 | |
 Headquarters inOberkochen | |
| Formerly | Carl Zeiss |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Imaging |
| Founded | 1846; 179 years ago (1846) inJena,Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach,German Confederation |
| Founder | Carl Zeiss |
| Headquarters | Oberkochen,Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
Key people | Andreas Pecher,[1] CEO and President |
| Products | Semiconductor lithography equipment, light, electron and ionmicroscopes,coordinate-measuring machines,medical devices,eyeglasses,binoculars,spotting scopes,telescopes,planetarium projectors, and other optical equipment. |
| Revenue |  €10.894 billion (2024)[2] |
| €1.444 billion (2024)[2] | |
| €1.031 billion (2024)[2] | |
| Total assets | €16.088 billion (2024)[2] |
| Total equity | €8.190 billion (2024)[2] |
| Owner | Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung |
Number of employees | 46,485 (2024)[2] |
| Website | www |
Zeiss (/zaɪs/ZYSE;German:[kaʁlˈtsaɪs])[3][4] is a German manufacturer ofoptical systems andoptoelectronics, founded inJena, Germany, in 1846 byopticianCarl Zeiss. Together withErnst Abbe (joined 1866) andOtto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the foundation for today's multinational company. The current company emerged from a reunification of Carl Zeiss companies in East and West Germany with a consolidation phase in the 1990s.[5] ZEISS is active in four business segments with approximately equal revenue (Industrial Quality and Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology) in almost 50 countries, has 30 production sites and around 25 development sites worldwide.[6]
Carl Zeiss AG is the holding company for all subsidiaries within theZeiss Group, of whichCarl Zeiss Meditec AG is the only one that is traded on the stock market. Carl Zeiss AG is owned by theCarl-Zeiss-Stiftung foundation. The Zeiss Group has its headquarters in southern Germany, in the small town ofOberkochen, with its second largest, and founding site, being Jena in eastern Germany. Also controlled by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung is the glass manufacturerSchott AG, located inMainz and Jena. Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest existing optics manufacturers in the world.[7]
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Carl Zeiss opened an optics workshop in Jena in 1846. By 1847, he was making microscopes full-time. In 1861, the rapidly growing company had a staff of about 20[citation needed] and won a gold medal at theThuringian Industrial Exposition.[8]By 1866 Zeiss sold their 1,000th microscope. In 1872physicistErnst Abbe joined Zeiss, and along withOtto Schott designed greatly improved lenses for the optical instruments they were producing. After Carl Zeiss's death in 1888, the business was incorporated as theCarl-Zeiss-Stiftung in 1889.
ByWorld War I,[9] Zeiss was the world's largest camera-production company. Zeiss Ikon represented a significant part of the production, along with dozens of other brands and factories, including a major works atDresden.
In 1928 the Zeiss company acquired Hensoldt AG, which has produced Zeiss binoculars and rifle-scopes since 1964[10] - this has occasionally resulted in twin products being offered under both the "Hensoldt" and "Zeiss" brand-names. The Hensoldt System Technology division (resulting from a merger of the military-optics operations ofLeica and Hensoldt) was continued by Zeiss under the "Hensoldt" name until 2006.
As part ofNazi Germany'sZwangsarbeiter program, Zeiss used forced labour, including Jews and other minorities duringWorld War II.[11][12] The destruction of the war caused many companies to divide into smaller subcompanies and others to merge. There was great respect for the engineering innovation that came out of Dresden—before the war the world's first 35 mmsingle-lens reflex camera, theKine Exakta, and the first miniature camera with good picture-quality were developed there.
At the end of the war, Jena was initially occupied by theUnited States Army. When Jena and Dresden were incorporated into theSoviet occupation zone, laterEast Germany, the US Army relocated some parts of Zeiss Jena to the Contessa manufacturing facility inStuttgart, West Germany, while the remainder of Zeiss Jena was reestablished by the (eastern) German Democratic Republic asKombinatVEB Zeiss Jena.[13] TheSoviet Armyrelocated most of the existing Zeiss factories and tooling to the Soviet Union, establishing theKiev camera-works.
In the West,business activity restarted inOberkochen in present-dayBaden-Württemberg (southwestern Germany) asOpton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1946, which becameZeiss-Opton Optische Werke Oberkochen GmbH in 1947, but was soon renamed to "Carl Zeiss". West-German Zeiss products were labelled "Opton" for sale in the Eastern bloc, while East German Zeiss products were labelled "Zeiss Jena" or simply "Jena" for sale in Western countries.
In 1973, the Western Carl Zeiss AG entered into a licensing agreement with the Japanese camera-companyYashica to produce a series of high-quality 35 mm film-cameras and lenses bearing theContax and Zeiss brand names. This collaboration continued under Yashica's successor,Kyocera, until the latter ceased all camera production in 2005. Zeiss later produced lenses for the space industry and, more recently, has again produced high-quality 35 mm camera-lenses. The eastern Zeiss Jena was also well known for producing high-quality products.
Following theGerman reunification of 1989–1991,VEB Zeiss Jena — reckoned[citation needed] as one of the few East-German firms that was even potentially able to compete on a global basis — becameZeiss Jena GmbH, which becameJenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH in 1990. In 1991,Jenoptik Carl Zeiss Jena was split in two, withCarl Zeiss AG (Oberkochen) taking over the company's divisions for microscopy and other precision optics (effectively reuniting the pre-war Carl Zeiss enterprise) and moving itsmicroscopy andplanetarium divisions back to Jena.Jenoptik GmbH was split off as a specialty company in the areas ofphotonics,optoelectronics, andmechatronics.[14][15]
The Hensoldt AG was renamed "Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH" on 1 October 2006.[16]
The companies of theZeiss Gruppe in and around Dresden have branched into new technologies: screens and products for theautomotive industry, for example.
As of 2023[update] there are arguably three companies with primarily "Zeiss Ikon" heritage:Zeiss Germany, the Finnish/SwedishIkon (which bought the West GermanZeiss Ikon AG), and the independent easternZeiss Ikon.
A division called "Carl Zeiss Vision" produces lenses for eyeglasses.[17] In 2005, the eyeglass division merged with U.S. company SOLA, which included the formerAmerican Optical Company.[18][19]
On 28 June 2013, Carl Zeiss officially announced its plan to rename the brand from "Carl Zeiss" to simply "Zeiss". All the products will be standardized under the "Zeiss" brand.[20]
In April 2019, Zeiss announced the acquisition ofBrunswick-based GOM.[21]
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The Zeiss company was responsible for many innovations in optical design and engineering in each of their major fields of business. Today this becomes exemplarily visible in the latestEUV lithography systems, the equipment needed to produce the latest generations of semiconductor components. It also includes early high-performance optical microscopes up to today's electron and ion microscopes, which reach a sub-nanometers resolution. It includes technology leadership in the first surgical microscopes and ophthalmic devices. It also includes high-performance contact metrology systems. For many years Zeiss showed innovations in fields as astronomical telescopes, photographic and cinematic lenses.
Early on, Carl Zeiss realised that he needed a competent scientist so as to take the firm beyond just being another optical workshop. In 1866, the service ofDr. Ernst Abbe was enlisted. From then on novel products appeared in rapid succession which brought the Zeiss company to the forefront of optical technology.
Abbe was instrumental in the development of the famous Jena optical glass. When he was trying to eliminate stigmatism from microscopes, he realized that the range of optical glasses available was insufficient. After some calculations, he realised that performance of optical instruments would dramatically improve if optical glasses of appropriate properties were available. His challenge to glass manufacturers was finally answered byDr. Otto Schott, who established the famous glassworks at Jena from which new types of optical glass began to appear from 1888 to be employed by Zeiss and other makers.
The new Jena optical glass also opened up the possibility of increased performance of photographic lenses. The first use of Jena glass in a photographic lens was byVoigtländer, but as the lens was an old design its performance was not greatly improved. Subsequently, the new glasses would demonstrate their value in correctingastigmatism, and in the production ofapochromatic lenses. Abbe started thedesign of a photographic lens of symmetrical design with five elements, but went no further.
Zeiss' domination of photographic lens innovation was due to DrPaul Rudolph. In 1890, Rudolph designed an asymmetrical lens with a cemented group at each side of the diaphragm, appropriately named "Anastigmat". This lens was made in three series: Series III, IV and V, with maximum apertures of f/7.2, f/12.5, and f/18 respectively. In 1891, Series I, II and IIIa appeared with respective maximum apertures of f/4.5, f/6.3, and f/9 and in 1893 came Series IIa of f/8 maximum aperture. These lenses are now better known by the trademark "Protar", which was first used in 1900.
At the time, single combination lenses, which occupy one side of the diaphragm only, were still popular. Rudolph designed one with three cemented elements in 1893, with the option of fitting two of them together in a lens barrel as a compound lens, but it was found to be the same as the Dagor by C.P. Goerz, designed by Emil von Hoegh. Rudolph then came up with a single combination with four cemented elements, which can be considered as having all the elements of the Protar stuck together in one piece. Marketed in 1894, it was called the Protarlinse Series VII, the most highly corrected single combination lens with maximum apertures between f/11 and f/12.5, depending on its focal length.
But the important thing about this Protarlinse is that two of these lens units can be mounted in the same lens barrel to form a compound lens of even greater performance and a larger aperture, between f/6.3 and f/7.7. In this configuration, it was called the Double Protar Series VIIa. An immense range of focal lengths can thus be obtained by the various combination of Protarlinse units.
Rudolph also investigated theDouble-Gauss concept of a symmetrical design with thin positive menisci enclosing negative elements. The result was the Planar Series Ia of 1896, with maximum apertures up to f/3.5, one of the fastest lenses of its time. Whilst it was very sharp, it suffered fromcoma which limited its popularity. However, further developments of this configuration made it the design of choice for high-speed lenses of standard coverage.
Probably inspired by the Stigmatic lenses designed by Hugh Aldis forDallmeyer of London, Rudolph designed a new asymmetrical lens with four thin elements, the Unar Series Ib, with apertures up to f/4.5. Due to its high speed, it was used extensively on hand cameras.
The most important Zeiss lens by Rudolph was theTessar, first sold in 1902 in its Series IIb f/6.3 form. It can be said as a combination of the front half of the Unar with the rear half of the Protar. This proved to be the most valuable and flexible design, with tremendous development potential. Its maximum aperture was increased to f/4.7 in 1917 and reached f/2.7 in 1930. It is probable that every lens manufacturer has produced lenses of the Tessar configurations.
Rudolph left Zeiss after World War I, but many other competent designers such as Merté, Wandersleb, etc. kept the firm at the leading edge of photographic lens innovations. One of the most significant designers was the ex-Ernemann manDr Ludwig Bertele, famed for his Ernostar high-speed lens.
With the advent of theContax by Zeiss-Ikon, the first professional 35mm system camera became available. At this stage the Leica was no more than a convenient and portable snapshot camera. However Leitz could see the potential offered by the Contax and rapidly developed a coupled rangefinder and started to introduce additional lenses. As a system camera there was a need for a range of lenses for the Contax. Bertele's Sonnar series of lenses designed for the Contax was the match in every respect for the Leica for at least two decades. Other lenses for the Contax included the Biotar, Biogon, Orthometar, and various Tessars and Triotars.
The last important Zeiss innovation before World War II was the technique of applying an anti-reflective coating to lens surfaces invented byOlexander Smakula in 1935.[22] A lens so treated was marked with a red "T", short for "Transparent". The technique of applying multiple layers of coatings was developed from this basis after the war, and known as "T✻" (T-star).[23]
After the partitioning of Germany, a new Carl Zeiss optical company was established in Oberkochen, while the original Zeiss firm in Jena continued to operate. At first, both firms produced very similar lines of products, and extensively cooperated in product-sharing, but they drifted apart as time progressed. Jena's new direction was to concentrate on developing lenses for 35 mm single-lens reflex cameras, and many achievements were made, especially in ultra-wide angle designs. In addition to that, Oberkochen also worked on designing lenses for the 35 mm single-lens reflex cameraContarex, for themedium format cameraHasselblad, for large format cameras like theLinhof Technika, interchangeable front element lenses such as for the 35 mm single-lens reflexContaflex and other types of cameras.
Since the beginning of Zeiss as a photographic lens manufacturer, it has had a licensing programme, allowing other manufacturers to produce its lenses. Over the years its licensees includedVoigtländer,Bausch & Lomb, Ross, Koristka, Krauss,Kodak. etc. In the 1970s, the western operation of Zeiss-Ikon collaborated with Yashica to produce the newContax cameras, and many of the Zeiss lenses for this camera, among others, were produced by Yashica's optical arm, Tomioka. As Yashica's ownerKyocera ended camera production in 2006, and Yashica lenses were then made byCosina, who also manufactured most of the new Zeiss designs for the new Zeiss Ikon coupled rangefinder camera. Another licensee active today isSony who uses the Zeiss name on lenses on its video and digital still cameras.
Zeiss has licensed its name or technology to various other companies includingHasselblad,Rollei,Yashica,Sony,Logitech andAlpa. The nature of the collaboration varies, from co-branding optics designed by another firm (e.g., Sony) to complete optical design and manufacturing (e.g., Hasselblad).
On 27 April 2005, the company announced a collaboration withNokia in the camera phone market, with Zeiss providing camera optics. The firstsmartphone to be co-engineered with Zeiss optics was theNokia N90, Zeiss will again provide optics for Nokia products through a collaboration withHMD Global announced on 6 July 2017.[25]
On 17 December 2020,Vivo and Zeiss announced a long-term strategic partnership to jointly promote and develop breakthrough innovations in mobile imaging technology. The first “Vivo Zeiss co-engineered imaging system” will be featured in theVivo X60 series, followed by Vivo X-Fold 3 Pro, and lowered to their V-series. As part of the collaboration agreement, Vivo and Zeiss will establish the Vivo Zeiss Imaging Lab, a joint R&D program to innovate mobile imaging technology for Vivo’s flagship smartphones.[26]
Zeiss Ikon was an independent camera company related to Carl Zeiss, formed by the merger of four camera makers (Contessa-Nettel,Ernemann,Goerz and ICA) in Dresden on September 15, 1926.[27] Much of the capital came from Zeiss which also provided components for the cameras, including lenses and shutters through its subsidiaries such asDeckel. One of the four merged companies,Internationale Camera Actiengesellschaft [de] (ICA AG), had been founded in 1909 shortly after Carl Zeiss Palmos, which had been co-founded by Zeiss lens designerPaul Rudolph and Curt Bentzin from Görlitz in 1899, went out of business.[27] Another founding company, Contessa-Nettel, was operated byAugust Nagel, who left the company in 1928 to form the Nagel Works; in 1932, his company was bought by Kodak, which continued to produce cameras in Germany under theRetina brand.
The earliest Zeiss Ikon cameras were a range of medium and large format folding cameras badged asNettar,Ikonta, andSuper Ikonta, for film and glass plate photography. The most expensive was theUniversal Juwel (Jewel), a glass plate camera originally designed by ICA in 1909. This was a favorite of bothAnsel Adams andDorothea Lange. Other models produced by Zeiss Ikon prior to World War II included theBaldur, named forBaldur von Schirach; theContaflex, atwin-lens reflex; and theTengor, abox camera derived from an earlier Goerz design. Despite German production, the folding Super Ikonta was among the mainstays of British Army photographers during World War II.
In 1932 Zeiss Ikon introduced theContax line of 35mmrangefinder cameras, having recognised the potential for a system camera using 35mm film.[27] The Contax I was introduced with a wide range of lenses and accessories for scientific and professional use. In 1936, an improved model, the Contax II, was introduced and became the favorite of many renowned photographers and journalists, includingRobert Capa andMargaret Bourke-White. A second 35mm camera, the Contax III, was mechanically identical with a light meter grafted to the top of the camera.
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After World War II, the Dresden factory was dismantled and the Soviet Union forcibly relocated the Contax factory to Kiev as war reparations, where the pre-war Contax II and III camera designs were produced under theKiev brand.[27] The first Kiev cameras were identical except for logos.
The United States also relocated Zeiss from Jena to Heidenheim (Oberkochen) in 1945,[27] but Zeiss Ikon were without designs or facilities for making the Contax and set about producing an improved replacement. These were named the Contax IIa and IIIa, and were smaller and lighter than the original designs. But by the time the IIa and IIIa hit the market, they faced strong competition from many European and Asian brands, notably the visually similar Nikon produced by Nippon Kogaku, which was a high quality camera sharing the same lens-mount and most of the features. Zeiss Ikon prevented some European distribution under the theory that "Nikon" was an infringement on their brand name.
Starting in the mid-1950s, Zeiss Ikon shifted its focus to marketsingle-lens reflex cameras in three distinct lines: theContaflex line (1953) for amateurs withleaf shutters,[28] the high-endContarex line (1959) with film magazine backs and superb optics, and the mid-rangeIcarex line (1967) withfocal plane shutters and either the popularM42 lens mount or a proprietary bayonet mount.[29]: 93–97, 104–109 While these designs were initially competitive with SLRs produced by Japanese brands including Canon, Yashica, Minolta, and Nikon, Zeiss Ikon failed to keep pace by adding features and Zeiss Ikon camera production ceased in 1971.
Zeiss also acquired theVoigtländer brand in 1956, putting it in the curious position of offering competing cameras in the same market segments, including professional rangefinders (Prominent (135), in competition with the Contax), amateur SLRs (Bessamatic/Ultramatic, competing with the Contaflex), and numerous compact and folding cameras through at least 1967,[27] when the Icarex, a Voigtländer design released under the Zeiss Ikon brand, was released to consolidate the competing SLR lines.
After Zeiss Ikon stopped producing cameras, the Voigtländer brand and Icarex designs were acquired byRollei, which released variations of the Icarex under both Voigtländer and Rollei as theRolleiflex SL35 M.
Since 1972, some 35mm cameras have been marketed under the "Contax" and "Zeiss Ikon" brands. The "Contax" brand was licensed to Yashica in 1974,[27] which later was acquired byKyocera; Contax marketed several lines of SLR, rangefinder, compact, and digital cameras with Zeiss lenses and Japanese-built bodies. The most recent "Zeiss Ikon" rangefinder camera was anM mount camera with automatic exposure, introduced by Zeiss in 2004 and manufactured in Japan by Cosina; it was discontinued in 2012.[27]
TheZeiss ZX1 full-frame 35mm F/2 large-sensor compact camera was announced during Photokina 2018 with the slogan 'Shoot – Edit – Share'. The camera incorporates Adobe Lightroom Mobile editing capacities, and an internal 512GB SSD affording 6,800 DNG-format RAW images or 50,000 JPEG-format compressed images.[30] The ZX1, which was one of only a few cameras to use theAndroid operating system, was discontinued in 2023.[31]
Carl Zeiss AG has long[when?] produced motion picture lenses. Zeiss manufactures prime and zoom lenses for 35mm, 16mm, and 65mm film production. They also make lenses for digital cinema and high definition video, and has maintained an association with the German camera manufacturerArri for whom they currently[when?] produce lenses.
Current models of Zeiss cinema lenses are:
Carl Zeiss AG has producedlenses for Hasselblad[32] andRollei cameras, including:
Zeiss has produced lenses forlarge format andpress cameras, including:
Zeiss has departed the large-format optics field along withNikon, leavingSchneider andRodenstock as the primary makers of such lenses today.
Zeiss ZM lenses fitLeica M mount cameras, including Leica M series, theRicoh GXR A12, and manymirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras through the use of adapters. Some ZM lenses are manufactured in Germany by Zeiss, others in Japan by Cosina. Lenses designated "C" are consideredcompact orclassic lenses.
Zeiss claims that the 25mm ƒ/2.8 ZM achieves a resolution of 400 lp/mm in the center of the image at ƒ/4, which is equal to the calculateddiffraction limit for this aperture.
Zeiss produces optically identical manual-focus lenses for multiple SLR lens mounts under theZE,ZF,ZK, andZS lines, manufactured in Japan by Cosina to Zeiss specifications.
| Optical design | ZE | ZF | ZF.2 | ZF-I | ZF-IR | ZK | ZS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distagon T✻ 15mm ƒ/2.8 | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Distagon T✻ 18mm ƒ/3.5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Distagon T✻ 21mm ƒ/2.8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Distagon T✻ 25mm ƒ/2.0 | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Distagon T✻ 25mm ƒ/2.8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Distagon T✻ 28mm ƒ/2.0 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Distagon T✻ 35mm ƒ/1.4 | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Distagon T✻ 35mm ƒ/2.0 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Planar T✻ 50mm ƒ/1.4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Makro-Planar T✻ 50mm ƒ/2.0 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Planar T✻ 85mm ƒ/1.4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Makro-Planar T✻ 100mm ƒ/2.0 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Apo Sonnar T✻ 135mm ƒ/2.0 | ✓ | ✓ |
ZE lenses fit theCanon EF lens mount. They feature electronic contacts allowing for focus-confirmation, and electric aperture operation as with standard Canon EF lenses.[33]
ZF series lenses fit theNikon F-mount. Four design variations are designatedZF,ZF.2,ZF-I, andZF-IR. All are manual-focus designs with Nikon AI-S type aperture indexing.
ZK lenses fit thePentax K-mount. They have no electronics, are manual focus only, KA couplers. Zeiss announced the discontinuation of the ZK line in September 2010.
ZS lenses fit theM42 lens mount (Pentacon/Practica/Pentax screw mount). By use of mount adapters they can be adapted to most 35 mm bayonet camera mounts including Canon FD and EF, Pentax K, Minolta SR and Sony/Konica Minolta/Minolta A mounts (with the exception of Nikon F mount), usually losing open-aperture-metering, multi-segment metering, focus confirmation, automatic flash zoom capabilities as well as some built-in shake reduction performance and Exif data accuracy.
Zeiss produces manual focus Otus lenses for the Nikon F-mount and Canon EF mount, with electronic features equivalent to Zeiss ZF.2 and ZE lenses respectively. Otus lenses are complex no-compromise designs which Zeiss refers to as the "best in the world" in thenormal lens and shorttelephoto categories. They cover the35 mm format.
Zeiss producesautofocus Batis lenses for theSony E-mount. Like Sony "FE" lenses, they cover the 35mm format.
Zeiss producesmanual focus Loxia lenses for the Sony E-mount. Like Sony "FE" lenses, they cover the 35mm format. The 35/2 and 50/2 are carried over from the existing ZM line.
Zeiss produces autofocus Touit lenses for theFujifilm X-mount and Sony E-mount. They cover theAPS-C format.
Zeiss producesmanual focus Milvus lenses for the Nikon F-mount (ZF.2) and Canon EF lens mount (ZE), covering the 35mm format. The 15/2.8, 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, 100/2, and 135/2 are carried over from the previous Z-series (now referred to as Zeiss Classic).
These are 360° tilt/shift lenses (based on Zeiss medium format lens designs) for 35 mm format including full-frame digital. Available mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha/Konica Minolta/Minolta A mount. Other mounts on request. Manual focus only, no electronics. Manufactured in Germany and Ukraine.
Zeiss designed the optical components for theJames Webb Space Telescope.[34]
A unique triplet of ultra-fast50 mmf/0.7 lenses originally created by Zeiss for NASA's lunar program had the distinction of being reused byStanley Kubrick in the filming of his historical dramaBarry Lyndon. The period atmosphere of the film demanded that several indoor scenes be filmed by candlelight. To facilitate this, Kubrick had the lenses modified to mount onto a cinema camera and two of them subsequently further modified in separate ways to give wider angles of view.[35]
Zeiss worked withNokia, and later withMicrosoft Mobile as they continued production of theLumia series.[37] TheNokia 808 PureView features a lens custom-developed by Zeiss for its1/1.2 inch sensor; as did its successor, theNokia Lumia 1020. TheNokia N90 andNokia N8 also used Zeiss optics. In 2017, Zeiss again provided optics for Nokia products through a collaboration withHMD Global,[25] beginning with theNokia 8.[38]
ZA ("Zeiss Alpha") lenses are designed and manufactured by Sony in Japan, and co-branded with the Zeiss name. Sony and Zeiss collaboratively set design and quality parameters for ZA lenses.
In addition to these Sony collaboration lenses, Zeiss offersTouit (APS-C format),Loxia (35mm format) andBatis (35mm format) lenses for E-mount.
Zeiss offers a wide range of products related to optics and vision. These include camera and cine lenses, microscopes and microscopy software,binoculars andspotting scopes, eyeglasses and lenses,planetariums and dome video-systems, optical sensors, industrial metrology systems andophthalmology products. Even video glasses belong to the product range. In the summer of 2012, the new video glasses Cinemizer OLED were to come on the market. In addition to the viewing of 2D and 3D movies, it will be possible to playcomputer games when fitted with the equipment.[39]
The largest part of Carl Zeiss AG's revenue is generated by its Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies division, which produces lithographic systems for the semiconductor industry, as well as process control solutions (electron microscopes, mask repair tools,helium ion microscopes).[40]
Carl Zeiss Sports Optics division produces rifletelescopic sights, spotting scopes, binoculars, and distance measuring devices for outdoors enthusiasts. The three main product lines are the Conquest line, which is manufactured in Germany and assembled in the United States, and Victory line, which is produced entirely in Germany, and the Terra line, which is made in Asia.
Since 2019 the following Zeiss sport optics products series are in production:[41]
This branch of Carl Zeiss is managed byCarl Zeiss Meditec. It is divided in Ophthalmology/Optometry, Neurosurgery, ENT, Spine, P&R, Dentistry, Radiotherapy and Gynecology.
Carl Zeiss Vision Care division develops, manufactures and distributesophthalmic lenses,optical coatings, and dispensary technologies and services. Zeiss is known for ophthalmic lenses made from highrefractive index glass, allowing stronger prescription lenses to be thinner.[citation needed]
Their progressive lens ZEISS Progressive Individual has won multiple awards including the OLA awards in 2009 presented at Washington, D.C.,[51] and theVisionPlus or VP Awards in 2014 at Mumbai, India.[52]
Sold throughVR Optician (previouslyvr-lens.euArchived 11 April 2018 at theWayback Machine) as 'Virtual Reality Headset Prescription Lens Adapters', Carl Zeiss Vision is the lens provider for VR Optician's aftermarket prescription lens adaptors.[53] These lens adaptors are sold for a wide variety of Virtual Reality headsets, like the Apple Vision Pro, allowing those with visual impairments to use them without wearing glasses or contact lenses.[citation needed]
Zeiss Industrial Metrology specializes in high-accuracy measurement systems, includingcoordinate-measuring machines (CMMs),computed tomography measurement machines (non-medical), optical measuring equipment, metrology software and measurement sensor systems. The Industrial Metrology subsidiary provides this equipment to a wide range of manufacturing facilities worldwide.[54]
Zeiss has manufactured coordinate measuring machines since 1919,[55] offering very basic manually operated CMMs. In 1973, Zeiss introduced the UMM 500, using a Zeiss sensor system andHewlett-Packard computer.[56] Zeiss has since vastly improved and diversified their product line and now feature many high accuracy CMMs, the Metrotom,[56] a CT x-ray scanning measuring machine, with the ability to quickly and completely measure a part in 3 dimensions without ever touching the part, and the O-INSPECT,[56] a combination optical-tactile measurement machine.
Zeiss is currently a member of the International Association of CMM Manufacturers (IACMM).[56]
Many of the sensor systems produced by Zeiss are proprietary technologies, using technologies exclusively patented by Zeiss, and therefore can offer better accuracy and repeatability than its competitors.[57]
Zeiss was the first manufacturer of coordinate measurement machines to introducecomputer numerical control (CNC) technology to a coordinate measurement machine and was the first company to offer CNC stylus changer capability for these machines.[56]
Carl Zeiss SMT systems for DUV andEUV electromagnetic radiation are used inchip-lithography machines for focusing the extremely short wavelengths.[58] Together with the companyASML and its subsidiaries and partners Zeiss is the sole supplier of the lithography systems that are able to manufacture core layers of the latest semiconductor chips.[citation needed]
Zeiss offers different types of microscopes:
The name Zeiss Ikon can also be found in old cinemas, onfire shutters on the projection windows.[example needed] These had heat fuses that melted and dropped the shutter over the hole if the film caught fire in the projection booth.
The strong growth of the company was due in part to the reputation of its products; in 1861 Zeiss won a gold medal at the Thuringian Industrial Exposition for "the most excellent instruments made in Germany."
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