Camera Lens News A newsletter for anyone who enjoys using, writing about, buying and selling Carl Zeiss camera lenses. July 2010 Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division 36 Contents Along the Horizon .................. 2 Getting the Right Balance for the Perfect Image ................. 5 Sublime Views at Breakneck Speede .................. 8 Night Colors ............................ 12 A Broad Perspective ................. 14 Landscape Photography Exhibitions .......... 14
A newsletter for anyone who enjoys using, writing about, buying and selling Carl Zeiss camera lenses. Landscape Photography Exhibitions .......... 14 Sublime Views at Breakneck Speede ..................8 Getting the Right Balance for the Perfect Image ................. 5 Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division Along the Horizon .................. 2 A Broad Perspective ................. 14 Night Colors ............................ 12
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Transcript
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July 2010Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division36
Contents
Along the Horizon .................. 2
Getting the Right Balance
for the Perfect Image ................. 5
Sublime Views
at Breakneck Speede .................. 8
Night Colors ............................ 12
A Broad Perspective ................. 14
Landscape
Photography Exhibitions .......... 14
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 2
Camera Lens News No. 36
Panoramic photographers cre-
ate extraordinary images by
overcoming the limits of the
field of view imposed by the
camera. Josh von Staudach
from Stuttgart, Germany, has
perfected the art of 360 degree
photography. In this article he
recounts his experiences with
the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE and
Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZE and gives
some useful tips on how to get
started.
360 degree panoramas show the
seemingly impossible by presenting
the views to the left, front, right and
rear in a single continuous image.
The location is revealed to the
observer from a previously unseen
perspective. Panoramic images can
sometimes appear confusing because
they depict something real in an
unreal way, but they simultane-
ously provoke enormous pleasure by
providing a new take on something
familiar.
“My goal is to capture interesting
details with a tremendous degree of
sharpness,” states Josh von Staudach.
“Things like rusty rivets in a disused
water tank, rails and planks scattered
around an abandoned railway yard,
or fallen branches in a forest deci-
mated by storms.” The details merge
into the picture to create an overall
geometry that exudes harmony and
dramatic tension in equal measure.
Along the Horizon Panoramic photography casts familiar subjects in a new light
Time-lapse panorama: Dubai’s skyline in a fixed location from sunrise to sunset (digitally blended together)
360 degree panorama: A forest clearing damaged by a storm provides a perfectly composed image.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 3
Camera Lens News No. 36
The basic equipment you need is
a tripod with a panorama bracket
that enables you to rotate your
camera around what is known as
the ‘nodal point’. To eliminate image
mismatches, generally referred to
as ‘parallax errors’, it is necessary
to find the specific nodal point for
the camera and focal length you
are using in order to ensure that
the camera rotates precisely around
that point. This ensures that vertical
objects such as a street light and
the corner of a house do not shift in
relation to each other as the camera
turns – an essential prerequisite for
ensuring that the shots you take can
be smoothly stitched together in the
subsequent editing process. “Before
I go on a shoot I put together a
little test set-up in my studio,” von
Staudach explains. “I place a CD
about five centimeters in front of
the tripod in the middle of the frame
and tinker with the camera’s position
until the edge of the CD no longer
shifts against the window frame or
some other vertical object in the
room – then I know I have found the
nodal point.”
The camera is placed on the tripod in
portrait format to get as much of the
top and bottom of the picture in the
frame as possible. After each shot,
the photographer rotates the camera
a little further around the nodal
point. Experts recommend that each
shot overlaps with the previous shot
by between 10 and 20 percent. On
that basis, a 360 degree panorama
with a focal length of 20 mm would
require eight shots, for example.
A software program is then used
to ‘stitch’ the images together into
a panorama. There are numerous
professional packages on the market,
but Josh von Staudach uses Pan-
orama Factory because it allows him
to specify the exact settings he wants
for aspects such as focal length.
Choosing a subject and a good place
to position your tripod ultimately
comes down to experience. “I look
for symmetry and try to locate the
very center of the subject,” explains
von Staudach, who has devoted
himself to conceptual series of
industrial subjects such as turntables
and engine sheds. “I love the process
of finding circular locations to
photograph. I end up climbing
construction cranes and towers and
lowering myself into boiler tanks! But
sometimes you cannot actually get
to the center because it is occupied
by a pillar or stairway, in which case
it generally loses its appeal,” von
Staudach adds.
To get optimum depth of field, the
Stuttgart-based photographer works
with an aperture of between f6 and
f9. Focusing poses no problems
assuming that all the objects are
approximately the same distance
away; if any objects do appear in
the foreground then von Staudach
adjusts the focus accordingly for
those particular shots. He has no
interest in deliberately using blur as
a stylistic device: “I need to see every
detail of the images I create.”
He recently used his Canon 5D MKII
and the ZEISS Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE
and Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZE lenses
to take some pictures in a forest
near Stuttgart. “The 21 mm is a
fantastic lens that provides superb
performance right out to the corners
without any gradient or loss of
sharpness. It is easy to use and offers
high-precision focusing. Although the
18 mm lens features slight blurring in
the corners, it is actually my favorite
because the lower focal length
Telephoto panorama: Mountain slope in Iceland at an astonishing level of detail – similar to a view through binoculars but much broader.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 4
Camera Lens News No. 36
enables me to fit more in the frame.
It copes brilliantly with backlighting:
instead of lens flare you just get a
delicate glowing effect around lights.
The blurring issue does not make any
difference to me because the edge
regions fall by the wayside in the
stitching process anyhow.
In addition to classic 360 degree
panoramas, von Staudach also works
with specialist techniques such as
macro panoramas, which involve
photographing a surface centimeter
by centimeter. He has also used the
telephoto panorama technique to
shoot mountain slopes in Iceland:
“I basically used the camera to ‘scan
in’ the slope over a distance of
several hundred meters while staying
in the same position. Obviously the
focus has to be adjusted for each
shot, but you end up perceiving
connections and structures that you
would otherwise never have seen.”
von Staudach also sometimes
employs the polar opposite technique
of actually moving the camera
horizontally while taking the shot.
“Rapidly rotating the camera allows
me to capture a broad swathe of the
surroundings within a single image.
By blurring together colors and
shapes I can create paintings using
the color palette provided by nature.
Find out more about
Josh von Staudach:
http://www.stuttgart360.de/
http://www.joshvonstaudach.de/
Façade panorama: Berlin Hauptbahnhof – perspectives, angles of view and sharp focus that surpass single-shot photography.
Blurred panorama: Triptych taken near Zingst on the Baltic Sea, with the colors of nature mixing together on the digital sensor.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 5
Camera Lens News No. 36
Getting the Right Balance for the Perfect Image
Whether you are taking ex-
traordinary aerial photographs,
atmospheric panoramic shots or
captivating images of the polar
lights, you can rest assured that
Carl Zeiss lenses will deliver
consistently superb quality and
outstanding results even under
challenging conditions. Christian
Beder, an optical designer at
Carl Zeiss, explains what makes
the lenses so special.
What is the biggest challenge
in producing lenses?
It all comes down to finding the
perfect balance. In optical design,
we dictate how the optical system
is constructed, specifying everything
from the number, size and form of
the optical elements to the air spaces
and coating. To do this, we have to
take numerous issues into account,
not only image quality aspects such as
sharp focus and freedom from distor-
tion, but also mechanical limitations
and budget constraints. Generally
speaking, you cannot simultaneously
satisfy every single requirement. If the
main emphasis is on price, then it is,
of course, possible to manufacture
an economical lens – for example
by reducing the number of optical
elements – but then you have to
be willing to accept inferior image
quality, which is not something we
are prepared to do. But if you focus
solely on imaging performance, then
the costs quickly get out of hand.
We endeavor to strike just the right
balance to ensure that our lenses
offer the best possible combination of
image quality, price, size and weight.
What are the key factors you
have to take into account?
The ultimate goal is that the lens
should produce outstanding pictures:
razor-sharp, distortion-free images
– without any chromatic aberrations –
that stay crisp and bright right to the
edges. Not only does that require
in-depth knowledge of the technical
parameters, it also requires the ability
to handle those parameters creatively.
Optical design at Carl Zeiss is based
on 120 years of in-house experience,
but it also draws on tremendous
sensitivity and the creative urge to tap
into new possibilities.
What would it be like if you
could work without any of these
constraints?
Then there would be very little artistry
involved in developing the perfect
lens. It would be about one meter
long with a diameter of 50 centime-
ters and would cost millions, but it
would be as perfect as the laws of
physics allow!
Wide-angle lenses pose a
particular challenge to optical
designers. Why is that?
Well, their wider angle of view means
that they show a large portion of the
Modern CAD programs support the work of design engineers.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 6
Camera Lens News No. 36
subject. In this situation it is quite a
challenge to produce a consistently
good image of the entire field of view.
There are three field-dependent image
errors that are particularly significant
in this context: distortion, field
curvature and astigmatism, a form
of aberration that causes the vertical
and horizontal lines of the image to
appear at varying levels of quality.
There are different types and forms
of optical elements that can be used
to correct these aberrations. The most
important aspect is ensuring that the
lens elements are correctly positioned,
which means they need to be placed
a long way from the aperture –
generally at the front, which is where
they can effectively counteract this
problem. That is why so many wide-
angle lenses have a tapering shape
that makes them bigger and heavier
at the front.
“Ghosting” can mar the effect of a photograph.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 7
Camera Lens News No. 36
Why is it that ZEISS lenses tend
to be more expensive than lenses
made by other manufacturers?
That stems from two factors that
lie behind the high quality of the
lenses, namely low tolerances and
an almost pedantic obsession with
quality control. On its journey from
the raw material phase to the finished
product, each lens passes through
more than 50 quality control stages.
None of our lenses can leave the
production hall unless they have been
thoroughly tested, and the same
applies to components manufactured
by our partners. And, on top of that,
we demand extraordinary precision
in the manufacture and assembly of
our lens elements. The surface of a
lens element is never entirely flat; the
way it is constructed means that it will
inevitably feature certain irregularities.
By having lower tolerances for this
surface unevenness we improve
the image quality of the lens but
simultaneously incur more costs in
production. We set some of our toler-
ances as low as just a few hundred
nanometers.
What is the greatest achieve-
ment ever in the field of optical
design?
I would have to say the development
of the anti-reflective coating, which
Carl Zeiss subsequently developed
into the multi-layer coating T*. This
coating is applied in a vacuum by
means of vapor deposition and
serves to reduce the amount of
light reflected from the surface of
the lens, so it essentially improves
light transmission and suppresses
unwanted reflections. It is only thanks
to this invention that we can now
make optical systems with more than
five or six lens elements – without
this coating far too much light would
be lost through reflections. Some of
the zoom lenses Carl Zeiss currently
makes for cinematography applica-
tions have more than 25 optical
elements. The more elements an
optical system has, the better the
image quality – but only if we are able
to adequately reduce the amount of
reflection, which is precisely where
the T* coating has played such an
essential role. This does not apply
in a completely linear fashion of
course – doubling the number of lens
elements does not necessarily lead
to a doubling of image quality – but
there is certainly a clear correlation.
It works because the individual lenses
are able to cancel out each other’s
optical aberrations.
What are the latest trends
in optical design?
Reducing chromatic aberrations is
becoming increasingly significant.
Digitalization means that anyone can
now view their images in unprece-
dented sizes. Nowadays we look at an
image on the screen that corresponds
to a picture measuring 2x3 meters
from a distance of 30 centimeters,
which in some ways provides an
absurd, unnaturally enlarged view.
It enables users to detect chromatic
aberrations on an individual pixel
level that they would never have seen
before. So our job now is to correct
these aberrations by using more and
more lens elements and increasingly
specialist and more sophisticated
types of glass. So digitalization is also
having an effect on lenses!
Anti-reflection coatings are applied to the surface of the lens using vapor deposition to suppress reflections.
Thorough checks and validation ensure that every single product meets the stipulated quality standards.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 8
Camera Lens News No. 36
Algimantas Deikus and Vidas
Kaupelis are photographers from
Lithuania who specialize in aerial
photography. These two fre-
quent fliers pursue the ambitious
goal of capturing superlatively
atmospheric images of nature.
The remarkable thing about Deikus
and Kaupelis is that they are both
highly experienced pilots and pho-
tographers. This makes for a perfect
combination: As photographers
they understand that the speed of
an airplane requires rapid decision-
making and special equipment, while
their skill as pilots is intricately linked
to their ability to see landscapes with
a photographic eye. We chatted to Vi-
das Kaupelis about aerial photography
and his experiences with ZEISS lenses.
CLN: Vidas, what is the differ-
ence between aerial photogra-
phy and other forms of photog-
raphy? What technical challenges
does it pose in terms of the
equipment you need?
VK: The most difficult part of aerial
photography is getting your shot in
focus. We take photographs from a
fast-moving, low-flying airplane, and
if your subject is still partially hidden
by morning mist then it can be very
tricky indeed to get the perfect shot.
Sublime Views at Breakneck SpeedAerial photographs pose particular challenges to photographers and their equipment
Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 9
Camera Lens News No. 36
In such rapidly changing conditions,
it is often impossible to get the results
we want using autofocus lenses,
which rely on contrast detection
algorithms to focus.
CLN: So how did you get around
that problem?
We tried out a number of different
solutions before we realized that
manual focusing is the key to a suc-
cessful shot, because if you are taking
landscape shots at focal lengths
below 85-100 mm, the subject almost
always lies beyond the infinity focus
point. Unfortunately, most autofocus
lenses are not suitable for manual
focus operation. But Zeiss lenses
have been designed to offer simple,
high-precision manual focusing,
which means you can simply set the
focus ring to infinity and start snap-
ping away without worrying about
focusing. The irony is that – however
much we all love high-tech solu-
tions – omitting certain technologies
can occasionally be more of a benefit
than a hindrance!
CLN: How do you deal with
exposure issues?
VK: In order to emphasize the charac-
teristics of the terrain we are photo-
graphing, we work at specific times of
day, basically just before sunrise or just
before sunset. That’s when the light
is at its most dramatic. But weak light
falling obliquely on a subject is one of
the greatest challenges the technol-
ogy has to tackle. On the ground
the solution is fairly simple: you just
position your tripod where you want it
and select a slow shutter speed. But in
an airplane you are racing above your
subject at 300 km/h, and you can only
compensate for the extreme vibrations
by using shutter speeds of around
1/1000.
CLN: So do you use special
equipment?
VK: In weak light, we depend on
lenses that offer outstanding image
quality at wide aperture settings. If
we are taking shots directly towards
the Sun, we can only use lenses that
are designed not to produce flare,
and the optical elements need to
have a high-quality coating. Carl Zeiss
lenses have proved to be a superb
Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 10
Camera Lens News No. 36
Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35
Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 11
Camera Lens News No. 36
choice in terms of both those criteria.
Lens flare is minimal and the image
quality at wide aperture is visibly
better than that of similar lenses from
other manufacturers that we have
tried out.
Algimantas Deikus and Vidas Kaupelis
embarked on their career in aerial
photography in 2006. They are both
highly experienced pilots who have
racked up thousands of hours in the
pilot’s seat, and every flight marks
another step on their journey to find
unusual aerial views. 2009 saw the
first public exhibition of their work in
Lithuania.
You can see more photographs
and find out more about the duo at
www.FlyFoto.lt
Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50
Algimantas Deikus
is a professional pilot and photog-
raphy enthusiast. He lives in Vilnius,
Lithuania.
Vidas Kaupelis
is a computer scientist and project
manager who has a keen interest in
flying and photography. He also lives
in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 12
Camera Lens News No. 36
Auroras, also known as polar
lights, are an extraordinary
natural spectacle that present
a major challenge to photogra-
phers, requiring good planning
and a healthy dose of luck as
well as the right equipment. The
photographer Thilo Bubek from
Tomasjord, Norway, has been in-
volved in aurora photography for
many years, producing fascinat-
ing images of the night sky with
a ZEISS Distagon T* 2,8/21.
Vivid colors and shapes flitting
across the sky like gigantic creatures:
Eyewitness accounts from more than
2,000 years ago reveal how a number
of different cultures – especially in
North America, Europe and Asia
– interpreted these phenomena as
signs from the gods, malign spirits or
heavenly messages. Even today, this
spectacular nocturnal light display
continues to inspire interest and
fascination.
Scientists long ago discovered that
auroras are caused by electrically
charged particles that continuously
flow outward from the Sun. Known
as the solar wind, these particles
are trapped by the Earth’s magnetic
field and drawn into the atmosphere
at high latitudes. At a height of
between 100 and 200 kilometers,
some of these particles collide with
oxygen and nitrogen atoms, causing
them to emit light. The color of light
ranges from green to blue-violet
and red. Auroras are known as the
northern or southern polar lights
because they primarily occur in polar
regions such as northern Scandi-
navia, Iceland, Greenland, Canada,
Alaska, and Siberia, as well as in the
Antarctic.
This particular light show is only vis-
ible in the dark. Photographers need
a tripod and very fast lenses since the
delicate structure of the polar lights
only remains visible when exposure
times are kept extremely short.
(The other stumbling block of longer
Night ColorsOn the trail of the aurora phenomenon
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 13
Camera Lens News No. 36
exposure times is that stars appear as
lines due to the rotation of the Earth.)
“The level of quality you get with
digital images of the polar lights is far
superior to what you could get using
old-fashioned film,” enthuses Thilo
Bubek. One of the aspects he likes
best about digital technology is the
fact that he can check the exposure
right after taking a shot by simply
viewing the RGB histogram.
Bubek is flexible when it comes to the
choice of camera: “I have worked with
a whole range of different cameras
over the last seven years, mostly with
the professional Nikon bodies from
the D1, D2 and D3 series, though oc-
casionally also with the Fuji S2Pro and
S3Pro bodies and an EOS 5D.” The
choice of sensor, however, is a much
more significant factor: A camera with
a large, full-frame sensor is better
suited to nighttime photography than
a camera with a comparatively small
DX sensor. “But that only holds true if
you can get hold of wide-angle lenses
for the large full-frame sensor that
offer superior image quality even at a
low aperture,” Bubek cautions.
Bubek tested the new ZEISS Distagon T*
2,8/21 ZF with his Nikon D3 and D700.
“In terms of optical performance, I
would say from my experience that
the ZEISS is roughly on a par with the
standard-setting lens in the wide-angle
arena, the Nikon 14-24mm/2.8,“
Bubek reports. But the manual
focusing of the ZEISS lens proved to
be a major advantage in practical use.
“The importance of manual focusing
cannot be underestimated, because
the camera’s autofocus function does
not perform reliably in the dark. Being
able to manually focus my lens to
infinity saves me time and avoids the
kind of focusing errors that crop up
every now and then when you are
using autofocus lenses, however much
care you take.”
The polar light expert also emphasizes
how important it is to frame the
auroras as part of an ensemble with
the landscape: “I seek out attractive
backgrounds such as mountains, the
ocean and fjords. I am particularly
interested in tracking down unspoiled
scenes that are not marred by artificial
light.” Just some of the techniques
that have enabled this photographer
to capture such timeless landscapes
infused with almost unearthly magic.
Find out more about
Thilo Bubek:
http://www.bubek-fotodesign.com
Carl Zeiss July 2010 Page 14
Camera Lens News No. 36
The Distagon T* 2,8/25 is now
available in the ZF.2 version for
digital SLR cameras with an F
bayonet. One of the most excit-
ing features of the lenses from
the ZF.2 series is that they sup-
port all the key modes such as
shutter priority, aperture priority
and program mode.
Wide-angle lenses open up a scene
by providing maximum depth of field:
Think of a dragonfly landing on a
water lily with dozens of blossoms
behind its iridescent body all in crisp
perspective, or rocks, moss and
crevices forming patterns and forma-
tions that extend to the horizon. The
Distagon T* 2,8/25 from Carl Zeiss can
help you create these kinds of unusual
images – and not only in the realm of
nature photography.
Thanks to its electronic interface
(CPU), the ZF.2 range of lenses
supports all the essential modes such
as shutter priority, aperture priority
and program mode as well as manual
mode, even with non-AI camera
bodies. This makes a ZF.2 lens easy
to use even under the most hectic
conditions.
A Broad Perspective The new ZEISS Distagon T* 2,8/25 ZF.2 wide-angle lens with electronic interface