f/2.8 f/1.4 lenses, been around long?

here's a bunch more photos taken from super fast lenses!

http://www.muellerworl​d.com/exhibits/fast_le​ns/

90mm f/1.0 and 62mm f/0.75 are wiiiide!!

SgWRX wrote in post #2569534
curious, have fast lenses been around pretty much as long as photography, or have they become greater in numbers as technology has gotten better? was there a time when f/4 was WOW fast?

Everyone should keep in mind that photography existed over 150 years ago, and both emulsions and lenses required long long exposure times!

But 50 years ago, there was ASA 1250 black and white negative film. Color film of ASA160 was fast, and ASA400 was not introduced until the 1970s, I think. But fast lenses did exist back then, although fast zooms were relatively uncommon... f/3.5 is pretty common for back then, although they were fixed aperture, rather than the variable aperture less expensive variety that came along in the 80's

I have some '70s vintage zooms that are all variable between like, 3.5 and 4.5 or so, and a 135 f3.5 FD prime. Interesting how a lot of this stuff has shifted around

Wilt wrote in post #2574883
But 50 years ago...Color film of ASA160 was fast, and ASA400 was not introduced until the 1970s, I think.

Am I correct in understanding that ASA160 color film was in use 50 years ago? You are correct about ASA400 color print film, it was 1977, if I recall correctly. However, there was an ASA500 slide film from GAF that came out in 1975, I think. One got better results if it was exposed at ASA320 or 400.

jr_senator wrote in post #2575045
Am I correct in understanding that ASA160 color film was in use 50 years ago? You are correct about ASA400 color print film, it was 1977, if I recall correctly. However, there was an ASA500 slide film from GAF that came out in 1975, I think. One got better results if it was exposed at ASA320 or 400.

I was processing High Speed Ektachrome (ASA160) when I was about 13 or 14, under the tutelage of a pro. That was (unfortunately!) in 1963-1964. I just did a Google search, and Kodak's history lists High Speed Ektachrome as introduced in 1959. Tri-X was launched in 1954.

The oldest I could find in the Canon Museum is a Serenar 85mm f/2, which was released in 1948. An f/1.5 version was later released in 1952.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

jr_senator wrote in post #2575045
Am I correct in understanding that ASA160 color film was in use 50 years ago? You are correct about ASA400 color print film, it was 1977, if I recall correctly. However, there was an ASA500 slide film from GAF that came out in 1975, I think. One got better results if it was exposed at ASA320 or 400.

I just found info on the web about Kodacolor 400

"Kodacolor 400Kodacolor 400 (CG)Maker:Eastman KodakSpeed:400/27°Type:Color printProcess:C-41 processFormat:110, 35 mm, 120Introduced:1977
Kodacolor 400 was available by or before 1981. It offered a major speed increase over Kodacolor II."

decoyslikecurves wrote in post #2569808
Haha, Of course.

50mm f0.95 - what a mother of a lens
have a look!

http://captjack.exakta​phile.com/canonflex/Ca​non%207.htm

It wasn't particularly sharp wide open, but its pretty desireable.

I must have a good copy then, my 0.95 can be sharp wide open. It can be a dificult lens to get consistent results with wide open.

The Canon 50mm 0.95 is still the fastest production lens ever made.

Many fast lenses have been made that never have been sold on film cameras but can be found and attached to a film camera. Most of the 0.75 lenses are for TV cameras and cover a smaller area than a 24x36 negative.

The very first zoom lens: 1959 Zoomar 38-82 was a fast 2.8 lens
http://www.kilfitt.org​/Lenses/Zoomar_38_82.h​tm
I happen to have this lens as well, for the Voigtlander Bessamatic. Although it is not nearly as special as the Canon 0.95

The first camera with a high speed lens was the Ermanox, introduced in the mid-1920's by Dr. Erich Saloman. It was a 4.5x6 cm plate camera with a focal plane shutter and an f/1.8 lens, both very advanced for that time. It was the first camera which allowed photojournalists to take truly candid, unposed photos. It was superseded in just a few years by the early Leica and Contax 35mm cameras which were even more portable and faster to shoot with. http://www.pacificrimc​amera.com/pp/zeiss/erm​anox/ermanox.htm

Some more large aperture lenses:

Article on using Zeiss 50/0.7 and 36.5/0.7 lenses to shoot the movie 'Barry Lyndon'

Best regards,
Andy

The oldest super-speed lens would probably be the Petzval f/3.7. A bit long, but they are easier to correct for almost all aberrations as needed for the daguerrian portraiture of the time.

That's... 166 years old.

It looks like the future of speed will be mostly with greater ISO sensor speed rather than actual lens speed.

It has been true for the last 20 years with the development of very fine fast ISO films, and the digital sensor quality at high ISO seems to be progressing even faster.

A quality 6400 ISO speed sensor is proably only a few years away, and will find its way into consumer cameras as prices continue to drop.

Lets face it sensor speed is much more versital than lens speed since extreme apeatures like f/1.2 and faster create such a shallow depth of field.

Image stabilization is annother relativly new technology that will continue to develope and improve, and ultimatly reduce the need for faster lenses.

One thing for sure though, Higher ISO's and Better IS is no where near as fun as playing around with shooting fast glass....

decoyslikecurves wrote in post #2569808
Haha, Of course.

The early leitz lenses - some of them were pretty fast. The fastest lens ever made in fact was made in 1961 on the canon 7 rangefinder.

50mm f0.95 - what a mother of a lens
have a look!

http://captjack.exakta​phile.com/canonflex/Ca​non%207.htm

It wasn't particularly sharp wide open, but its pretty desireable.

I'm fairly sure zeiss also had very fast lenses as far back as the earlier half of the century, and most of them are better glass than most of the lenses you guys would have on your cameras.

Thanks for the link. I've never seen this lens before. If I remember correctly rangerfinders require smaller lenses because of the distance between the lens and film as compared with SLRs.