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 p.1 #3 · Are Zuiko designs close to Zeiss, or something else? | |
The current Leica 50/1.4 ASPH is nothing like any other manufacturer's normal lens in design.
Zeiss developed a lot of the modern lens designs we use:
Planar (double gauss - 6 elements in 6 groups) is what most 50's are, a symmetrical design.
Tessar (4 elements, 3 groups) is another popular design used by the voigtlander heliars and the original Leica 50/3.5 elmar.
Sonnars are a high contrast, low flare but lower sharpness alternative to the Planar design, originally utilising 6 elements in 3 groups and were one of the first large aperture lens designs.
Distagon and Biogon are less original and revolutionary, but still useful designs. Distagon is a retrofocal wide angle, useful for ultra wides on both SLR's and rangefinders. Biogon is a symmetrical wide/ultra-wide lens design mostly suited to rangefinders because the lens on an SLR gets in the way with this design.
As far as I'm aware most Zuiko Tele's are modified Sonnar designs. The 18mm is similar to a distagon. The 50's as has been said are mostly Planar designs, the 50/2 macro is slightly more elaborate. The 21/2.0 shares a lot in common with the Zeiss 21/2.8 Distagon in terms of design with the use of unique exotic glasses, and very high correction through field flattener elements, floating elements etc.
It's kind of hard to create a lens design without it being similar to a Zeiss design, they were all formulated before the advent of 35mm, the Planar and Tessar are more than 100 years old!
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What I am wondering is whether there are any similarities between the Zuiko optical design and the Zeiss one. Or if there's anything else very similar to the Zuikos.
