Minotar and Minoxar lenses

Minotar and Minoxar are Tessar type four elements three group design.

35mm/F2.8 Minotar is used in Minox 35ML and other Minox 35mm cameras; Minoxar 35mm/F2.8 lens is a better lens, it focused closer to 70 cm (2.3' ) vs 90 cm (3 feet) of Minotar.

Minotar or Minoxar lens is focused by turning a high power front element.

Front element focusing is common in many cameras with Tessar lens, such as Rollei 35, Zeiss Ikon Contessa etc.

Since the front element of a Tessar type lens has three times the power of whole lens, the focusing movement

required is only 1/9 of unit focusing, this is evident from Minoxar/Minotar, the front element movement is about 1 mm, very small.

<p><img src="http://www.accessv.com/~martntai/public_html/manual/MINOXAR.JPG"border=2>

Minoxar lens is also multcoated. Lens coating is a technique pioneered by Zeiss in coating glass surfaces with quarter wave length floride, to reduce the reflection loss of incident light.

Mulitple coatings reduce reflection exponentially vs number of coating; buy using different quarter wave lengths, the transmision effficienty can be made across a broad spectrum. Multicoated lens has better color rendition.

Hi Martin,

<p>

When you mention that the Minoxar lens is multi-coated, does this

imply that the Minotar (older) lens are not multi-coated? Single

coated then? Thanks.

Minoxar and Minoctar lenses are the only sucessful wide angle Tessar

type 4 element lens.

<p>

There are other 35mm/f2.8 lens but they could not achieve with

as few element

For example, Nikon 35mm/2.8 had to use 5 elements

Olympus XA Zuiko had to use 6 elements for 35mm/F2.8

( quite a bit of flare and not as sharp )

Not even Carl Zeiss, they need to use 6 elements for the Distagon

35mm/f2.8 lens for Contax SLR.

Minoxar/Minoctar is the king of wide anngle Tessar type lens

When I photograph architecture subjects, I always amaze at the

almost unnoticeable distortion of Minoctar/Minoxar lens.

A column is amazingly ruler straight.

I know, because my 50mm/f2.8 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, even though it

is not a wide angle lens, should be easier to design, yet it has

slight pincushion distortion.

I have an expensive 6 element F2.8 lens, yet it has visible

barrel distortion ! While the 4 element Minoxar gives me straight

columns !

<p>

Minoctar/Minoxar lens is absolutely amazing

Who ever designed the Minoctar/Minoxar was an optics wizard.

<h3> Happy 100th Birthday Tessar </a>

<p>

Carl Zeiss is celebrating the centenary of Tessar lens designed by

Paul Rudolph in 1902

<a

href="http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A8003B58B9/allBySubject/E1B13C0B784C35

1CC1256BA40043C2C0">Eagle Eye Tessar </a>

<a

href="http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A8003B58B9/allBySubject/48650323292A75

EE41256A5300381623">More on Tessar </a>