Whats a pancake lens?

[Markok765]

Just wondering...

 

[paul ewins]

A pancake lens is one that doesn't stick out very far from the body of the SLR. The classic version is the Pentax 40/2.8 as shown on Bojidar Dimitrov's site:
http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/lenses/primes/normal/M40f2.8.html

Nikon released one with their last mechanical film body and Pentax have released a new digital (i.e. APS-C) size version, the DA21/3.2

The beauty of them is that you end up with a nice compact package, well you did on one of Pentax's M series like the ME Super or MX. For a while the 40/2.8 was an eBay cult classic that got big dollars, but they aren't really that rare.

 

[Jim Jones]

It's a very compact 40 or 45mm lens, usually f/2.8. My ancient 45mm GN-Nikkor was one of the sharpest lenses I ever tested. They serve well where a fast lens is not needed, or where minimum physical size is important. Their relatively small aperture means a dim framing and focusing image.

 

[phfitz]

If I remember correctly, one of the pancake lenses also had the focus and aperture synched for "auto exposure" with flashbulbs by distance.

 

[Flotsam]

It is a lens specifically formulated and optimised for taking pictures of pancakes. Kind of a limited use item. They are very popular among commercial food photographers.

 

[copake_ham]

It is a lens specifically formulated and optimised for taking pictures of pancakes. Kind of a limited use item. They are very popular among commercial food photographers.

Let's not forget that they require that you place a pat of butter (or margarine) together with maple syrup (or generic imatation maple stuff for 3rd Party lenses) on the front element in order to achieve the correct "bokeh".....

 

[Markok765]

My coke lens works for pepsi, but not as well :;

 

[Roger Hicks]

If I remember correctly, one of the pancake lenses also had the focus and aperture synched for "auto exposure" with flashbulbs by distance.

Yes, that was the GN-Nikkor -- GN for 'Guide Number'.

Cheers,

R. (www.rogerandfrances.com)

 

[firecracker]

I like banana pancakes made with buckwheat.

For taking pictures, Nikkor 50mm F1.8 Ais is a good pancake lens, more solid than the E Series lens.

 

[copake_ham]

I like banana pancakes made with buckwheat.
....

Yes, indeed, but we could wind up "waffling" around the central question of whether a pancake lens will work with a burned-out French camera that is now toast!

For crying out loud - it's a compomised lens!

For Nikons (the gear I know) it was a way of "creating" a lighter-weight "normal" lens for their cheaper (er..."less expensive") line of film-based SLRs (e.g. in the U.S. the "N" line).

You get what you pay for...anyone coming over for b-fast? I'm serving flapjacks!

 

[ZorkiKat]

Also usually a triplet (3Group/4Element) Tessar type lens. The shorter or lower profile and plus the maximum aperture of f/2,8 or slower is also typical of this optical formula.
One good inexpensive example is the M42 Industar-50-2 made for the Zenit cameras. Lens is so compact (to the point of really, really, being cute ) and very reliable. Can be used on other M42 SLRs too. Only hitch is that this lens hasn't any auto or preset diagphragm feature nor aperture click stops. Stops down as aperture ring is turned, a la enlarger lens.

Jay

 

[nyx]

It is a lens specifically formulated and optimised for taking pictures of pancakes. Kind of a limited use item. They are very popular among commercial food photographers.

With some creativity, you can fool the lens and use if for shooting other things too

 

[haris]

It is a lens specifically formulated and optimised for taking pictures of pancakes. Kind of a limited use item. They are very popular among commercial food photographers.

Is this mean that there are different lenses for men, women, children, for tall people, short people, all different kind of people, speces of animals, different speces of plants, different bridges, buildings, etc...

 

[Ole]

Also usually a triplet (3Group/4Element) Tessar type lens. The shorter or lower profile and plus the maximum aperture of f/2,8 or slower is also typical of this optical formula.

Tessars are not triplets, a triplet is 3 elements in 3 groups. A Tessar has four elements in 3 groups, and was probably conceived as an airspaced double anastigmat.

But the rest is correct - "pancakes" tend to be Tessar types, since these offer very good performance in a very small package. At f:2.8 and smaller the Tessar construction is very good. Faster lenses would be larger, which is no good for ultra-compact pancakes!

I used a Pentax ME (not Super) with the 40mm f:2.8 Pancake lens for many years. Camera with lens was smaller than most 35mm point-and-shoots!

 

[ZorkiKat]

Triplet Tessar?

Tessars are not triplets, a triplet is 3 elements in 3 groups. A Tessar has four elements in 3 groups, and was probably conceived as an airspaced double anastigmat.

I did say, "three group, four element" in the previous post.

There seems to be no common agreement on the use of "triplet" exclusively for three-element lenses.

For instance, the Morgan and Morgan "Leica Manual" (XIII ed.)described the 5cm Elmar (a 3G/4E lens) as having a "triplet" construction.

Brian Coe in "Cameras" defined the triplet as a lens having three spaced components, and said:
"Dr Paul Rudolf developed the Cooke Triplet design by making the rear component a cemented pair; in 1902, this four-element design was introduced by Zeiss as the famous Tessar lens..."

Michael Freeman's "The Complete Guide to Photography Techniques and Materials" defined the triplet as a lens with "two converging components and a diverging element in the middle.....the Zeiss Tessar is one of the most famous triplet designs..."

From these definitions, it would seem that the word "triplet" itself is used to describe the arrangement (3 group configuration) or function (3 actions: converge-diverge-converge) than the number of elements present in the lens itself. Some early "Tessar" diagrams (from Coe's book) showed some variants with 5 elements.



Jay

 

[Lee L]

It is a lens specifically formulated and optimised for taking pictures of pancakes. Kind of a limited use item. They are very popular among commercial food photographers.

Can it also be used for portraits of people wearing pancake makeup, or will that not work?

Lee

 

[Claire Senft]

Basically it is a lens that can be battered.

 

[Markok765]

Basically it is a lens that can be battered.

So, and good 70's lens...

 

[jmailand]

It is a lens specifically formulated and optimised for taking pictures of pancakes. Kind of a limited use item. They are very popular among commercial food photographers.

Not to be confused with the Waffle lens which is a lens specifically designed to make any politician look flattering no mater what comes out of their mouth. This lens is a big seller in Washington DC, and other capitols throughout the world.

James,

 

[Ole]

I did say, "three group, four element" in the previous post.
<snip>

So you did. Wile we're way off topic, Kingslake is of the opinion the the Tessar was not derived from the Cooke Triplet, but instead from the 2+2 Anastigmat by introducing an airspace in one of the cells.

The Heliar/Dynar/Oxyn on the other hand seems to be triplet derivates, as is the Schneider Aerotar (2+3+3!).

 

[Flotsam]

Is this mean that there are different lenses for men, women, children, for tall people, short people, all different kind of people, speces of animals, different speces of plants, different bridges, buildings, etc...

No. There are only two classifications of lenses, Pancake lenses and lenses for everything else. The unique characteristis of pancakes requires a special optical formulation although some have had limited success using their pancake lens to photograph hotcakes, flapjacks, johnny cakes and even crepes but I believe that doing this voids the manufacturer's warrantee.

 

[mark]

If you own a leica it is called a Crepe lens, so they can charge 50 times more for it.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

Sadly, I have found Flotsam's statements to be correct. I attempted to photograph a Los Tres Amigos handmade corn tortilla with my CV pancake lens (35/2.5 Color Skopar Pancake Type II). The result was a disgusting mess!