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| Carl Zeiss Quality – Made by Cosina |
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Carl Zeiss and Japanese manufacturer Cosina are united by their fascination and passion for photography. Both companies have many years of experience in developing and manufacturing products featuring outstanding mechanical and optical precision. Carl Zeiss‘ know-how and quality standards and Cosina‘s production capacity and experience provide the perfect combination for producing top-quality Zeiss Ikon cameras and lenses for rangefinders and SLR cameras.
A variety of measures are employed to ensure that lenses meet Carl Zeiss quality standards even when they are produced at an external partner‘s production facilities.
Cooperation in Lens Development
All ZEISS lenses must fulfi ll demanding specifi cations, which are drawn up by Carl Zeiss Oberkochen. In order to ensure the products meet these requirements, it is necessary for the partners to coordinate all production and quality-related issues from an early stage. Intensive collaboration is therefore essential from the beginning of development to the start of production. This facilitates the merging of both companies’ know-how, thereby creating the synergy that enables top-quality lenses to be developed and produced.
Comprehensive Lens Qualification Testing
All prototypes run through a multitude of tests in order to verify adherence to specified data. This includes testing of optical performance parameters such as image quality, stray light, freedom from fl are and ghosting and anti-reflex coatings,
for example. Reliability and durability of the lenses are also important test criteria. Tough everyday use is therefore reproduced using a wide range of simulation processes. These are
used to check whether the products function safely and reliably under a variety of environmental conditions without suffering any damage that could affect their functionality. For example, they are subject to simulations of very high and very low temperatures, combined with high humidity, as typically experienced on trips to tropical countries. Other key aspects tested in the qualification
phase include the deployment of the lens with different camera types, handling and haptics, and the capacity of the lens to maintain its function over decades of use. Only once all the tests have been successfully completed can the lens be released for volume production.
Use of Quality Components
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| Checking components |
Both lenses and cameras consist of multiple optical, mechanical and electronic components. Some of them are manufactured by Cosina, and some by well-known partners who supply the production facilities in both Japan and Germany. All suppliers are required to regularly demonstrate the quality of their production processes. In addition, the quality of each component is checked prior to use.
Assembly under Cleanroom Conditions
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| Assembly in cleanroom |
Similar to the production facility in Oberkochen, Cosina also operates cleanrooms where the components are assembled into lenses by specially trained staff. Special clothing, airlock access and absolute cleanliness are obligatory in these rooms.
Investment in Quality
Various technologies are employed to ensure the high quality standards of Zeiss products. Cosina has made significant investments to ensure that both lenses and cameras can be produced according to quality criteria defined by Carl Zeiss. For example, in addition to the cleanroom facilities, new image quality measuring systems developed by Carl Zeiss were acquired in order to ensure that the uniformly high image quality associated with Zeiss lenses is maintained in volume production from one lens to the next. Investments were also made in T* lens coating systems in order to satisfy the high demands made on these antireflex coatings. The technologies and processes characteristic of Carl Zeiss are, of course, exclusively used for ZEISS products in Cosina‘s production plants.
Quality Control by Carl Zeiss Staff
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| Inspection by a ZEISS employee |
To guarantee the quality of components and fi nished products, a staff of Carl Zeiss employees is permanently maintained on-site in the Cosina plant. On the basis of the Carl Zeiss test specifications, they carry out exhaustive inspections of each lens to ensure that the quality requirements are met for each individual product. The staff member personally vouches for the quality of the inspected lens by signing the test certificate accompanying all ZEISS
lenses.
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| Test certificates with signature and hands |
It is ultimately you, the customer, who benefi ts most from this close and efficient collaboration with our partner Cosina in Japan. This cooperative venture enables us to offer Carl Zeiss photography products to a broad clientele while maintaining the standards of technology and quality our customers have come to
expect. |
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May 2007 |
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