Posts: 243
From: UK
Registered: Dec 2010

posted 02-15-2016 10:37 AM               

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Does anyone have any info on these lenses?

Its a Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 - one of the largest aperture lenses in the history of photography. The lens was designed and made specifically for the NASA Apollo lunar program to capture the far side of the moon in 1966.

Stanley Kubrick used these lenses when shooting his film Barry Lyndon, which allowed him to shoot scenes lit only by candlelight.

In total there were only 10 lenses made. One was kept by Carl Zeiss, six were sold to NASA, and three were sold to Stanley Kubrick.

Posts: 396
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Jan 2012

posted 02-16-2016 06:44 AM               

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Since it was made in 1966, The lens might have been designed to shoot the stars during the later Gemini EVAs. I know Gordon and Aldrin both shot the stars during their standup EVAs.

With an aperture that wide, they could have also used it to shoot the part of the moon that was lit up by earthshine. It would also be a great lens to shoot inside the spacecraft, but I think the main purpose was to shoot the stars.

Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 853
From: Danville, Ohio
Registered: Dec 2002

Posts: 1040
From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-16-2016 03:32 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by holcombeyates:
...one of the largest aperture lenses in the history of photography

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Is this really an accurate description? Seems that combining any camera with a moderate sized telescope would transform the telescope into a camera lens with an aperture easily larger than the subject lens. However, the photographic speed of the telescopic system would be much slower than the Zeiss lens.

Seems the better way to describe it would be as one of the fastest lenses ever made, or a lens with one of the lowest focal ratios ever made.

On edit, if you want a fast lens with a truly large aperture, connect a camera to the Magellan telescope. Its aperture is a whopping 24 meters with an f/0.7 focal ratio.