx, silver face (lowest 330639, highest 338812):
    • marked Olympus Zuiko F.C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm xxxxxx, silver face (lowest 100711, highest 112305):
    • marked Olympus Zuiko F.C. 1:3.5 f=7.5cm, black face:
  • 75/2.8, six elements in four groups

6.5×9cm lens

  • 105/4.5, four elements in three groups, first prototype lens made by Takachiho, intended for 6.5×9cm plate cameras[4]

High-aperture lenses

Three high-aperture lenses were developed from 1936–7, using Japanese optical glass, after a request from the Japanese government:[5]

  • Zuiko f/2.7, five elements in three groups
  • Falcon f/2, six elements in four groups
  • Olympar f/1.5, six elements in five groups

It seems that the projects were first designed with a focal length of 50mm, then that a 65mm version of the Zuiko f/2.7 and Falcon f/2 was planned for the Olympus Standard.[6] It is unclear if any of these lenses were actually made.[7]

The Olympar f/1.5 design later evolved as the Zuiko 50/1.5, which was produced in small quantities and sold to Shimazu Seisakusho for X-ray cameras made around 1940.[8] It seems that some of these lenses appeared on the market after the war in Leica screw mount, perhaps sold by Shimazu as surplus.[9]

Aerial lenses

Enlarging lenses

  • 50/4.5 enlarging lens, sold ¥60 in 1941,[13]
  • 50/3.5 enlarging lens, marked Olympus Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=5cm No.xxxxxx[14]
  • 75/4.5 enlarging lens, four elements, three groups, marked Olympus Zuiko C. 1:4,5 f=7,5cm xxxxxx[15]
  • 75/3.5 enlarging lens, four elements, three groups[12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Maitani, "Kamera-zukuri he no bōken"; Sakai, p.7 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20; Francesch, p.19.
  2. ↑ HPR, p.410, also mentions a Zuiko 90/4 and a Zuiko 135/3.5, both with a question mark. The existence of these lenses is dubious.
  3. ↑ The 75/3.5 is only mentioned in Sakai, p.7 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20.
  4. ↑ Hagiya, p.13 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20.
  5. ↑ Sakai, p.7 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20. "Orinpasu kamera shisakuki 2-shu", p.59 of the same magazine. Japanese optical glass: Sakurai Eiichi, p.67 of the same magazine.
  6. ↑ "Orinpasu kamera shisakuki 2-shu", p.59 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20. The Zuiko 65/2.7 and Falcon 65/2 appear in an advertisement for the Olympus Standard dated August 1937, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.62.
  7. ↑ Sakurai, p.67 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20, seems to imply that they were not.
  8. ↑ Sakurai Eiichi, p.67 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20.
  9. ↑ Sakurai and Saeki, p.67 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20. HPR, p.410, mentions the Zuiko 50/1.5 in Leica screw mount, and also mentions a 50/1.1, certainly a confusion.
  10. ↑ Examples pictured in "Orinpasu renzu hoi", p.81 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20, and observed for sale at a dealer and in an online auction.
  11. ↑ Example observed for sale at a dealer.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Mentioned in "Orinpasu renzu hoi", p.81 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20.
  13. ↑ Advertisement dated 1941, reproduced in Nostalgic Camera by Toshio Inamura.
  14. ↑ Example pictured in this page at Red Book Nikkor (lens no.139597).
  15. ↑ "Orinpasu renzu hoi", p.81 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.20. The example pictured has no.104603.

Bibliography

Links

In Japanese:

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