Post by belgiumreporter on May 27, 2021 5:17:29 GMT -5
When rearanging some shelves the Zoomar 36-82 f2.8 popped up. it is considered as the first zoom lens for 35mm cameras. designed in 1959 by Dr. Frank G. Back for the American Zoomar company it was put togheter in Germany by Kilfitt who did the works for Voigtländer.
Back then zoom lenses for 35mm cameras were a novelty only few companies made them and they were mostly (very) bad. It took Vivitar till 1974 to come up with something similar like the Zoomar allmost as big and massive, the series 1 35-85 2.8 wich added a few mm both at the short and long end.
It was a sensation (and very expensive) when it was launched even though it wasn't a real zoom lens but rather vari-focal wich meanth after changing the focal lenght the lens needed to be re-focussed. It took Nikon for example till 1987 to come up with something similar in the form of the 35-70 f2.8 AF this time they did manage to make it a real zoom and what's more with performance that matched prime lenses. So in hindsight it took about 28 years to get a decent version of the Zoomar....
By that time in the 80'ties lens designers didn't have to rely on slide rulers and the drawing board to design lenses with complex optical formulas as they now could rely on CAD for developing new lenses. From then on zoom lenses became more common and accesible for the greater public as prices on normal zooms dropped within everybody's budget.
Talking about optical formulas, the Zoomar has 14 elements in 5 groups while the Vivitar uses 12 elements in 9 groups. These days the performance of both these lenses is considered very mediocre and their value lies more in their historic significance than their actual performance.
Back then zoom lenses for 35mm cameras were a novelty only few companies made them and they were mostly (very) bad. It took Vivitar till 1974 to come up with something similar like the Zoomar allmost as big and massive, the series 1 35-85 2.8 wich added a few mm both at the short and long end.
It was a sensation (and very expensive) when it was launched even though it wasn't a real zoom lens but rather vari-focal wich meanth after changing the focal lenght the lens needed to be re-focussed. It took Nikon for example till 1987 to come up with something similar in the form of the 35-70 f2.8 AF this time they did manage to make it a real zoom and what's more with performance that matched prime lenses. So in hindsight it took about 28 years to get a decent version of the Zoomar....
By that time in the 80'ties lens designers didn't have to rely on slide rulers and the drawing board to design lenses with complex optical formulas as they now could rely on CAD for developing new lenses. From then on zoom lenses became more common and accesible for the greater public as prices on normal zooms dropped within everybody's budget.
Talking about optical formulas, the Zoomar has 14 elements in 5 groups while the Vivitar uses 12 elements in 9 groups. These days the performance of both these lenses is considered very mediocre and their value lies more in their historic significance than their actual performance.