A tip of the hat to friend Katrin for forwarding a great link to Wired’s gadget blog, with a look at some optics exhibits at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin.
The museum shows several camera lenses cut open—one of which appears to be a Leica Tri-Elmar-M:
I realize this museum is in Berlin, and thus wants to showcase Germany’s well-regarded optics industry. Still, it’s a bit heart-stopping to note that this particular Leica lens is now out of production, and was hardly an inexpensive item—one currently for sale on eBay has a “Buy It Now” price of USD $3,350!
This is an unusual lens for M-mount rangefinder cameras, that can be switched to 28, 35, or 50mm focal lengths. Note that it is not exactly a zoom lens, as only those three discrete focal lengths are available. (This makes sense on a rangefinder camera, where the viewfinder also switches between several discrete choices of frame lines.)
It’s actually rather impressive that the lens achieves this (and has a good reputation for sharpness to boot) with so few lens elements (8 elements in 6 groups).
If you were interested in my past post about simple camera-lens design, check out the link. The complexity that goes into sophisticated camera lenses can be pretty impressive.
Tech support for film photography: DIY projects, notes on vintage cameras, and random eccentric opinion.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Did you ever see this video about lens making?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7_wL0ZZi6k
June 30th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
That link is fab! That’s from a Rochester, NY maker of lens components and CCTV lenses, apparently: http://www.jmloptical.com/
July 1st, 2008 at 10:02 am
As a lapsed Leica geek, this photo made me gasp, then chuckle.
July 1st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
There are lapsed Leica geeks? That comment made me chuckle!
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
Yeah, there are a few of us. I shot 75% of my newspaper work with a pair of M-4s and 3 lenses from about 1981 to 1991. Then the paper gave each photographer a bag with 2 Nikon F4s and a bunch of lenses. In 2001 I realized I had not shot a single frame with either Leica in 5 years. So I sold them. If I want a small, unobtrusive 35mm I now use a Canonet or an Olympus 35rc. When I look back at negatives made during the Leica years I honestly can’t tell which were made with the Leicas or my Canon SLRS (other than SLR shots made with a 200 or 300mm lens).