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on Jul 15, 2021 13:53:17 GMT
Posted: Jul 15, 2021 13:53:17 GMT
Maybe this is common knowledge, but I'm only familiar with the Zeiss T* appearing on SLR lenses, and on cameras with built-in Zeiss lenses. But it appears that the T* is now showing up on some SLR camera bodies -- but not Contax or Yashica bodies -- SONY SLR bodies, such as the A7R III.
Zeiss does provide some T* lenses with Sony lens mounts (probably both A & E types), but it's been suggested that parts of the EVF (electronic viewfinder) is T* coated -- hence the designation on the camera body -- next to the viewfinder.
Who knows?
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on Jul 15, 2021 15:26:08 GMT
Last Edit: Jul 15, 2021 15:27:23 GMT by lumiworx
My guess would be that any optical glass lens can benefit from having a coating, and Zeiss has been constantly working on the T* coatings since the mid-1930's. It's patented, and known to work for most of the reflective and transmissive 'gotchas' that plague photographers. It might be more cost effective for other manufacturers to license it for use on non-taking lenses, and/or pay Zeiss to produce them for use in their own camera bodies as viewfinder lenses, or maybe even on LCD's or mini-monitor screens.
I'll be the first to say that the viewfinders on my Sony cameras look like they use them - even if they aren't branded as Zeiss - but they really haven't held up well like the coatings on the taking lenses do. I see a similar look on the Fuji viewfinder, but it's new and hasn't had time to show how it will stand up over time. I appreciate that they're there, but I'm not sure how critical it is to have AR coatings that don't get any direct or reflected light on them when my eye is directly in front of it when in use.
It's also possible that the T* coatings have always been there without branding up till now, but Zeiss is getting huffy about getting their name plastered on as many things as possible, and make it part of the contract details to now have a logo showing.
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on Jul 15, 2021 16:04:22 GMT
Posted: Jul 15, 2021 16:04:22 GMT
My guess would be that any optical glass lens can benefit from having a coating, and Zeiss has been constantly working on the T* coatings since the mid-1930's. It's patented, and known to work for most of the reflective and transmissive 'gotchas' that plague photographers. It might be more cost effective for other manufacturers to license it for use on non-taking lenses, and/or pay Zeiss to produce them for use in their own camera bodies as viewfinder lenses, or maybe even on LCD's or mini-monitor screens. I'll be the first to say that the viewfinders on my Sony cameras look like they use them - even if they aren't branded as Zeiss - but they really haven't held up well like the coatings on the taking lenses do. I see a similar look on the Fuji viewfinder, but it's new and hasn't had time to show how it will stand up over time. I appreciate that they're there, but I'm not sure how critical it is to have AR coatings that don't get any direct or reflected light on them when my eye is directly in front of it when in use. It's also possible that the T* coatings have always been there without branding up till now, but Zeiss is getting huffy about getting their name plastered on as many things as possible, and make it part of the contract details to now have a logo showing. That all makes perfect sense. What is odd though is that in the brochure for the A7R III, Sony provides a list of trademarks and the Zeiss T* is not included. One would have thought it was a positive point for the camera and would have been included in the EVF details but I haven't spotted any reference to it either in the brochure or on the Sony website. Strange. Even Yashica had to publish an acknowledgement of the FR trademark, which was registered to another company, in their early brochures... |
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on Jul 15, 2021 16:11:18 GMT
Posted: Jul 15, 2021 16:11:18 GMT
My first thought, of course, was that it's a sales gimmick. The old Minolta factories are making most of Sony's cameras and lenses, and have been coating viewfinders and pentaprisms as needed for decades -- and undoubtedly they have been doing it with Sony cameras all along. But I'm sure that having the Zeiss branding on a camera body will convince some to buy a Sony camera over a Nikon or Canon. History repeats itself -- Contax vs Yashica!
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on Jul 15, 2021 18:42:49 GMT
Posted: Jul 15, 2021 18:42:49 GMT
A quick look at the Trademark section of the Sony A7C's online manual is devoid of any mention of Zeiss, which is odd in itself, as I'd assume they'd want to tie into the Zeiss name for the Sony/Zeiss co-branded lenses if nothing else. As an aside - I found an interesting news announcement concerning their coating technology and the fruits of a partnership... www.photonicsonline.com/doc/carl-zeiss-teams-with-nanofilm-for-nanotechno-0001I went looking for some "Licensee" information, but came up empty after a quick search, but I'll try a different tack and see what there is. There is an abundance of products that are more than happy to shout the fact that there's a Zeiss coating technology used. Both plastic and glass eyeglass lenses can have one of several trademarked treatments applied, and then there's the usual stuff like binoculars, spotting and rifle scopes, plus the less glamorous items like surveyors gear that's still based on optics, and even lasers and levels. Not all the lasers are for measurements either... www.zeiss.com/meditec/int/product-portfolio/therapeutic-lasers/visulas-green.html |
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