fastest lenses - all-time records

[neild]

I have an Olympus 21mm f/2 and Olympus 8mm f/2.8 (circular fisheye). Not sure how they compare...

[neild]

There are other brands besides Canon who made 55mm f/1.2: for example, Olympus made one (perhaps true of other focal lengths too) - perhaps you should find out which was the first made to include in the hall of fame? (I'm not fishing for 'glory' here: I've no idea who made the first one!)

[akira]

Pentax used to make 135mm/f1.8 for K-mont cameras and Sony ls to release Planar 135mm/f1.8 for alpha digital mount later this year.

[dan_fromm2]

Heiko, as long as you're counting slow lenses like the 100/2 Canon (I have one in C-mount) and 110/2 Zeiss, you ought to count the 100/1.8 and 100/2 Taylor, Taylor, Hobson lenses, the 100/1.9 Dallmeyer Super Six and Rareac, the 6"/1.9 (I sold mine), and 8"/2 Super Six. Also the 200/1.9 Boyer Saphir. Wray made 36"/4 lenses for aerial cameras.

 

What is the point of this exercise? And why are you excluding zoom lenses? I ask because I suspect that the 8.5-25.5/1.0 Canon zoom, as fitted to the 310XL, 310XLS, and AF310XL super 8 cameras, was made in vast numbers. Most of the other f/1 and faster lenses around seem to have been made in relatively small numbers.

[franklin_polk]

Nikon made a one of a kind 58mm f/1, one sold one ebay a little back. Porst (or Sigma, I can't remeber), made a 135mm f/1.8 (faster than f/1.8) Pentax also made a 300mm f/2 (and a 50mm f/1.2), not just Nikon. Kowa made a 75mm f/1.1 reproduction lens. Most likely, Canon has a prototype 500mm f2.8 in their vaults somewhere, they accidentally leaked that and a 200-400/4 a few years ago, but it was never offically annoucned or released (it was a DO lens). Canon also made a specialty 800mm f/3.8 mirror lens (Zeiss made a similar model with the same speed). In the same line as the 800/3.8, Canon also made a 2000mm f/11 (Konica and Nikon also made 200/11 miror lenses) and a 5200mm f/14, both mirror lenses. Many companies make 14mm f/2.8, although Nikon made a 13mm f/5.6. Schneider makes 4.8mm f/1.8, 8mm f/1.4, 12mm f/1.4, 17mm f/1.4, Zeiss makes an 18/1.2, 25/1.2, and matches with both 35/1.2 and 50/1.2.

[franklin_polk]

Oops, in the beginning, I meant to say "...Made a 135mm f/1.5, as opposed to the 135mm f/1.8s you have listed..."

[roger krueger]

There was an 800/4 for Pentax 67

[kevin_hess]

minolta had a 50 1.4 in the md mount and that was with the kit.for xgm

[vivek iyer]

Akira, Thanks for the link to the 6mm f/1.4 fisheye picture (any more details on it?).

 

Clearly the winner, IMO!

[akira]

Vivek,

 

You are welcome. I was pretty sure you will like the 6mm/f1.4 fisheye:-)

 

Here's the article on this lens. Hope you enjoy it!

 

http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/portfolio/about/technology/field/2004/aurora.htm

[vivek iyer]

Thanks, again, Akira. Fabulous and really enjoyable to see a fine gem like that being put to good use.

 

I know the AAO (http://www.aao.gov.au/) own/use two Repro Nikkor 85/1 lenses.

[stemked]

Just to add to the list,

 

Pentax also has

50mm f1.2 (A and K lens)

85mm f1.4 A*

85mm f1.4 FA

[User_502260]

Vivek, did you mean a 57mm f/1.2 Konica Hexanon in AR mount? I don't remember seeing any 58mm f/1.2 Konica lenses in SLR mount. Minolta and Canon both made 58mm f/1.2 SLR lenses. I think Sigma makes a 20mm f/1.8 lens.

[nathaniel_pearson]

A mildly interesting info swap going on here. But, as the candidates listed vary so greatly in

format, shouldn't we be specifying 'fastest lens for infinity-focused, air-transmitted

panchromatic (~380-760nm?) images with diagonal view angle x'?...

 

All of which makes me wonder: if we put all this collective energy into persuading someone

to make an aps-sensor digicam with a C-mount, all those old 17mm/1.2's &c. might actually

see some good new use!

[vivek iyer]

Jeff, Thanks for the correction. Yes, 57mm and not 58mm.

 

Nathan, Hmm.. you got to make your own, I think! The 70mm f/2 Olympus Pen F lens can be surgically altered to fit most dSLRs, it appears. I am not sure about the 60/1.5 lens though.

[mark u]

Here's a small selection:

 

http://www.abex.co.uk/sales/optical/fast_lenses/fast.htm