Home Movies (1954)

ZOOMAR 16mm LENS A survey of the new light-weight Zoomar 16mm lens, just released by the manufacturer and available now. By JAMES RANDOLPH The new Zoomar, just released for sale is a high speed all-purpose lens with a focus ranging from 1" to 3" and with an aperture of F 2.8 Minimum focus is from 8 feet to infinity, but short range adapters are available for closer work. The lens was hailed as a revolutionary development in motion pictture production when it was first introduced in 1946 and demonstrated at the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. It was adopted immediately by those whose work demands speed of operation and ease of handling; soon afterwards TV demanded the same thing and got the Television Zoomar with the result that more than 100 TV stations throughout the country are using this lens. Right now the Studio Zoomar built especially for TV production is available. The new Zoomar 16 was designed in the laboratories at Glen Cove, Long Island, as a brand-new varifocal lens for 16mm motion-picture cameras. Basically, the Zoomar 16 has been designed to give the 16mm camera user — whether he be an industrial photographer, a sports photographer, a scientist, a news cameraman, an explorer, a TV movie maker, or an amateur intent on building up his own film library — a single all-purpose lens to take care of the majority of his picture making assignments, including special effects. It has been designed for ease of operation, ease of mountability and ease of portability. Extremely light and compact, it brings to all 16mm camera users, amateur as well as professional, a new height in lens and camera flexibility. For by design, it is not only a special effect lens but a high-quality, highspeed all purpose lens as well. By being capable of taking the place of all conventional lenses from 1 in. to 3 in. on the camera turret, it makes the long-dreamed-of "one-lens camera" an actuality. Weighing only 114 pounds and measuring 5 in. in overall length, the new Zoomar 16 can be mounted on any 16mm movie camera without altering the camera or the lens. Once in place, picture-taking is easy. Lens settings are clearly visible. The zoom lever is conveniently located under the lens where it is out of the way yet easy to reach and to operate. Simply pushing the lever forward zooms in; pulling it back zooms out. During all zooming operation, the length of the lens as well as that of the coupled finder remains the same. Built as an integral part of the lens assembly, the coupled finder is a wide-vision finder. It has no peephole to make "nose-to-the-camera" operation necesary. As a result, the cameraman has the maximum freedom of movement while filming, and the image he sees in the finder is just as it will appear later on the projection screen. It puts the cameraman in the unique position of being able to compose and edit his shooting on the spot, and not later on the cutting and splicing board. The operation of the new Zoomar 16 is smooth and continuous. The zoom mechanism does not rely on the operation of cams or gears which would be subject to wear. Adjusted carefully at the actory, it remains in perfect adjustment. The technical data for the Zoomar 16 is as follows : Aperture Range: Zoom Range: Distance Range: Weight: Overall Dimensions: f/2.8 to f/16 1 in. to 3 in. (25mm to 75mm ) 8 ft. to Infinity ( short range adapters are available for shorter distances) ly^ pounds 5y2 in. long 41/2 w*. wide 2 in. high All optical elements are fluoride coated and the highest resolving power ever built into any varifocal lens assures brilliance, detail, and picture contrast over the entire picture frame. Furthermore, there are no cemented elements so thermic stability is assured. Practically speaking, the new Zoomar 16 is the result of more than seven years of intensive research and development in the field of varifocal lenses. Into it has been built all the know-how and experience gathered during the development of television and newsreel varifocal lenses ... at last, available to the 16mm motion picture fan. 73