View source for Zeiss Sonnar

{{Redirect-distinguish|Sonnar|Sonar}}
{{Infobox lens design
|scheme = Sonnar.png
|author = Ludwig Bertele
|year = 1932
|elements = 7
|groups = 3
|aperture = {{f/|1.5}} (1932)
}}

The Zeiss '''Sonnar''' is a [[photographic lens]] originally designed by Dr. [[Ludwig Bertele]] in 1929<ref>{{cite web |url=http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/nikkor/nwords-e.htm#sonnarty |title=Nikon {{!}} Imaging Products {{!}} Nikkor -- The Thousand and One Nights, Glossary |website=imaging.nikon.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411212731/http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/nikkor/nwords-e.htm |archive-date=2008-04-11}} </ref> and patented by [[Carl Zeiss AG|Zeiss Ikon]].<ref name=DE530843>{{cite patent |country=DE |number=530843 |title=Photographisches Objektiv |assign=Zeiss Ikon |pridate=August 14, 1929 |pubdate=August 29, 1931}}</ref> It was notable for its relatively light weight, simple design and [[lens speed|fast aperture]].

==Naming==
The name "Sonnar" is derived from the German word "[[wikt:Sonne|Sonne]]", meaning sun. It was originally a tradename owned by {{Interlanguage link multi|Nettel Camerawerke|de|3=Nettel-Camerawerke}} in {{Interlanguage link multi|Sontheim am Neckar|de|3=Sontheim (Heilbronn)}} for a {{f/|4.5}} [[Tessar]]-like lens.{{citation needed|date=May 2013|reason=We need a reference for this as the German WP states that the first Sonnar was introduced in 1924 by Contessa-Nettel.}} Sontheim's [[coat of arms]] includes a symbol of the sun. Nettel merged with [[August Nagel]]'s {{Interlanguage link multi|Contessa Camerawerke|de|3=Contessa-Camerawerke}} in 1919. The resulting {{Interlanguage link multi|Contessa-Nettel|de}} AG in [[Stuttgart]] was one of the companies that merged to form the [[Zeiss Ikon]] AG in 1926.

When the modern Zeiss lens was designed by Bertele, Zeiss re-used the old Nettel tradename in order to build on the sun association to emphasize on the lens' large aperture ({{f/|2.0}}), which was much greater than many other lenses available at the time.

==History==
<gallery heights=100px widths=150px caption="''Sonnar'' antecedents and evolution">
File:Taylor US568052A (Cooke Triplet, 1893 Fig 11).svg|''[[Cooke triplet]]'' ([[Harold Dennis Taylor|Taylor]], 1893, per US 568,052)<ref name=US568052>{{cite patent |number=568052 |country=US |title=Lens |inventor=Harold Dennis Taylor |pridate=November 30, 1895 |pubdate=September 22, 1896}}</ref>
File:Minor US1360667A (Ultrastigmat, 1916).svg|''Ultrastigmat'' (Minor, 1916, per US 1,360,667)<ref name=US1360667>{{cite patent |number=1360667 |country=US |title=Photographic Objective |inventor=Charles Minor |pridate=August 18, 1916 |pubdate=November 30, 1920}}</ref>
File:Bertele US1584271 (Ernostar, 1923).svg|''Ernostar'' {{f/|2.0}} ([[Ludwig Bertele|Bertele]], 1923, per US 1,584,271)<ref name=US1584271>{{cite patent |number=1584271 |country=US |title=Photographic Lens |inventor=Ludwig Bertele |pridateJanuary 13, 1923= |pubdate=May 11, 1926}}</ref>
File:Bertele DE458499C (Ernostar, 1924).svg|''Ernostar'' {{f/|2.0}} ([[Ludwig Bertele|Bertele]], 1924, per DRP 458,499)<ref name=DE458499>{{cite patent |number=458499 |country=DE |title=Photographisches Objektiv |inventor=Ludwig Bertele |pridate=July 22, 1924 |pubdate=April 13, 1928}}</ref>
<!--|''Ernostar'' {{f/|1.8}} ([[Ludwig Bertele|Bertele]], 1924, per US 1,708,863)<ref name=US1708863>{{cite patent |number=1708863 |country=US |title=Photographic Objective |inventor=Ludwig Bertele |pridate=December 5, 1924 |pubdate=April 9, 1929}}</ref>-->
File:Bertele DE530843 (Sonnar f2, 1929).svg|''Sonnar'' {{f/|2.0}} (Zeiss Ikon, 1929, per DE 530,843)<ref name=DE530843/>
File:Bertele US1988704A (Sonnar f2, 1931).svg|''Sonnar'' {{f/|2.0}} ([[Ludwig Bertele|Bertele]], 1931, per US 1,998,704)<ref name=US1998704>{{cite patent |number=1998704 |country=US |title=Photographic Objective |inventor=Ludwig Bertele |pridate=September 1, 1931 |pubdate=April 23, 1935}}</ref>
File:Bertele US1975678A (Sonnar f1.5, 1932).svg|''Sonnar'' {{f/|1.5}} ([[Ludwig Bertele|Bertele]], 1932, per US 1,975,678)<ref name=US1975678>{{cite patent |number=1975678 |country=US |title=Objective |inventor=Ludwig Bertele |pridate=July 8, 1932 |pubdate=October 2, 1934}}</ref>
</gallery>
The ''[[Cooke triplet]]'' [[anastigmat]], designed by [[Harold Dennis Taylor|Dennis Taylor]] and patented in 1893, was modified in 1916 by Charles C. Minor, who added a positive meniscus element to increase the maximum aperture to {{f/|1.9}}, which was marketed as the [[Ernst Gundlach|Gundlach]] ''Ultrastigmat''.<ref name=Kingslake89>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofphotogr0000king/ |title=A History of the Photographic Lens |author=Kingslake, Rudolf |author-link=Rudolf Kingslake |date=1989 |publisher=Academic Press |location=San Diego, California |isbn=0-12-408640-3}}</ref>{{rp|110}} In parallel, Bertele designed the {{f/|2.0}} ''Ernostar'' lens, which was released in 1919 with the Ermanox camera.<ref name=Kingslake89/>{{rp|111}} Bertele's ''Ernostar'' used two cemented doublets in lieu of the two positive elements in Minor's ''Ultrastigmat'',<ref name=Kingslake89/>{{rp|111–112}} but this was later simplified to two positive elements in the 1924 German ''Ernostar'' patent.<ref name=DE458499/> In 1926, the Ernemann Company was acquired by Zeiss-Ikon and Bertele continued developing his designs under Zeiss.<ref name=Kingslake89/>{{rp|111–112}}

The first Zeiss ''Sonnar'', patented in 1929, was a {{f/|2.0}} 50&nbsp;mm lens with six elements in three groups and released with the [[Carl Zeiss AG|Zeiss]] [[Contax I]] rangefinder camera in 1932. In 1931, Bertele reformulated the ''Sonnar'' with seven elements in three groups, allowing a maximum aperture of {{f/|1.5}}.<ref name=Kingslake89/>{{rp|112}}

Compared to [[Zeiss Planar|''Planar'']] designs the ''Sonnar'' had more [[Optical aberration|aberrations]], but with fewer glass-to-air surfaces it had better contrast and less flare. Though compared to the earlier [[Zeiss Tessar|''Tessar'']] design, its faster aperture and lower [[chromatic aberration]] was a significant improvement.

===Applications and influence===
Although initially developed as a [[normal lens]] with a [[focal length]] approximately the same as the frame diagonal, the ''Sonnar'' design has been extended to longer and shorter focal lengths. For example, the first Zeiss ''[[Biogon]]'', a [[wide-angle lens]] for rangefinder cameras with a focal length of 35&nbsp;mm, was derived by Bertele in 1934<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=2084309 |title=Photographic Lens System |inventor=Ludwig Bertele |pridate=June 16, 1934 |pubdate=June 22, 1937}}</ref> from the improved 1932 ''Sonnar''.<ref name=Kingslake89/>{{rp|128}} However, the ''Sonnar'' design is incompatible with [[Single-lens reflex camera]]s (SLRs) due to the space taken up by an SLR's mirror.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0040/index.htm |title=Nikkor-S Auto 5.8cm F1.4 (No.40) |author=Ohshita, Kouichi |website=NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights |publisher=Nikon Imaging |access-date=21 March 2023 |quote=With the emergence of the single-lens reflex camera, the rivalry between the Sonnar-type lens and the [double] Gauss-type lens was finally resolved. As an asymmetrical optical system, the Sonnar-type lens simply could not ensure the back focus necessary for the operation of a quick-return mirror, and thus had to cede the mantle of standard large-diameter lens to the Gauss-type lens. Thus, as the single-lens reflex camera grew in popularity, the Gauss-type lens became the standard large-diameter lens, while the Sonnar-type lens found its niche as a large-diameter telephoto lens, a role for which its short overall length proved advantageous.}}</ref> For this reason it has been used most commonly in the portrait lens class, starting with the "Olympia" ''Sonnar'' of 1936, built as a 2.8/180&nbsp;mm lens for the Contax [[rangefinder camera]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/pp/zicontax180f28.htm |title=180/2.8 Zeiss Olympia Sonnar for Contax |website=Pacific Rim Camera |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref>

For [[135 film|35mm]] film cameras, the portrait lens focal lengths span the range approximately from 85 to 180&nbsp;mm (1.5–4× the "normal lens" focal length).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/contax-yashica/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-2885-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* 2.8/85, Contax/Yashica mount |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/contax-yashica/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-35100-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* 3.5/100, Contax/Yashica mount |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/contax-yashica/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-28135-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* 2.8/135, Contax/Yashica mount |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/contax-yashica/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-28180-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* 2.8/180, Contax/Yashica mount |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> ''Sonnar'' portrait lenses have been released for the 35mm format for both SLR cameras and rangefinders, such as the ''Sonnar'' T* 2.8/90 for [[Contax G]] cameras.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/contax-g/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-2890-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* 2.8/90 |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> ''Sonnar'' portrait lenses also are supplied for larger cameras, most notably the 150&nbsp;mm and 250&nbsp;mm lenses for the [[Medium format (film)|medium format]] [[Hasselblad]] V-system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/hasselblad-c/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-4150-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* f/4 — 150&nbsp;mm, Cat. No. 101025 for Hasselblad |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/consumer-products/downloads/historical-products/photography/hasselblad-c/en/datasheet-zeiss-sonnar-56250-en.pdf |title=Sonnar T* f/5.6 — 250&nbsp;mm, Cat. No. 101026 for Hasselblad |publisher=Carl Zeiss AG |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> Some portrait ''Sonnar'' lenses also were made for [[large format]] cameras, typically found on technical and [[press camera]]s made by [[Linhof]] – e.g., ''Sonnar'' 1:5.6 250&nbsp;mm for 9×12&nbsp;cm (4×5") format. Though these lenses were quite heavy (> 2&nbsp;kg) and large, they were optimised for working on a full aperture with the same sharpness and contrast as on smaller apertures. The coverage of these lenses was also not as good as many similar focal length lenses which limited the use of camera movements, although movements are not generally too important for portrait work.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.arnecroell.com/zeissoberkochen.pdf |title=Large format lenses from Carl Zeiss Oberkochen 1950-1972 |author=Cröll, Arne |date=October 4, 2019 |publisher=Self |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref>{{rp|13–17}}

The ''Sonnar'' design has been extensively copied by other lens manufacturers, due to its excellent sharpness, low production cost and fast [[lens speed|speed]]. For example, the Soviet factory [[Krasnogorskiy Zavod|KMZ]] produced several lenses that used the ''Sonnar'' formula: The KMZ ''Jupiter 3'',  [[Jupiter-8 (lens)|''Jupiter-8'']], and ''Jupiter-9'' are direct copies of the Zeiss ''Sonnar'' 1:1.5 50&nbsp;mm, 1:2.0 50&nbsp;mm, and 1:2.0 85&nbsp;mm, respectively. Some early rangefinder lenses manufactured by [[Nikon]] also used the ''Sonnar'' design, including the ''Nikkor-H·C'' 5&nbsp;cm {{f/|2}} (1946),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0034/index.htm |title=NIKKOR-H·C 5cm F2 (No.34) |author=Ohshita, Kouichi |website=NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights |publisher=Nikon Imaging |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> ''Nikkor-S·C'' 8.5&nbsp;cm {{f/|1.5}} (1952),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0019/index.htm |title=NIKKOR-S·C 8.5cm f/1.5 (No.19) |author=Sato, Haruo |website=NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights |publisher=Nikon Imaging |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> ''Nikkor-P·C'' 8.5&nbsp;cm {{f/|2}} (1948),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0036/index.htm |title=NIKKOR-P·C 8.5cm F2 (No.36) |author=Ohshita, Kouichi |website=NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights |publisher=Nikon Imaging |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> ''Nikkor-P·C'' 10.5&nbsp;cm {{f/|2.5}} (1949),<ref name=Nikkor1001-45>{{cite web |url=https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0045/index.htm |title=NIKKOR-P·C 10.5cm f/2.5 (No.45) |author=Sato, Haruo |website=NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights |publisher=Nikon Imaging |access-date=21 March 2023 |quote=The only lenses that could be diverted as-is to use for F-mount cameras were those with a focal length greater than that of the 13.5cm f/3.5. [...] Back focus on the 8.5cm was lacking remarkably, so designers gave up on any thoughts of diversion to the F mount. However, if 10.5cm f/2.5 back focus could be increased by 1-1.5mm, it could be converted to the F mount. By reducing the thickness of the last lens element by 1.0mm, Wakimoto was able to preserve back focus and release the 10.5cm f/2.5 for F-mount cameras.}}</ref> and ''Nikkor-Q·C'' 13.5&nbsp;cm {{f/|4}} (1946);<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imaging.nikon.com/history/story/0043/index.htm |title=NIKKOR-Q·C 13.5cm f/4 (No.43) |author=Sato, Haruo |website=NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights |publisher=Nikon Imaging |access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> the 10.5 and 13.5&nbsp;cm lenses later were slightly modified for the [[Nikon F mount]] SLR cameras.<ref name=Nikkor1001-45/>

===Modern developments===
A [[zoom lens]] derivative of the Sonnar, the [[Vario-Sonnar]] also exists, in which a number of lens groups are replaced with floating pairs of lens groups.

The Vario-Sonnar is a [[Carl Zeiss AG|Carl Zeiss]] [[photographic lens]] design named in relation to the Zeiss Sonnar.  This lens type has a variable [[focal length]] which can replace a series of lenses for a certain picture format.

{{Multiple image
|align=left
|direction=horizontal
|header=
|footer=
|width1=220
|image1=Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens 001.jpg
|alt1=A Sonnar 135&nbsp;mm f/3.5 from Carl Zeiss Jena
|caption1=A Sonnar 135&nbsp;mm f/3.5 from Carl Zeiss Jena
|width2=255
|image2=Sonnartele135.png
|alt2=Zeiss Sonnar 135&nbsp;mm f/2.8 telephoto lens.
|caption2=Zeiss Sonnar 135&nbsp;mm f/2.8 telephoto lens.
}}
{{-}}

== See also ==
* [[Biotar]]
* [[Tessar]]
* [[Zeiss Planar|Planar]]
* [[Biogon]]
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Distagon|de}}
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Flektogon|de}}
* [[Hologon]]
* [[Photographic lens design]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.pbase.com/kkawakami/image/61106437 Vario-Sonnar diagram]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.antiquecameras.net/sonnarlens.html Antique and Classic Cameras] Sonnar Lens Types for Leica mount

[[Category:Photographic lens designs]]
[[Category:Zeiss lenses|Sonnar]]