Starting with microscopes in 1845, Carl Zeiss are leaders in optical technology, including prized camera lenses. The tradition continues in new lenses for DSLR cameras

The recent history of the company has been disruptive with an enforced split mirroring the partition of Germany itself following World War II. This caused problems with rights to the name and the original factory added the name of its East German town, Jena, to differentiate its products from those of the new company formed in West Germany.

The reunification of the country allowed Carl Zeiss to operate as one company. They have been concentrating their camera lens efforts on high-end designs for Hasselblad and large screen epics such as The Lord of the Rings.

They have forged several alliances with several Japanese camera manufacturers, notably Sony with more consumer oriented lenses.

New 35mm SLR Lens Range

A partnership with specialist Japanese optical manufacturer, Cosina, resulted in a new range of 35mm SLR lenses bearing the legendary Carl Zeiss name.

Carl Zeiss intends the range as premium lenses producing image quality to rival or surpass any other lens on the market. Recently they announced an expansion of the range to include Pentax K mount lenses (ZK) giving more photographers the opportunity to own and use lenses destined to become modern cult classics. The lenses support all the automatic metering functions of these latest Digital SLRs.

Currently examples of the Zeiss lenses are available for film and digital cameras from Sony/Minolta (ZA) and those Nikon’s F mount cameras (ZF). In a slightly anachronistic touch there are screw mount versions(ZS) available and with an appropriate adaptor fit most DSLR cameras, albeit with reduced functionality.

The Carl Zeiss passion for the ultimate image quality above all else emerges in the design features of their new SLR lens range.

Manual focus

Carl Zeiss opted to do without the convenience of autofocus apart from the Sony versions for the more accurate manual only focusing system. For critical focusing purist photographers prefer manual focusing, particularly in situations using shallow depth of field.

It is possible to operate manually autofocus lenses, but the mechanical action is un-damped and coarse, as their design suits the motor drive of the auto system.

The Carl Zeiss lenses feature a slightly damped focusing action with fine adjustment made possible by the long travel of the focusing ring. The large maximum apertures allow plenty of light through the lens to help with critical focusing.

Image Stabilization

The lenses do not have built in image stabilization, although Sony and Pentax provide this functionality in their latest camera bodies. The large apertures reduce the need for stabilization by allowing faster shutter speeds to lessen the effect of any camera shake.

Prime lenses

The German designers have generally ignored the zoom lens in favor of seeking the ultimate quality from fixed focal length prime lenses. Even the very best modern zooms sacrifice image quality for the speed and convenience. This underlies the strength of the SLR format, as there are situations where a zoom lens is preferable, such as action and sports.

Manual Metering

The lenses do not fully integrate with the metering systems of some of the cameras using the Nikon F lens mount. The automatic function may be limited to aperture priority, or Av, mode. Of course, full manual exposure operation is available on all cameras.

The first Pentax (ZK) lens were available for shipping in August 2007:

• Planar T* f1.4 50mm ZK

All other lenses will be available in late 2007:

• Distagon T* f2.8 25mm ZK
• Distagon T* f2 35mm ZK
• Planar T* f1.4 85mm ZK
• Makro-Planar T* f2 50mm ZK
• Makro-Planar T* f2 100mm ZK