The M42 lens mount is a screw thread mounting standard for attaching lenses to 35 mm cameras , primarily single-lens reflex models. It is more accurately known as the M42 × 1 mm standard, which means that it is a metric screw thread of 42 mm diameter and 1 mm thread pitch . (The M42 lens mount should not be confused with the T-mount , which shares the 42 mm throat diameter, but differs by having a 0.75 mm thread pitch.)
91-764: It was first used by the East German brands VEB Zeiss Ikon in the Contax S of 1949, and KW in the Praktica of the same year. VEB Zeiss Ikon and KW were merged into the Pentacon brand in 1959, along with several other East German camera makers. M42 thread mount cameras first became well known under the Praktica brand, and thus the M42 mount is known as the Praktica thread mount . Since there were no proprietary elements to
182-404: A flange focal distance greater than that of M42, most notably Nikon, three options are available. A simple mechanical adapter allows the lens to be mounted, but the effect is similar to the introduction of an extension tube, reducing the minimum focus distance at the expense of losing infinity focus. Alternatively, an adapter with an optical element can be used to retain the original focus range of
273-427: A brand has negative connotations associated with it, it can only lead to decreased profitability and possibly complete corporate failure. Companies differentiate themselves from competitors by incorporating practices from changing their logo to going green. Differentiation from competitors is important in order to attract more customers and an effective way to draw in more desirable employees. The need to differentiate
364-494: A brand's logo , name, legal names, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. Such changes typically aim to reposition the brand/company, occasionally to distance itself from negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand upmarket ; they may also communicate a new message a new board of directors wishes to communicate. Rebranding can be applied to new products, mature products, or even products still in development . The process can occur through
455-431: A change in marketing strategy or in various other situations such as Chapter 11 corporate restructuring, union busting , or bankruptcy . Rebranding can also refer to a change in a company or corporate brand that may own several sub-brands for products or companies. Rebranding became something of a fad at the turn of the millennium, with some companies rebranding several times. The rebranding of Philip Morris to Altria
546-454: A collaboration with HMD Global announced on 6 July 2017. On 17 December 2020, Vivo and Zeiss announced a long-term strategic partnership to jointly promote and develop breakthrough innovations in mobile imaging technology. The first “Vivo Zeiss co-engineered imaging system” will be featured in the Vivo X60 series, followed by Vivo X-Fold 3 Pro, and lowered to their V-series. As part of
637-577: A company's business has changed, for example its strategic direction and industry focus, or its brand no longer fits its (new) customer base. For example, a company might rebrand so that its name works in new market it enters, for reasons of culture or language, such as to make it easier to pronounce. Rebranding is also a way to refresh an image to ensure its appeal to contemporary customers and stakeholders. What once looked fresh and relevant may no longer do so years later. As for product offerings, when they are marketed separately to several target markets this
728-479: A competent scientist so as to take the firm beyond just being another optical workshop. In 1866, the service of Dr. Ernst Abbe was enlisted. From then on novel products appeared in rapid succession which brought the Zeiss company to the forefront of optical technology. Abbe was instrumental in the development of the famous Jena optical glass. When he was trying to eliminate stigmatism from microscopes, he realized that
819-530: A digital SLR with a sensor smaller than 35 mm film results in FOV crop . Canon: All DSLRs need full manual control. With certain adapters, metering and focus confirmation is available. Nikon: All DSLRs need full manual control. Focus confirmation is available, focus to infinity is only possible with adapter with additional lens. Four Thirds: All DSLRs need full manual control. Image stabilisation works. With certain adapters, metering and focus confirmation
910-530: A larger product line offering than what their names solely imply. It is also used to cater to different demographics who may be interested in different products of the same industry. In a 2018 marketing stunt , pancake restaurant chain IHOP announced a rebranding to "IHOb" to promote a line of hamburgers, but did not follow through with the rebranding. Companies can also choose to rebrand to remain relevant to its (new) customers and stakeholders. This could occur when
1001-703: A new asymmetrical lens with four thin elements, the Unar Series Ib, with apertures up to f/4.5. Due to its high speed, it was used extensively on hand cameras. The most important Zeiss lens by Rudolph was the Tessar , first sold in 1902 in its Series IIb f/6.3 form. It can be said as a combination of the front half of the Unar with the rear half of the Protar. This proved to be the most valuable and flexible design, with tremendous development potential. Its maximum aperture
SECTION 10
#17327979450801092-465: A pin can interlock with the slotted screwheads affixing the mount, which then impedes lens removal. One method to remove the lens from the mount is to use a feeler gauge between the lens and the mount, which should depress the pin and therefore allow the lens to be removed. To prevent the lens from becoming stuck in the future, or to prevent it in the first place, one or more of the screws on the camera lens mount should be either loosened or tightened to such
1183-540: A position that the slot in the screw is aligned with the mount. This will allow for the aperture pin to pass inside the screw slot, and not fall into it, becoming stuck. M42 mount cameras fell out of general production during the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the exception of the Russian Zenit range. Pentax moved to the Pentax K mount from 1975 onwards, while Praktica adopted the electronic B-Mount in 1979. It
1274-631: A primarily online retail business model. Rebranding may also occur unintentionally from emergent situations such as “ Chapter 11 corporate restructuring,” or “bankruptcy.” Chapter 11 is rehabilitation or reorganization used primarily by business debtors. It’s more commonly known as corporate bankruptcy, which is a form of corporate financial reorganization that allows companies to function while they pay off their debt. Companies such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, Washington Mutual and General Motors have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On July 1, 2009 General Motors filed for bankruptcy, which
1365-406: A professionally designed brand image, "rebranding becomes a critical step for a company to be considered seriously when expanding to more aggressive markets and facing competitors with more established brand images". The ubiquitous nature of a company/product brand across all customer touchpoints makes rebranding a heavy undertaking for companies. According to the iceberg model, 80% of the impact
1456-506: A single combination with four cemented elements, which can be considered as having all the elements of the Protar stuck together in one piece. Marketed in 1894, it was called the Protarlinse Series VII, the most highly corrected single combination lens with maximum apertures between f/11 and f/12.5, depending on its focal length. But the important thing about this Protarlinse is that two of these lens units can be mounted in
1547-499: A variable resistance value to the camera's metering circuit. Asahi Pentax developed an additional lever on the lens which operated a variable resistor in the camera mount. These mechanisms spurred the use of electronic shutters linked to the metering circuit, allowing for automated shutter speed selection by the camera ( aperture priority ). M42 cameras with wide open metering facility include: or automated selection of aperture ( shutter priority ) for Forward and backward compatibility
1638-491: Is a huge international firm; however, the AIG Retirement and AIG Financial subsidiaries were left with negative connotations due to the bailout. As a result, AIG Financial Advisors and AIG Retirement respectively rebranded into Sagepoint Financial and VALIC (Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company) to shed the negative image associated with AIG. Brands often rebrand in reaction to losing market share. In these cases,
1729-678: Is available. Pentax: All DSLRs allow aperture-priority with focus confirmation and infinity focus. Image stabilisation works. With grounding one contact on the camera with foil, focus-trap is also available (on Models which have it). Minolta/Sony A-mount: All DSLRs need full manual control. Metering works and lens can focus on infinity. With chipped adapters focus confirmation and image stabilisation are also available. Some SLTs are reported to work fine in aperture-priority mode (A65 confirmed). Sigma: SD9 allows auto exposure with aperture-priority mode, infinity focus and focus confirmation. User needs to calibrate camera for each change of aperture on
1820-607: Is called market segmentation . When part of a market segmentation strategy involves offering significantly different products in each market, this is called product differentiation . This market segmentation/product differentiation process can be thought of as a form of rebranding. What distinguishes it from other forms of rebranding is that the process does not entail the elimination of the original brand image. Rebranding in this manner allows one set of engineering and QA to be used to create multiple products with minimal modifications and additional expense. Another form of product rebranding
1911-696: Is especially prevalent in saturated markets such as the financial services industry. Organisations may rebrand intentionally to shed negative images of the past. Research suggests that "concern over external perceptions of the organisation and its activities" can function as a major driver in rebranding exercises. In a corporate context, managers can utilize rebranding as an effective marketing strategy to hide malpractices and avoid or shed negative connotations and decreased profitability. Corporations such as Philip Morris USA , Blackwater and AIG rebranded in order to shed negative images. Philip Morris USA rebranded its name and logo to Altria on January 27, 2003 due to
SECTION 20
#17327979450802002-412: Is hidden. The level of impact of changing a brand depends on the degree to which the brand is changed. There are several elements of a brand that can be changed in a rebranding these include the name, the logo, the legal name, and the corporate identity (including visual identity and verbal identity ). Changes made only to the company logo have the lowest impact (called a logo-swap), and changes made to
2093-559: Is low. “The powerful first impression on new clients made possible by professional brand design often outweighs an outdated or poorly-designed image’s weak brand recognition to existing clients”. A change of image in a large corporation can have costly repercussions (updating signage in multiple locations, large quantities of existing collateral, communicating with a large number of employees, etc.), while small businesses can enjoy more mobility and implement change more quickly. While small businesses can experience growth without necessarily having
2184-509: Is mainly known in the trade for their association with the German camera manufacturer Arri for whom they currently produce lenses. Current models of Zeiss cinema lenses are: Carl Zeiss AG has produced lenses for Hasselblad and Rollei cameras, including: Zeiss has produced lenses for large format and press cameras, including: Zeiss has departed the large-format optics field along with Nikon , leaving Schneider and Rodenstock as
2275-471: Is released. The first cameras, such as the Praktica Nova range, used physical finger pressure on the shutter button to operate the bar and close the aperture, allowing a stopped-down preview of the depth of field before the shutter fired. However, this function was removed in later Praktica models because some users found it was possible, with longer exposure times, to release the shutter button and open
2366-720: Is the glass manufacturer Schott AG , located in Mainz and Jena. Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest existing optics manufacturers in the world. Carl Zeiss opened an optics workshop in Jena in 1846. By 1847 he was making microscopes full-time. In 1861 the rapidly growing company had a staff of about 20 and won a gold medal at the Thuringian Industrial Exposition. By 1866 Zeiss sold their 1,000th microscope. In 1872 physicist Ernst Abbe joined Zeiss, and along with Otto Schott designed greatly improved lenses for
2457-546: Is the holding of all subsidiaries within Zeiss Group , of which Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is the only one that is traded at the stock market. Carl Zeiss AG is owned by the foundation Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung . The Zeiss Group has its headquarters in southern Germany, in the small town of Oberkochen , with its second largest, and founding site, being Jena in eastern Germany. Also controlled by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung
2548-626: Is the sale of a product manufactured by another company under a new name: an original design manufacturer is a company that manufactures a product, often in a location with lower operating costs, which is eventually branded by another firm for sale. Following a merger or acquisition, companies usually rebrand newly-acquired products to keep them consistent with an existing product line, such as Symantec placing acquired security and utility software under its Norton brand (itself an offshoot of flagship product Norton Antivirus ). This can also happen in reverse if an acquired brand has wider recognition in
2639-618: The Micro Four Thirds system. This allows the lens to be physically mounted the correct distance from the film or sensor, retaining the original focus range of the lens without the use of correction optics. Some M42 lenses extend too far into the camera body, causing interference between the mirror mechanism of the camera, and rear element or aperture pin of the lens. This issue is most commonly encountered with certain Takumar lenses adapted to Canon full frame cameras. On bodies with
2730-626: The Universal Juwel (Jewel), a glass plate camera originally designed by ICA in 1909. This was a favorite of both Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange . Other models produced by Zeiss Ikon prior to World War II included the Baldur , named for Baldur von Schirach ; the Contaflex , a twin-lens reflex ; and the Tengor , a box camera derived from an earlier Goerz design. Despite German production,
2821-625: The Voigtländer brand in 1956, putting it in the curious position of offering competing cameras in the same market segments, including professional rangefinders ( Prominent (135) , in competition with the Contax), amateur SLRs ( Bessamatic /Ultramatic, competing with the Contaflex), and numerous compact and folding cameras through at least 1967, when the Icarex, a Voigtländer design released under
M42 lens mount - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-669: The Zeiss Gruppe in and around Dresden have branched into new technologies: screens and products for the automotive industry , for example. As of 2023 there are arguably three companies with primarily "Zeiss Ikon" heritage: Zeiss Germany , the Finnish/Swedish Ikon (which bought the West German Zeiss Ikon AG ), and the independent eastern Zeiss Ikon . A division called "Carl Zeiss Vision" produces lenses for eyeglasses. In 2005,
3003-485: The "Hensoldt" and "Zeiss" brand-names. The Hensoldt System Technology division (resulting from a merger of the military-optics operations of Leica and Hensoldt) was continued by Zeiss under the "Hensoldt" name until 2006. As part of Nazi Germany 's Zwangsarbeiter program, Zeiss used forced labour , including Jews and other minorities during World War II . The destruction of the war caused many companies to divide into smaller subcompanies and others to merge. There
3094-485: The 21st century may find it necessary to relook their brand in terms of its relevance to consumers and the changing marketplace. Successful rebranding projects can yield a brand better off than before. Marketing develops the awareness and associations in the memory of customers so they know (and are reminded) of brands to serve their needs. Once in a lead position, it is marketing, consistent product or service quality, sensible pricing and effective distribution that will keep
3185-426: The 35 mm single-lens reflex Contaflex and other types of cameras. Since the beginning of Zeiss as a photographic lens manufacturer, it has had a licensing programme, allowing other manufacturers to produce its lenses. Over the years its licensees included Voigtländer , Bausch & Lomb , Ross, Koristka, Krauss, Kodak . etc. In the 1970s, the western operation of Zeiss-Ikon collaborated with Yashica to produce
3276-534: The CE Memotron (1974), CE-II Memotron and CE-3 Memotron bodies. A similar system was used in the Cosina Hi-Lite EC. These cameras retained the facility of closing the aperture with finger pressure on the release button so that the image could be framed and focused normally with the lens wide open. As the shutter button was depressed the lens would firstly be stopped down to the selected aperture, then
3367-640: The Contax was the match in every respect for the Leica for at least two decades. Other lenses for the Contax included the Biotar, Biogon, Orthometar, and various Tessars and Triotars. The last important Zeiss innovation before World War II was the technique of applying an anti-reflective coating to lens surfaces invented by Olexander Smakula in 1935. A lens so treated was marked with a red "T", short for "Transparent". The technique of applying multiple layers of coatings
3458-418: The M42 lens mount to provide extra features. The first innovation was the pre-select type, which allowed an aperture value to be pre-selected without actually closing the aperture, with a separate ring to close down the aperture quickly to the chosen value. This gave the user the benefit of comfortable framing and focusing with a bright viewfinder and clear focus separation, and then closing the aperture without
3549-688: The M42 mount, many other manufacturers used it; this has led to it being called the Universal thread mount or Universal screw mount by many. The M42 mount was also used by Pentax ; thus, it is also commonly known as the Pentax thread mount , despite the fact that Pentax did not originate it. The M42 mount was first developed by Carl Zeiss at their Jena plant in 1938 at the request of the KW camera company for their Praktica line, which had previously used M40 (40 mm by 1 mm DIN). The first lenses were plain stop-down design, but many manufacturers extended
3640-678: The US Army relocated some parts of Zeiss Jena to the Contessa manufacturing facility in Stuttgart , West Germany, while the remainder of Zeiss Jena was reestablished by the (eastern) German Democratic Republic as Kombinat VEB Zeiss Jena . The Soviet Army relocated most of the existing Zeiss factories and tooling to the Soviet Union, establishing the Kiev camera-works. In
3731-702: The West, business activity restarted in Oberkochen in present-day Baden-Württemberg (southwestern Germany) as Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1946, which became Zeiss-Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1947, but was soon renamed to "Carl Zeiss". West-German Zeiss products were labelled "Opton" for sale in the Eastern bloc, while East German Zeiss products were labelled " Zeiss Jena " or simply " Jena " for sale in Western countries. In 1973,
M42 lens mount - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-621: The Western Carl Zeiss AG entered into a licensing agreement with the Japanese camera-company Yashica to produce a series of high-quality 35 mm film-cameras and lenses bearing the Contax and Zeiss brand names. This collaboration continued under Yashica's successor, Kyocera , until the latter ceased all camera production in 2005. Zeiss later produced lenses for the space industry and, more recently, has again produced high-quality 35 mm camera-lenses. The eastern Zeiss Jena
3913-599: The Zeiss Ikon brand, was released to consolidate the competing SLR lines. After Zeiss Ikon stopped producing cameras, the Voigtländer brand and Icarex designs were acquired by Rollei , which released variations of the Icarex under both Voigtländer and Rollei as the Rolleiflex SL35 ;M . Since 1972, some 35mm cameras have been marketed under the "Contax" and "Zeiss Ikon" brands. The "Contax" brand
4004-454: The actual marketing strategy (change the corporate reputation), it aims at enhancing, regaining, transferring, and/or recreating the corporate brand equity . According to Sinclair (1999:13), business the world over acknowledges the value of brands. “Brands, it seems, alongside ownership of copyright and trademarks, computer software and specialist know-how, are now at the heart of the intangible value investors place on companies.” Companies in
4095-454: The advent of the Contax by Zeiss-Ikon, the first professional 35mm system camera became available. At this stage the Leica was no more than a convenient and portable snapshot camera. However Leitz could see the potential offered by the Contax and rapidly developed a coupled rangefinder and started to introduce additional lenses. As a system camera there was a need for a range of lenses for the Contax. Bertele's Sonnar series of lenses designed for
4186-422: The aperture before the shutter had closed. The bar on Pentax Spotmatic cameras is operated by spring pressure with timing linked to the shutter, but these cameras also had a separate switch for the light meter circuit which closed the aperture and gave the depth of field preview in this way. To allow auto lenses to be used on earlier cameras without the bar, many lenses were provided with a switch or button to put
4277-624: The brand ahead of the pack and provide value to its owners (Sinclair, 1999:15). Corporations often rebrand in order to respond to external and/or internal issues. Firms commonly have rebranding cycles in order to stay current with the times or set themselves ahead of the competition. Companies also utilize rebranding as an effective marketing tool to hide malpractices of the past, thereby shedding negative connotations that could potentially affect profitability. Corporations such as Citigroup , AOL , American Express , and Goldman Sachs all utilize third-party vendors that specialize in brand strategy and
4368-538: The brands have become less meaningful to target audiences and, therefore, lost share to competitors. In some cases, companies try to build on any perceived equity they believe still exists in their brand. Radio Shack , for example, rebranded itself as "the Shack" in 2008 but the rebranding never realized into an increase of market share in the retail industry. By 2017, Radio Shack had significantly reduced its physical retail presence, closing over 1,000 stores and shifted to
4459-833: The camera and the lens, making it possible to mate an M42 lens to a body with a different lens mount. M42 adapters work best on bodies with a flange depth less than or equal to the M42's flange depth, which includes the popular Canon EF -mount, the Pentax K-mount , the Minolta/Konica Minolta/Sony A-mount , the Sony E-mount , the Samsung NX-mount , the Fujifilm X-mount and the Four Thirds System including
4550-484: The capital came from Zeiss which also provided components for the cameras, including lenses and shutters through its subsidiaries such as Deckel . One of the four merged companies, Internationale Camera Actiengesellschaft [ de ] (ICA AG), had been founded in 1909 shortly after Carl Zeiss Palmos, which had been co-founded by Zeiss lens designer Paul Rudolph and Curt Bentzin from Görlitz in 1899, went out of business. Another founding company, Contessa-Nettel,
4641-536: The collaboration agreement, Vivo and Zeiss will establish the Vivo Zeiss Imaging Lab, a joint R&D program to innovate mobile imaging technology for Vivo’s flagship smartphones. Zeiss Ikon was an independent camera company related to Carl Zeiss, formed by the merger of four camera makers (Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann [ de ] , Goerz and ICA) in Dresden on September 15, 1926. Much of
SECTION 50
#17327979450804732-485: The collaboration varies, from co-branding optics designed by another firm (e.g., Sony) to complete optical design and manufacturing (e.g., Hasselblad). On 27 April 2005, the company announced a collaboration with Nokia in the camera phone market, with Zeiss providing camera optics. The first smartphone to be co-engineered with Zeiss optics was the Nokia N90 , Zeiss will again provide optics for Nokia products through
4823-417: The company's divisions for microscopy and other precision optics (effectively reuniting the pre-war Carl Zeiss enterprise) and moving its microscopy and planetarium divisions back to Jena. Jenoptik GmbH was split off as a specialty company in the areas of photonics , optoelectronics , and mechatronics . The Hensoldt AG was renamed "Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH" on 1 October 2006. The companies of
4914-415: The development of corporate identity. Companies invest valuable resources into rebranding and third-party vendors because it is a way to protect them from being blackballed by customers in a very competitive market. Dr. Roger Sinclair, a leading expert on brand valuation and brand equity practice worldwide stated, “A brand is a resource acquired by an enterprise that generates future economic benefits.” Once
5005-551: The eyeglass division merged with U.S. company SOLA, which included the former American Optical Company . On 28 June 2013, Carl Zeiss officially announced its plan to rename the brand from " Carl Zeiss " to simply " Zeiss ". All the products will be standardized under the "Zeiss" brand. In April 2019, Zeiss announced the acquisition of Brunswick -based GOM. The Zeiss company was responsible for many innovations in optical design and engineering in each of their major fields of business. Today this becomes exemplarily visible in
5096-459: The folding Super Ikonta was among the mainstays of British Army photographers during World War II. In 1932 Zeiss Ikon introduced the Contax line of 35mm rangefinder cameras , having recognised the potential for a system camera using 35mm film. The Contax I was introduced with a wide range of lenses and accessories for scientific and professional use. In 1936, an improved model, the Contax II,
5187-538: The foundation for today's multinational company. The current company emerged from a reunification of Carl Zeiss companies in East and West Germany with a consolidation phase in the 1990s. ZEISS is active in four business segments with approximately equal revenue (Industrial Quality and Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology) in almost 50 countries, has 30 production sites and around 25 development sites worldwide. Carl Zeiss AG
5278-579: The latest EUV lithography systems, the equipment needed to produce the latest generations of semiconductor components. It also includes early high-performance optical microscopes up to today's electron and ion microscopes, which reach a sub-nanometers resolution. It includes technology leadership in the first surgical microscopes and ophthalmic devices. It also includes high-performance contact metrology systems. For many years Zeiss showed innovations in fields as astronomical telescopes, photographic and cinematic lenses. Early on, Carl Zeiss realised that he needed
5369-449: The lens by changing aperture value on the camera. Zeiss Ikon Carl Zeiss AG ( / z aɪ s / ZYSE , German: [kaʁl ˈtsaɪs] ), branded as ZEISS , is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics , founded in Jena , Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss . Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid
5460-461: The lens into stop-down mode, commonly referred to as the Auto-Manual or A/M switch. The last development of M42 lenses was the introduction of a link between camera and lens to transmit the lens aperture setting, which allowed light metering with the aperture remaining wide open. The means of doing this was not standardised, Praktica's method was to use an electrical connection which transmitted
5551-478: The lens, at the expense of some image quality. Finally, it is possible to replace the M42 mount on some lenses with the desired camera mount, or to perform the reverse change on a camera body. The level of functionality available from a modern body when an M42 lens is mounted may vary. Some bodies may be operated in aperture-priority mode, others will only allow full manual control in this circumstance. Focus confirmation may not be available. Mounting an M42 lens on
SECTION 60
#17327979450805642-489: The market than that of the purchaser, such as Chemical Bank taking on the Chase branding after its merger with the company. Small businesses face different challenges from large corporations and must adapt their rebranding strategy accordingly. Rather than implementing change gradually, small businesses are sometimes better served by rebranding their image in a short timeframe – especially when existing brand notoriety
5733-403: The meter would be switched on and a reading taken. Chinon used a then-modern Silicon (Si) metering cell with fast reaction time compared to the then-standard CdS cells, which made it possible to close the aperture, meter the light and set the shutter speed automatically in one full press of the button. While this method did not offer the same sensitivity advantage of true open-aperture metering, it
5824-644: The mid-1950s, Zeiss Ikon shifted its focus to market single-lens reflex cameras in three distinct lines: the Contaflex line (1953) for amateurs with leaf shutters , the high-end Contarex line (1959) with film magazine backs and superb optics, and the mid-range Icarex line (1967) with focal plane shutters and either the popular M42 lens mount or a proprietary bayonet mount. While these designs were initially competitive with SLRs produced by Japanese brands including Canon, Yashica, Minolta, and Nikon, Zeiss Ikon failed to keep pace by adding features and Zeiss Ikon camera production ceased in 1971. Zeiss also acquired
5915-400: The need to remove the eye from the eyepiece. A further development followed with "auto" lenses, which have a pin in the mount which closes the aperture against a spring to the chosen setting when it is pushed. This was adopted as a common standard by virtually all lens manufacturers. Cameras designed for these lenses have a bar in the bottom of the mount which depresses the pin when the shutter
6006-532: The negative connotations associated with tobacco products that could have had potential to affect the profitability of other Philip Morris brands such as Kraft Foods . In 2008, AIG's image became damaged due to its need for a Federal bailout during the financial crisis . AIG was bailed out because the United States Treasury stated that AIG was too big to fail due to its size and complex relationships with financial counterparties. AIG itself
6097-621: The new Contax cameras, and many of the Zeiss lenses for this camera, among others, were produced by Yashica's optical arm, Tomioka. As Yashica's owner Kyocera ended camera production in 2006, and Yashica lenses were then made by Cosina , who also manufactured most of the new Zeiss designs for the new Zeiss Ikon coupled rangefinder camera. Another licensee active today is Sony who uses the Zeiss name on lenses on its video and digital still cameras. Zeiss has licensed its name or technology to various other companies including Hasselblad , Rollei , Yashica , Sony , Logitech and Alpa . The nature of
6188-633: The optical instruments they were producing. After Carl Zeiss's death in 1888, the business was incorporated as the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung in 1889. By World War I , Zeiss was the world's largest camera-production company. Zeiss Ikon represented a significant part of the production, along with dozens of other brands and factories, including a major works at Dresden . In 1928 the Zeiss company acquired Hensoldt AG, which has produced Zeiss binoculars and rifle-scopes since 1964 - this has occasionally resulted in twin products being offered under both
6279-467: The original designs. But by the time the IIa and IIIa hit the market, they faced strong competition from many European and Asian brands, notably the visually similar Nikon produced by Nippon Kogaku, which was a high quality camera sharing the same lens-mount and most of the features. Zeiss Ikon prevented some European distribution under the theory that "Nikon" was an infringement on their brand name. Starting in
6370-514: The possibility of increased performance of photographic lenses. The first use of Jena glass in a photographic lens was by Voigtländer , but as the lens was an old design its performance was not greatly improved. Subsequently, the new glasses would demonstrate their value in correcting astigmatism , and in the production of apochromatic lenses. Abbe started the design of a photographic lens of symmetrical design with five elements, but went no further. Zeiss' domination of photographic lens innovation
6461-483: The pre-war Contax II and III camera designs were produced under the Kiev brand . The first Kiev cameras were identical except for logos. The United States also relocated Zeiss from Jena to Heidenheim (Oberkochen) in 1945, but Zeiss Ikon were without designs or facilities for making the Contax and set about producing an improved replacement. These were named the Contax IIa and IIIa, and were smaller and lighter than
6552-401: The primary makers of such lenses today. Rebranding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers , investors , competitors , and other stakeholders . Often, this involves radical changes to
6643-497: The range of optical glasses available was insufficient. After some calculations, he realised that performance of optical instruments would dramatically improve if optical glasses of appropriate properties were available. His challenge to glass manufacturers was finally answered by Dr. Otto Schott , who established the famous glassworks at Jena from which new types of optical glass began to appear from 1888 to be employed by Zeiss and other makers. The new Jena optical glass also opened up
6734-577: The same lens barrel to form a compound lens of even greater performance and a larger aperture, between f/6.3 and f/7.7. In this configuration, it was called the Double Protar Series VIIa. An immense range of focal lengths can thus be obtained by the various combination of Protarlinse units. Rudolph also investigated the Double-Gauss concept of a symmetrical design with thin positive menisci enclosing negative elements. The result
6825-470: The trademark "Protar", which was first used in 1900. At the time, single combination lenses, which occupy one side of the diaphragm only, were still popular. Rudolph designed one with three cemented elements in 1893, with the option of fitting two of them together in a lens barrel as a compound lens, but it was found to be the same as the Dagor by C.P. Goerz, designed by Emil von Hoegh. Rudolph then came up with
6916-487: Was also well known for producing high-quality products. Following the German reunification of 1989–1991, VEB Zeiss Jena — reckoned as one of the few East-German firms that was even potentially able to compete on a global basis — became Zeiss Jena GmbH , which became Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH in 1990. In 1991, Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena was split in two, with Carl Zeiss AG (Oberkochen) taking over
7007-643: Was announced during Photokina 2018 with the slogan 'Shoot – Edit – Share'. The camera incorporates Adobe Lightroom Mobile editing capacities, and an internal 512GB SSD affording 6,800 DNG-format RAW images or 50,000 JPEG-format compressed images. The ZX1, which was one of only a few cameras to use the Android operating system , was discontinued in 2023. Carl Zeiss AG has long been renowned for its motion picture lenses. Zeiss manufactures prime and zoom lenses for 35mm, 16mm, and 65mm film production. They also make lenses for digital cinema and high definition video. Zeiss
7098-512: Was briefly revived with the Cosina -made Voigtländer Bessaflex TM launched in 2003 but this was discontinued in 2007. M42 lenses are still in production at KMZ and at Cosina (under the Voigtländer brand and the ZS line for Carl Zeiss). Due to the simplicity of the M42 lens mount and the large selection of lenses, M42 adapters exist for all current and many obsolete lens mounts. The adapter fits between
7189-466: Was developed from this basis after the war, and known as "T✻" (T-star). After the partitioning of Germany, a new Carl Zeiss optical company was established in Oberkochen, while the original Zeiss firm in Jena continued to operate. At first, both firms produced very similar lines of products, and extensively cooperated in product-sharing, but they drifted apart as time progressed. Jena's new direction
7280-472: Was done to help the company shed its negative image. Other rebrandings, such as the British Post Office 's attempt to rebrand itself as Consignia, have proved such a failure that millions more had to be spent going back to square one. In a study of 165 cases of rebranding, Muzellec and Lambkin (2006) found that, whether a rebranding follows from corporate strategy (e.g., M&A) or constitutes
7371-474: Was due to Dr Paul Rudolph . In 1890, Rudolph designed an asymmetrical lens with a cemented group at each side of the diaphragm, appropriately named "Anastigmat". This lens was made in three series: Series III, IV and V, with maximum apertures of f/7.2, f/12.5, and f/18 respectively. In 1891, Series I, II and IIIa appeared with respective maximum apertures of f/4.5, f/6.3, and f/9 and in 1893 came Series IIa of f/8 maximum aperture. These lenses are now better known by
7462-937: Was fulfilled on July 10, 2009. General Motors decided to rebrand its entire structure by investing more in Chevrolet , Buick , GMC , and Cadillac automobiles. Furthermore, it decided to sell Saab Automobile and discontinue the Hummer , Pontiac , and Saturn brands. General Motors rebranded by stating they are reinventing and rebirthing the company as “The New GM” with “Fewer, stronger brands. Fewer, stronger models. Greater efficiencies, better fuel economy, and new technologies” as stated in their reinvention commercial. General Motors ' reinvention commercial also stated that eliminating brands “isn’t about going out of business, but getting down to business.” Companies like Dunkin' Donuts , Joann Fabrics , and Weight Watchers , have removed or abbreviated parts of their company names to suggest
7553-603: Was great respect for the engineering innovation that came out of Dresden—before the war the world's first 35 mm single-lens reflex camera , the Kine Exakta , and the first miniature camera with good picture-quality were developed there. At the end of the war, Jena was initially occupied by the United States Army . When Jena and Dresden were incorporated into the Soviet occupation zone , later East Germany ,
7644-509: Was increased to f/4.7 in 1917 and reached f/2.7 in 1930. It is probable that every lens manufacturer has produced lenses of the Tessar configurations. Rudolph left Zeiss after World War I, but many other competent designers such as Merté, Wandersleb, etc. kept the firm at the leading edge of photographic lens innovations. One of the most significant designers was the ex-Ernemann man Dr Ludwig Bertele , famed for his Ernostar high-speed lens. With
7735-466: Was introduced and became the favorite of many renowned photographers and journalists, including Robert Capa and Margaret Bourke-White . A second 35mm camera, the Contax III, was mechanically identical with a light meter grafted to the top of the camera. After World War II, the Dresden factory was dismantled and the Soviet Union forcibly relocated the Contax factory to Kiev as war reparations, where
7826-507: Was licensed to Yashica in 1974, which later was acquired by Kyocera ; Contax marketed several lines of SLR, rangefinder, compact, and digital cameras with Zeiss lenses and Japanese-built bodies. The most recent "Zeiss Ikon" rangefinder camera was an M mount camera with automatic exposure, introduced by Zeiss in 2004 and manufactured in Japan by Cosina; it was discontinued in 2012. The Zeiss ZX1 full-frame 35mm F/2 large-sensor compact camera
7917-457: Was maintained in most cases so that the newer lenses could be used on older cameras, and old standard lenses could be used on the newer cameras, but of course without the advanced automation. However, Olympus FTL lenses and Fujica screw mount lenses had a projecting cam which means that they cannot be fully screwed down on a regular screw mount body. Chinon used a different system to provide aperture priority mode with standard Auto-M42 lenses with
8008-430: Was much more versatile as it did not require specially-equipped proprietary lenses. Both Cosina and Chinon sold their cameras to various other companies for rebranding , which increased the number of almost identical cameras considerably. Compatibility problems have been experienced when mounting lenses with aperture transmission levers (e.g., SMC Takumars) on older bodies such as Zenit-E or Mamiya DTL. The aperture lug or
8099-567: Was operated by August Nagel , who left the company in 1928 to form the Nagel Works; in 1932, his company was bought by Kodak, which continued to produce cameras in Germany under the Retina brand. The earliest Zeiss Ikon cameras were a range of medium and large format folding cameras badged as Nettar , Ikonta , and Super Ikonta , for film and glass plate photography. The most expensive was
8190-548: Was the Planar Series Ia of 1896, with maximum apertures up to f/3.5, one of the fastest lenses of its time. Whilst it was very sharp, it suffered from coma which limited its popularity. However, further developments of this configuration made it the design of choice for high-speed lenses of standard coverage. Probably inspired by the Stigmatic lenses designed by Hugh Aldis for Dallmeyer of London, Rudolph designed
8281-487: Was to concentrate on developing lenses for 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras, and many achievements were made, especially in ultra-wide angle designs. In addition to that, Oberkochen also worked on designing lenses for the 35 mm single-lens reflex camera Contarex , for the medium format camera Hasselblad , for large format cameras like the Linhof Technika , interchangeable front element lenses such as for
#79920