Angénieux

Angénieux is a French optical company founded in 1936 and installed at Saint-Héand. It has made lenses for still and movie cameras, and for military applications. Early Alpa Reflex cameras came with 50mm f/2.9 Angénieux lenses.

In 1950, Angénieux released the first retrofocus lens, a design that allows to fit a wide-angle lens on an SLR without interfering with the moving mirror.

In 1958, it launched its first zoom lens for movie cameras. The idea of a zoom lens appeared early, and the first useable models for movie films appeared in the 1930s, but remained highly experimental. Angénieux is one of the first companies to have sold zoom lenses on a large scale, after the Voigtländer Zoomar and SOM-Berthiot.

Angénieux built the first zoom lens for a Leica still camera, with the 45-90/2.8 zoom for the Leicaflex.

Angénieux stopped the production of SLR camera lenses in 1994, due to "difficulties in making lenses which are fully compatible with today's modern SLRs". It continues to produce lenses for the movie and video industry, as well as other specialised applications.

The fast Angénieux 1:0,95/50 mm C-mount movie camera lens has recently had a small revival in popularity, thru the adaptibility of cine lenses onto new digital camera systems such as Micro Four Thirds and Sony NEX.

Still camera lenses

Angénieux Paris F=35 1:2.5 Retrofocus Type R1 image by Peter M Lerman (Image rights)

• F. 28 1:3.5 Retrofocus Type R11
• F. 35 1:2.5 Retrofocus Type R1
• F. 50 1:2.9 Type Z5
• F. 90 1:1.8 Type P1
• F. 90 1:2.5 Type Y1
• F. 90 1:2.5 Type Y12
• F. 135 1:2.5 Type P2
• F. 180 1:4.5 Type P21

lenses for Alpa Reflex bayonet

Angénieux Alitar 180mm f/4.5 lens for Alpa cameras image by Geoff Harrisson (Image rights)

• 1:3.5/24 Alpa Retrofocus Type R61
• Type Z2 F-50 1:2.9
• Type S1 Alitar F-50 1:1.8
• 1:3.5/35 Alcorar
• 1:2.9/50 Angénieux
• 1:2.9/50 Alpar
• 1:3.5/75 Alsetar
• 1:2.5/90 Alpa Alfitar
• 1:2.5/90 Alportar
• 1:3.5/135 Alogar
• 1:4.5/180 Alpa Alitar

C-mount, fixed focal length

• F. 5.9 1:1.8 Type R7
• F. 10 1:1.8 Retrofocus R21
• F. 10 1:1.8 Retrofocus R22
• Bell & Howell Angénieux 10mm f/1.8 Retrofocus
• Bell & Howell Angénieux 15mm f/1.3
• F. 18.5 1:2.2 Retrofocus Type R2
• F. 24 1:2.2 Retrofocus Type R2
• F. 25 1:0.95 Type M1
• Bell & Howell Angénieux 1 inch f/0.95
• F. 25 1:1.4 Type S41
• Kodak Ekton lens 25mm f/1.4
• F35 1:0.95
• 3 inch f/2.5

Cinema zoom lenses

Digital zoom lenses

• Optimo DP 16-42
• Optimo DP 30-80

35mm

2013

• Optimo 15-40
• Optimo 28-76
• Optimo 45-120
• Optimo 17-80
• Optimo 19.5-94
• Optimo 24-290
• Optimo 28-340

Older

• Type 15x12.5 B – 12.5-188mm 1:2.5-3-5
• 17-102mm T2.9
• 20-120mm T2.9
• Type 10x25 T2 1:3.2 – 25-250mm HR T3.5
• 25-250 T3.7 HP
• 25-250mm T3.9
• 35-140mm T4.4

Super 16

• 7-81mm HR T2.4
• 11.5-138mm T2.3
• Type 10x15 – 15-150mm 1:1.9 T2
• 15-150mm T3.1
• 15-300mm T6

16mm

• Type 10x15 B – 6-90mm 1:1.2
• 9.5-57mm T1.9
• 9.5-95mm T2.8
• 10-150mm T2.3
• Type 10x12 B – 12-120mm 1:2.2 T2.5 [1]
• 12-240mm T4.2

8mm

• Angenieux HR AF Macro Zoom 1,7/5,3-64mm
• Type 13.5x6 B – 6-80mm 1:1.2
• Type 8x6,5 B – 6,5-52mm 1:1.8
• 8-64mm 1:1.9 (Super 8)

Links

• History page at the Company homepage