Just curious: Has any company ever made a zoom lens for a large format camera?

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), February 09, 2000

Answers

I once mounted wheels on my tripod and tried zooming about.

-- Bill (wjc@westwing.com), February 09, 2000.

Didn't Schneider make a lens called the "zoomar" or somethhing for enlargers? No, seriously I am not making this up.

-- Sean yates (yatescats@yahoo.com), February 09, 2000.

Sean is correct, but I can't remember if it was a Schnieder or something else. I remember photographers mounting that lens in a shutter and using it as a camera lens. If there was one made specifically for large format cameras it was short lived. Wouldn't it be neat to have a small, lightweight zoom of 90mm to 300mm with great resolution and costing about $300. However, a zoom that size would be about the size of a bus and probably cost more. It's nice to dream. Doug

-- Doug Paramore (dougmary@alanet.com), February 09, 2000.

Voightlander made a lens called the "zoomar". Could that be what Sean refers to (it had a horrible reputation, IIRC).

-- Patrick

-- Patrick Chase (patrick@sdd.hp.com), February 10, 2000.

When you consider the price of a 25-250 Angenieux for motion picture cameras being well beyond my yearly income, I dont even want to think about what one that would cover 8x10 from 150mm to 600mm would run. I dont think I could lift it even if I could afford it.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), February 10, 2000.

What I had in mind was something like a 120 to 250 mm.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), February 10, 2000.

Voigtlander's "Zoomar" lens was the first zoom for 35mm camera, not LF; 35-70mm or something like that. Incidentally, I think it was not even made by Voigtander but by an American optical firm.

-- alan dale (adale6@excite.com), February 11, 2000.

So i take it the answer is....NO.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), February 11, 2000.

I swear I saw Photogrphic systems in New Mexico or was it Midwest Photo in Ohio selling one in their darkroom section.....

please, I don't wanna dig throught all the back issues of View Camera to find it...

-- Sean yates (yatescats@yahoo.com), February 12, 2000.