Super zoom lens
In photography, a super zoom lens , often also called travel zoom , is a zoom lens with a particularly large focal length range .
Which focal length range qualifies a lens as a superzoom depends on the recording format and the developing technical possibilities. Focal length ranges from 28-85 mm, i.e. a ratio of 1: 3 between the shortest and longest focal length, were considered an optical sensation in the 1980s, but have now established themselves as the standard. In 2004, typical superzoom interchangeable lenses for the 35mm format covered a focal length range of 28–300 mm or, for example, 100–500 mm, ie zoom factors of 1: 5 or more. In the area of zoom lenses for film and video cameras (professional broadcast), focal length ranges of up to 100x zoom are achieved.
History and Development
The first zoom lens for photo cameras was made by Voigtländer in 1959 (Voigtländer ZOOMAR1: 2.8 / 36-82 mm). 1959 also made Nikon a zoom lens 1: 4.0-4.5 / 85-250 mm for the new Nikon F before. A zoom 1: 9.5-10.5 / 200-600 mm and 1: 3.5 / 43-86 mm followed by 1963. The first affordable zoom lens for amateurs was the Vivitar Series I 3.5 / 70–210 mm from 1973 with a focal length range that was breathtaking for the time, which initiated the triumph of zoom lenses . Other superzoom lenses were a 1: 8 / 100–500 mm from Minolta and a 1: 11 / 360–1200 mm from Nikon. In 1980 Tokina brought a wide-angle zoom lens with the likewise enormous focal length range of 1: 4 / 28-85 mm onto the market.
Only two years later, Tokina also presented the first superzoom as we know it today; it covered a focal length range of 35–200 mm (1982). The focal length range was increased again in 1985 when Kiron introduced the first zoom lens with a focal length range of 28-210 mm. In 1992, Tamron was able to bring a corresponding, but also particularly compact zoom lens, the Revoluzoom 28–200 mm, onto the market for the first time. For the professional requirements of photo reporters, the widely used Canon EF 35-350 mm f / 3.5-5.6 L brought the breakthrough. Sigma brought a super zoom with a focal length of 1: 4.0–6.3 / 50-500 mm. The use of aspherically ground lenses and glasses with very low color dispersion significantly improve the image quality of many zoom lenses. The additional installation of optical image stabilization systems such as the Canon EF 28-300 mm also increases the range of applications.
In 2001, eight-fold zoom lenses for SLR cameras were still relatively large, heavy and expensive. In 2013 there were already numerous flat compact cameras with 10x to 22x zoom on the market.
properties
The basic properties of a zoom lens are the minimum and maximum focal length and the light intensity at the minimum and maximum focal length. The quotient of the focal lengths is called the zoom factor .
Despite improved optical glasses and calculation methods, all superzooms still represent a compromise today. Compared to fixed focal lengths and zooms with a smaller adjustment range, the image quality is in most cases satisfactory, but often insufficient for critical shooting situations . In particular, lenses that want to cover both the wide-angle range and the telephoto range struggle with contradicting optical requirements. While the general impression of sharpness is usually acceptable with modern lenses, all superzooms suffer from relatively strong distortion and, due to the complex structure of in some cases more than twenty lens groups, tend to lose contrast and reflections.
In most cases, high light intensities can only be achieved with fixed focal lengths, a few exceptions are extremely expensive.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Digital cameras in the test: Here you can find the best camera , test.de from March 2, 2018, accessed on April 19, 2018
- ↑ Autofocus zoom lenses: focal length brummer, test.de, July 26, 2001, accessed on September 4, 2014
- ↑ Digital cameras with super zoom: Tierisch nah dran , test.de, August 29, 2013, accessed on September 4, 2014