Carl Zeiss internationale nieuwsbrief nr. 38

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December 2010Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division38

Contents

Getting the light right ............. 2

Photo competition:

„Light is my language” ................ 6

Safely on Its Way – Lens from

Carl Zeiss Accompanies NASA

Space Shuttle .............................. 8

The right lens for each situation –

Carl Zeiss camera lens types ..... 11

Size Matters with Bryan Adams

in the Carl Zeiss Calendar.......... 14

Carl Zeiss December 2010

Camera Lens News Nr. 38

Christian Kernchen is a profes-

sional and highly experienced

architectural and portrait pho-

tographer based in Munich, Ger-

many. His work reveals a finely

balanced interplay between light,

aperture, sharpness and focus.

He put three Carl Zeiss lenses

through their paces, focusing on

architecture, portrait photogra-

phy and macro shots.

Mr Kernchen, much of your

work centers around architec-

tural photography. How do you

work with light and shadows in

that field?

I generally work with natural light

when I take shots of buildings and

architecture, and I especially enjoy

working at dawn and dusk when the

contrasts are not so harsh. Artificial

light produced by light shapers or

flash units does not tend to produce

enough illumination for buildings.

High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is

great for architectural photography

– by merging a series of shots of the

same subject taken at different expo-

sures you can really bring out some

interesting moods and contrasts.

You put the Carl Zeiss

Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE to the test

with a Canon 5D MK II. What

were your overall impressions?

I used the Carl Zeiss Distagon T*

3,5/18 ZE at twilight without a

tripod. All the shots I took were

razor-sharp even though I was taking

them handheld and in some instances

stopping the lens down to f/8 or f/11.

The superb depth of field and level of

detail allow you to take wonderfully

dramatic and beautifully presented

architectural shots that really draw

Getting the light right

Architectural photography using the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE: Natural light / exposure: f/8 at 1/200 sec. / ISO 200 (www.photography-kernchen.com)



the viewer’s attention to the pivotal

parts of the image. This ultra-wide-

angle lens is an excellent choice for

architectural photography because

you often end up working in very

confined spaces and trying to capture

and hold a huge field of view in full

frame mode. With conventional 18

millimeter lenses that often results in

distortion because full frame cameras

provide weak results at the edges,

but the ZEISS Distagon T* 3,5/18 pro-

duced sharp images without distor-

tion. I hardly lost any of the picture

area when I was editing the images

and I didn’t need to use distortion

correction.

Personally, I was very impressed with

the lens, especially for full format

photography, and it was genuinely

fun to use. It will be part of my stan-

dard kit from now on!

You also do a lot of portrait, life-

style and fashion photography.

How do you deal with light on

those kinds of jobs?

The most important thing about

portrait photography is getting the

illumination just right and making

skilled use of natural light, which

basically means knowing how to use

light shapers, shadows and contrasts

to emphasize or mute certain parts

of the picture. I try to take an artistic

approach to the person in front of

me and focus attention on specific

details. I find I get the best results

with a narrow focus and by using

vignetting, which is when the image

darkens towards the edges.

You tried out the Carl Zeiss Pla-

nar T* 1,4/50 ZE for your portrait

shoot. How did it go?

I did the portrait shoot with the well-

known model Rebecca Baur in an

empty, modern office building. The

huge windows and the bare concrete

walls made it the perfect location,

both for working with natural light

and for taking shots in dark corners

with a flash unit and what we call a

“beauty dish”, a device that makes

the light softer.

Architectural photography using the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE: Natural light / exposure: f/10 at 1/250 sec. / ISO 200 (www.photography-kernchen.com)



Portrait shot using the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 ZE: Natural light / exposure: f/4 at 1/200 sec. / ISO 100 (www.christian-kernchen.com)

Portrait shot using the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 ZE: Natural light / exposure: f/5.6 at 1/125 sec. / ISO 200 (www.christian-kernchen.com)



Once again, I chose the Canon 5D

MK II to test the Carl Zeiss Planar T*

1,4/50 ZE. Using manual focusing

means you have to take your time

with portraits and approach your

subject calmly, without rushing. The

superb bokeh you get with ZEISS lens-

es gives photographers real creative

scope for playing around with focus

and blur, and even with the aperture

wide open I find I can still achieve

precise focusing. I switched between

natural light and flash during the

shoot in order to bring out the details

I wanted. The lens gives fantastic

sharpness and image quality for

portraits and close-up shots, both in

natural light and in combination with

a professional flash unit. The results

were excellent – virtually none of the

images were out-of-focus or shaky.

Tinkering with focus and blur is

an important stylistic device in

landscape and macro photogra-

phy, too. What approach do you

typically take in those areas?

I see my landscape photography

work as a kind of counterbalance to

my work as an architectural photog-

rapher. As well as beautiful moun-

tains and lakes, there are so many

interesting little details waiting to be

discovered. Nature contains all sorts

of small, hidden wonders which you

only find by getting as close as you

can to your subject, ideally with a

macro lens.

You also put the Carl Zeiss Mak-

ro-Planar T* 2/100 ZE through its

paces. What did you think of it?

Once again I decided to use my

Canon 5D MK II full-format camera

to test the Makro-Planar T* 2/100

so that I could capture flowers and

ferns from a distance without the

limitations of a crop factor. The lens

has a very fine focus, so you need a

good tripod, a remote trigger cable

and mirror lock-up – just like with all

macro photography. The f/2.0 lens

produced some interesting effects:

The background becomes blurred

and your gaze is immediately drawn

to the main subject, such as a bud or

a flower. I got some superb, perfectly

focused results with the Makro-Pla-

nar T* 2/100 even in natural light.

Macro shot using the Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZE Natural light / exposure: f/2 at 1/50 sec. / ISO 100 (www.photography-kernchen.com)

Christian Kernchen:

www.photography-kernchen.com

www.christian-kernchen.com



Without light there is no vi-

sion and no photography. The

theme of this year’s photography

competition therefore focuses

on light and darkness. Under the

motto „Light is my language”,

photographers and photo en-

thusiasts from anywhere in the

world are invited to submit pic-

tures from their own perspective.

It makes no difference whether

the picture is shot with an SLR

single reflex lens or the camera

of a mobile phone. The only re-

quirement is to use a ZEISS lens.

ZEISS fans will help select the

winners through the internet.

“Light is the most important creative

means in photography. Every pho-

tographer speaks his own language

and ultimately expresses his creative

messages through light and shadow,”

explains Martin Klottig, Marketing

Manager of the Carl Zeiss Camera

Lens Division. There are many ways

of expressing one’s creativity through

light and shadow. With light reflec-

tions, messages in bokeh (the out-

of-focus area of an image), colorful

accents derived from long exposure

times or the soft glimmer of barely

discernable light, photographers

give their images meaning. “We’re

looking for photographers who can

make something visible that would

otherwise remain hidden. The award-

winning pictures will exude both cre-

ativity and con-scious composition,”

adds Klottig.

For the first time, anyone will be

able to follow the contest dur-ing its

entire duration on Flickr, the global

online photo com-munity. Partici-

pants in the contest should upload

their best image that fits the “Light is

my language” theme and tag it with

the keyword “ZEISSContest2010”

on the official Carl Zeiss group

on Flickr (www.flickr.com/groups/

carlzeisslenses). Pictures can be sub-

mitted until January 16, after which a

jury from Carl Zeiss will select the 10

best images. The jury will assess pic-

tures on their creativity and technical

execution of the concept. The highest

number of points will be given to ex-

citing images that have been created

before and during the shutter release,

with as little revising and adapting of

the image as possible. The shortlisted

pictures will then be presented in a

Flickr gallery. From the 10 shortlisted

images, the Flickr community will

select the three best images. The

picture that is added the most as a

“favorite” after the start of the gallery

will win.

The winner will receive a ZEISS SLR

lens of his or her choice. The second

prize is a set of cinemizer Plus video

glasses to-gether with a Nokia N8

smartphone. The third-prize winner

will receive a Sony DSC-TX9 compact

camera with ZEISS optics.

For more information, visit

www.zeiss.com/photo

www.zeiss.com/photo/contest

Photo competition: „Light is my language”



Altes Stadthaus, Berlin, taken with Distagon T* 2,8/21

Sun over a lake, taken with Distagon T* 2,8/25



Cape Canaveral. Night. The

hustle and bustle of prepara-

tions cannot be overlooked. The

employees of PCO AG, a leading

manufacturer of high-speed cam-

eras for industry and research,

are anxious: the countdown for

the launch of the next space

shuttle mission is underway.

A camera from PCO and a lens

from Carl Zeiss are recording the

launch.

Artists are not the only ones who

need high-speed equipment to

draw attention to their subjects.

The demands of high-tech scenarios

in industry, e.g. recording a night-

time launch of the space shuttle, are

often much higher. More astound-

ing is the fact that photographers

use the same lenses for their art.

The United States has sent more

than 100 space shuttles into space.

The National Aeronautics and Space

Administration filmed each launch to

learn from mistakes and make each

subsequent flight safer and more

reliable. The cameras and lenses

used for this purpose are subject to

rigorous requirements. So rigorous

that NASA has consistently stuck to

traditional film cameras because, until

very recently, digital technology was

still not up to the challenge. Time to

rethink this approach? In 2009, NASA

asked four digital high-speed camera

makers to film the launch of a space

shuttle. A pco.dimax from PCO and

Safely on Its WayLens from Carl Zeiss Accompanies NASA Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle before August 2009 launch

a Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF from

Carl Zeiss were there.

Superiority in light and darkness

The material is really put to the test

while recording a shuttle launch. First

off, the differences in light intensity

are enormous – the dead of night

followed by a burst of light from the

booster rockets. It is very difficult to

compensate for the resulting reflec-

tions. As with night photography, the

cameras and lenses must feature very

high speed. The cameras take several

hundreds of photos each second in

order to capture all the details of a



shuttle launch. The exposure times

are accordingly short. The image

sensors therefore have to be very sen-

sitive and the lenses so powerful that

sufficient light reaches the sensor.

Focusing on the details

When photographers set out to

capture the tiniest details, their

primary requirement is good imaging

performance. This is no different

during a shuttle launch. The cameras

are positioned some 300 meters from

the launch pad, yet it is the close-up

details of the launch that are crucial:

Did the shuttle separate correctly

from the launch platform? Did all the

engines ignite? Did the heat shield

remain intact? NASA depends on this

information to perform its subse-

quent launch analysis, a process that

could enable it to determine why

a part became detached from the

shuttle during launch or even prevent

a potential catastrophe in space. Pick-

ing out that level of detail from such

a large distance requires cameras

with a very high resolution – and

lenses that are just as good.

What about the weather

A third key quality feature is the

workmanship of cameras and lenses.

NASA’s requirements far exceed

anything that photographic equip-

ment generally encounters. “The

shuttle launch produces incredible

vibrations,” explains Gerhard Holst,

PCO’s head of research, “plus you

have to deal with high humidity and

significant temperature variations, be-

cause it gets a lot colder in Florida at

night.” Once the cameras have been

set up and focused, they are simply

left outside – protected from the

weather by nothing more than a mini

roof – because access is subsequently

prohibited for safety and security

reasons. The fact that NASA had

to repeatedly postpone the launch

meant that the equipment was ex-

posed to adverse weather conditions

for more than a week – an indication

of just how robust the systems need

to be. “A standard lens wouldn’t even

survive the vibrations triggered by the

launch,” says Holst. So PCO chose

the Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF from

Carl Zeiss, a very fast lens that offers

equally impressive resolution.

Test installation with a pco.dimax and ZEISS Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF in Florida (source: PCO)

Following installation, various high-speed cameras and lenses were protected against the elements only by a small enclosure (source: PCO)



The test results were impressive, with

the shots taken by PCO showing

details such as thin cables that are

not visible on images taken by the

other systems. “Even the folks at

NASA were impressed with that,”

laughs Holst. It is still unclear if NASA

will soon actually switch over to

digital photography. The future of the

American shuttle has not been writ-

ten – NASA intends to discontinue

the program. However, the results of

the test could also be of great interest

for the shuttle’s planned successor,

the Orion spacecraft, as well as for

other applications in the aerospace

arena. After all, the high-speed cam-

eras from PCO and the lenses from

Carl Zeiss have demonstrated that

they are more than capable of stand-

ing up to the challenges of a space

shuttle launch regardless of the envi-

ronment – darkest night or incredible

light, rain or wind, near or far.

The ZEISS Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF has an excellent track record



The right lens for each situationCarl Zeiss camera lens types

Distagon, Planar, Tessar… Carl Zeiss lenses have been known by these names for decades. But what actu-

ally lies behind these long-familiar names? What distinguishes the different lens types and what were they

originally designed for?

Planar:

an exceptionally fl at image plane

The Planar was one of the fi rst lenses

developed by Carl Zeiss. Launched in

1896, this symmetrical lens was the

fi rst to achieve almost perfect image

fl atness, correcting both spherical and

chromatic aberrations as well as astig-

matism. As the name suggests, the

Planar was designed to have minimal

fi eld curvature. Nowadays, the Planar

comes in a wide range of different

models with focal lengths of between

50 and 100 millimeters.

Special versions are available for

industrial applications. For example,

Carl Zeiss designed the Planar

1:0,7/50 – the fastest lens in the

world – for NASA, enabling photos

to be taken of the dark side of the

Moon for the very fi rst time.

Distagon:

broadening your horizons

The lenses sold under the Distagon

moniker are retrofocus lenses, in

other words non-symmetrical, wide-

angle lenses in which the distance

between the rear element and the

fi lm plane is signifi cantly greater than

the focal length. Distagon lenses use

fl oating elements, a type of lens con-

struction that automatically adjusts

the distance between the groups

within the lens in order to provide

excellent fi eld fl attening even at close

focusing distances. Thanks to their

minimal distortion, Distagon lenses

are the perfect choice for advertising

and architectural photography. They

are available in a range of models,

for example as wide-angle and super

wide-angle lenses with focal lengths

of between 18 and 35 millimeters.



Sonnar: bringing light and con-

trast into 35mm photography

Carl Zeiss developed the Sonnar

range of lenses in 1930 for 35mm

photography. The name comes from

the German word for sun, and it was

the bright aperture and high contrast

echoed in that name which quickly

caught people’s attention when these

lenses were launched. Sonnar lenses

have very few air/glass surfaces de-

spite their wide aperture – something

that was of the utmost importance in

the days before anti-refl ective coatings

were invented – and this made them

into the fi rst viable fast lenses. Now

that this baton has been passed on to

the Planar, the Sonnar has begun to

fl ex its muscles in other areas. Models

from this range nowadays form the

basis for compact high-performance

lenses such as the C Sonnar T* 1,5/50

ZM, the Sonnar T* 2/85 ZM and the

Vario-Sonnar T* DT 3,5-4,5/16-80 ZA

for Sony DSLRs. Photographers ben-

efi t from the Sonnar lenses’ superb

aberration correction and uniform

illumination of the image fi eld.

Tessar:

the eagle eye of your camera

IIn 1902, Carl Zeiss developed what

would arguably become the most

famous lens in the history of photog-

raphy – the Tessar. Since then, more

than 100 million units have been sold

and the Tessar has inspired countless

imitations. Offering unprecedented

levels of brilliance when it was fi rst

launched, its crisp image defi nition

continues to impress today. By design,

Tessar lenses are highly compact

and perfectly suited to applications

where size and weight are critical

– for example in Nokia cell phones

such as the Nokia N8 smart phone,

which uses Tessar lenses to obtain

maximum image quality in a remark-

ably small package. Rangefi nder

cameras can tap into the benefi ts of

the Tele-Tessar T* 4/85 ZM, a slim and

extremely compact tele lens that fi ts

easily into almost any jacket pocket,

making it the perfect companion for

portrait and landscape photography.



Camera Lens News

A newsletter for all who use, buy, sell,

like, report about and are interested in

Carl Zeiss camera lenses.

All information in Camera Lens News is

accurate to the best of our knowledge at

the time of publication.

Publisher:

Carl Zeiss AG

Camera Lens Division

Marketing

73446 Oberkochen

Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 7364/20-6175

Email: [email protected]

Internet: www.zeiss.de/photo

Biogon: truly out of this world

Biogon is a range of super wide-

angle lenses which were designed

to capture as much of the photogra-

pher’s surroundings as possible in a

single shot. Their almost completely

symmetrical and highly compact lens

construction enables Biogon lenses

to produce a 90 degree fi eld angle.

Thanks to very low distortion, excel-

lent fi eld fl atness and superb resolving

power, Biogon lenses are an unbeat-

able tool for documentary work. Their

abilities have even been put to the

test in space. On July 20, 1969, Neil

Armstrong took the fi rst pictures of

the Moon using a Hasselblad EDC and

a Carl Zeiss Biogon, and this lens type

also proved to be a reliable compan-

ion for astronauts on subsequent

Apollo missions.

Would you like to learn more

about our different types of

lenses?

Next year we will be running a

series of technical articles examin-

ing in much greater depth how

ur lenses are designed, how they

work and what features they offer.



He’s not just a famous rock

singer and songwriter, but also

a talented photographer: Bryan

Adams took fascinating shots of

model Tatjana Patitz and actor

Michael J. Fox in New York for

the 2011 Carl Zeiss Calendar. In

lavish images, all captured in

Manhattan, the calendar titled

“Size and the City” has big and

small as its subject.

The couple shown could not be any

different – especially as far as their

size is concerned: top model Tatjana

Patitz with her 1.80 meters and actor

Michael J. Fox, who measures 1.62

meters. Bryan Adams put the two

world-famous stars in the spotlight

as an imaginary romantic couple.

Whether they are eating a meal,

shopping or just out for a walk, the

goal is always to contrast big and

small, and far and near. Patitz takes

a leisurely walk with a pug, for ex-

ample, while Fox is being dragged off

his feet by a Great Dane.

“Photographing a couple of very

different sizes was Byran Adam’s

idea. He also wanted New York as

the location,” says Jörg Nitschke,

Head of Corporate Communications

at Carl Zeiss. “The title ‘Size and the

City’ should not be understood as a

motto. It combines the subject of size

with scenes from big city life. And, of

course, it is a play on the title of then

famous TV series.”

A guy who focuses on the es-

sentials

Bryan Adams, who has had No.1 hits

in more than 30 countries, has made

a name for himself as a photographer

and has received numerous inter-

national awards for his work. Jörg

Nitschke, who was present during the

Size Matters with Bryan Adams in the

Carl Zeiss Calendar



two-day photo shoot in New York,

describes Adams’ approach as very

focused: “He is highly concentrated

and in no way sees this part of his

artistic work as a hobby or as a means

of relaxation between gigs. He is not

the type of guy that wants a lot of

complicated, high-tech equipment,

but starts by getting a feel for the

location and the players and then im-

mediately begins implementing.” The

shots were in the can after just two

days. For Nitschke, the photos exude

a sense of liberal and casual generos-

ity and combine a zest for life with

a tinge of inner reflection. They are

a plea for love – also in the face of

seemingly insurmountable contrasts

and contradictions.

The calendar has been published in

a limited edition for customers and

friends of Carl Zeiss and is not avail-

able for purchase. “We do not wish to

do business with the calendar. It is part

of our understanding of originality and

an indication of how greatly we value

our friends and partners. We want to

offer them something special, and that

is precisely what the photos are.”

On 12 October 2010, ZEISS pre-

sented the photos of the calendar to

a selected, international public during

a private viewing in the House of

Photography in Hamburg, Germany.

The response in the international

press was sensational. “In October we

already surpassed the 90 million mark

in our media contacts,” Nitschke says

with obvious delight and admits that

it will be no easy project to follow

next year. “Our plans for 2012 are

already underway. I am really excited

about what we come up with next

time.”

Win a 2011 Carl Zeiss

Calendar!

We are organizing a drawing for

three of the limited edition cal-

endars. Send us an email marked

“Win a Calendar” to photo@zeiss.

de before 14 January 2010. The

winners will then be selected in a

drawing.

Carl Zeiss internationale nieuwsbrief nr. 38

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