Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] Olympus on the Leica list : "ZUIKO F.C." lenses

Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus on the Leica list : "ZUIKO F.C." lenses
From: DBellamy2k@xxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 18:39:51 EDT
Dear Mark Langer / John Hudson,

<< I opened up the Olympus 4cm f2.8 lens to clean out some schmutz between
 the elements and it is a classic Tessar-type configuration -- two front
 elements, diaphragm and a cemented doublet behind.  So the "C" cannot
 stand for three lens elements.  I suspect it stands for "Coated" given
 the age of the lens.  The lens does couple properly to the rangefinder
 of a Leica.
  >>

I replied thus:

<< Olympus Vision Age magazines 1-5 has "The Zuiko Story, a short history of 
Olympus lenses and cameras from 1936 onwards. A bit about their larger format 
lens, the 75/2.8 6 element Zuiko with respect to Rollei's 75/3.5 and80/2.8 
Zeiss Tessar lenses. >>

I missed out a bit. To this I should have added that these lenses, for the 
Olympusflex cameras (first produced in 1952) were classed as "Full-Coated". 
Faintly on the pictures I can just see "ZUIKO F.C."

Olympusflex TLR (1952-1956) - the twin lenses:
Camera lens: Full-Coated 75mm F2.8 Zuiko (6 elements in 4 groups)
Viewfinder lens: Full-Coated 75mm F2.8 Zuiko (4 elements in 3 groups)
In a specification table it says that the view lens was also called an 
F-Zuiko but I think they have made an error in the table.
The view lens just says: ZUIKO F.C. on it.
The camera lens says ZUIKO F.C. too but I can't see anything before it 
because of the orientation of the lens! 
But the camera lens was the 6 element one - surely - so that would have been 
the F-ZUIKO one and the table is wrong I bet.

So even by 1953 there was:
F-ZUIKO for 6 elements.
F.C. for Full Coating.
In addition, like your lens, the focal lengths were given in centimetres (cm) 
on the lenses themselves. By about 1959, they were onto millimetres (mm) with 
the Eyeflex camera lenses.

Your 'C' lens may well then be coated but not "full coated" whatever that is. 
Maybe not all the lens surfaces were coated originally, or maybe just the 
front surface of the front element was coated. Then I surmise that 
Full-Coated lenses came along with all lens elements surface-coated, at least 
those facing the air and not bonded together.

Still investigating. [It all seems nearly as confusing as trying to figure 
out which modern OM-System Zuiko lenses were SC, MC, E., F., G., H.Zuiko etc!]

Dave Bellamy.
http://members.aol.com/synthchap/

< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz