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Camera Lens News No. 5
Photokina 1998 |
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The Carl Zeiss Telephoto Power Pack—
two superb telephoto lenses in one great package
Impressive telephoto power for de-manding medium format photography – this is what the new Carl Zeiss Telephoto Power Pack (TPP) has to offer: 2.8/300 plus 4.5/500 in one package. Introduced at Photokina ’98 the TPP includes the Tele-Superachromat T* 2,8/300 plus Extender Apo-Mutar 1,7x (building a 4,5/500) plus rotatable drop-in polarizer (neutral-color linear type), all this packed in an aluminum case. The TPP is designed to work perfectly with Hasselblad cameras of the 200 series, and therefore includes the databus electronics for exposure metering. The TPP is the result of entirely novel thinking at Carl Zeiss.
The optics of the Tele-Superachro-mat T* 2,8/300 was designed from the start to work perfectly with an extender. And an Apo-Mutar 1,7x extender was developed for the prime lens right from the start. The result is an optical tele-photo combination with the data 4,5/500. As the MTF curves in the data sheet indicate the performance of this combination is even higher than the one of other 500 mm prime lenses. And the first results from the field tests clearly prove the message of the curves!
The spectral correction of the Tele-Superachromat T* 2,8/300 is so good that it can be focused visually for infrared, simply with the normal viewfinder. No focus correction is needed.
Veiling glare is meticulously controlled. Newly developed materials and techniques for straylight absorption are utilized, so the Tele-Superachromat T* 2,8/300 is able to produce telephotos of unprecedented brilliance and color saturation. Zeiss uses a special material with high absorption properties even in the red and infrared parts of the spectrum, whereas other absorbing materials used in the industry show a reduced efficiency in these areas of the spectrum.
The lens barrel is not black but platinum- colored. This prevents radiant heat from being absorbed and causing adverse effects on the temperature sensitive opti-cal glass elements inside. Using hard anodised aluminum on the surface instead of soft bright paint gives the lens barrel better resistance against getting scratched. The contrast between the platinum background and the new dark blue Zeiss logo gives enhanced recognition of this top-notch optic, even from quite a distance.
For wildlife photographers one particular aspect with the TPP is very interesting: close-up focusing is possible down to 2.5 meters, even at 500 mm focal length! Focusing is done very smoothly and accurately on a large diameter ring with precise, engraved scaling in meters and feet. The focusing ring can move beyond infinity to allow use of this lens in a variety of temperature conditions. Inside the lens the focusing ring actuates a group of lens elements (internal focusing) with utmost precision using a novel drive mechanism, particularly invented for this lens. The challenge with this mechanism was, to axially move a large diameter disc of considerable weight without shifting or tilting the part. The target was, to give the photographer the means to place the brilliant sharpness of the optic where he or she wants it with great ease and precision, without any play, without any backlash.
The lens is equipped with a rotatable collar which will please those photographers using 645 magazines with their Hasselblad camera. It can be safely locked in any position and has a notch every 90 degrees. This collar carries the Hasselblad system tripod quick mount right under the center of gravity of camera and lens combined.
For additional creative possibilities a drop-in filter slot is provided and a high-quality polarizing filter, which is a part of the package, can be smoothly rotated in its own ball bearing.
Really impressive is the short time it took the new team at Carl Zeiss to bring such a product to reality. The idea of a 2,8/300 for 6 x 6 medium format was first developed by the end of 1996. The Hasselblad system was chosen to be the platform for this project, since Hasselblad combines precise, durable mechanics with the option of designing a lens with wide optical diameter for which no large and fast central shutter is available. And, last not least: Hasselblad has a very large worldwide user base of highly demanding photographers who would appreciate and could utilize the potential of such an optic.
Early in 1997 basic studies and market research commenced. The main development started in late Summer 1997 – and in fall 1998 five working prototypes were presented at Photokina! As if this wasn’t proof enough for the new potential of Carl Zeiss’s camera lens development team, one has to bear in mind that at the same time they have also been developing the ULTRA PRIME lenses a whole new generation of optics for cinematography.
Another thing is special, too: The TPP will be limited in numbers. Not for reason of simple sales tactics, but as a real limitation of glass supply. The background is this: The extreme optical performance on Carl Zeiss Superachromat level, combined with a relatively high speed of 2.8, can be achieved only, when certain optical properties are maintained with utmost precision. No manufacturer of optical glass can produce material within the extremely narrow tolerances required for the Tele-Superachromat T* 2,8/300. So Carl Zeiss had to purchase a batch of glass, analyse its real properties with the ultra-high precision Carl Zeiss applies in the manufacturing of lenses for the semiconductor industry, do the optical design with these actual values and prepare the manufacture accordingly. The quantity of optical glass purchased for the TPP project was based on Carl Zeiss’ assumptions on world market size for the TPP: estimated 400 (four hundred) sets of optic – pretty audacious, as some of our partners think. 400 then is the ceiling. If portions of the glass batch turn out to be unusable – due to inhomogeneities or other faults – or lens elements have to be discarded during manufacturing, the number will drop. Also, Carl Zeiss needs to keep several sets of optics as spare parts. Hence the maximum number of TPPs to find their way into customer’s hands may be in the region of 300 to 350 or even lower.
Is it possible to add just another, say, 100 units if the market asks for it? Hardly. As we said: Just ordering new glass from the glass manufacturer’s catalogue will bring material with slightly different real properties – too different to achieve Carl Zeiss Tele-Superachromat T* 2,8/300 performance. As a consequence Carl Zeiss had to analyse the new batch, redo the optical design which would lead to slighty different radii of some lens elements and different air spaces between them. So the mechanical design would have to be altered,too. This is quite an enormous effort which asks for several hundred more TPPs to be manufactured and sold. Otherwise it couldn’t be justified. As of today, Carl Zeiss is not sure if there will be the market for a second batch of TPPs ever. Having said this, it becomes clear that the TPP is a unique offering.
And this offering is a direct one: Every friend of Carl Zeiss top class optics may order his TPP directly from Zeiss
(con-tact: Christian Baasch, phone: +49 (0) 73 64-20-80 50;
fax: +49 (0) 73 64-20-4045; e-mail: baasch@zeiss.de. The price is 29.900,– DM + VAT + shipping & handling). The TPP will be available also through Hasselblad and, maybe, further
channels.
During photokina many photographers - professionals and amateurs alike – seized the opportunity and ordered their TPP spontaneously. Also, dealers from Europe and Asia showed such a strong interest in the TPP that Carl Zeiss feels that this project is a success. Manu-facturing of the TPP is scheduled to begin in February, 1999, and shipping will take place in the order of payment received. | |
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