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Why these lens names?

argentic

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Messages
319
Location
Echandelys,
Format
4x5 Format
Hello all,

Is there a logic behind the name endings of lenses like :


Planar - Tessar - Xenar - Agnar - Xenotar - Artar - Biotar - Trinar - Elmar - Takumar - Protar - Sonnar - Telar - Ronar - Hexar - Ektar

Xenon - Biogon - Sumicron - Héxanon - Meogon - Rodagon - Opton -Componon - Gerogon - Hologon - Fujinon - Kiron - Rikenon

Flor - Fidor - Trylor - Luminor - Celor - Rokkor - Topcor - Nikkor

Domiplan - Trioplan


Thanks for your thoughts,
Wilbert
 
Is Ektar a lens or a film? I've definitely been wondering about "Nikkor" and "Fujinon" myself.
 
multivoiced said:
Is Ektar a lens or a film? I've definitely been wondering about "Nikkor" and "Fujinon" myself.
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Ektar is a trade name. Eastman Kodak Company applied it to films, lenses, and who knows what else.

With lenses, Ektar translates to "our best of this type" and does not correspond to a design type.

Nikkor? Nikon's name was originally Nikon Kogaku K.K. I believe that this means Japan Optical Inc. Anyway, that's what Nikkor is derived from.
 
multivoiced said:
Is Ektar a lens or a film? I've definitely been wondering about "Nikkor" and "Fujinon" myself.
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Ektar is a Kodak name. They used it for many things. Ektar film. Ektar lens. Ektachrome film. Ektachem machine for chemitry analyzer and blood analyer.
Nikkor and Fujnon is no suprise as they are named after Nikon and Fuji.
 
There's a classic book on lens design by Rudolf Kingslake which goes into the history of all this. Similar optical designs took on a variety of names depending on the specific manufacturer as well as how secure the original patents might or might not be. Some labels indicate the design type, others, like Fujinon, an extensive suite of products by a particular major manufacturer. Fujinon is essentially synonymous with Fuji, just like Nikkor is of Nikon.

But nowadays, well-regarded old brand names often get re-appropriated or recycled for marketing purposes of products quite different from what they once were. I'm surprised there isn't a fast telephoto lens with a Nike (not Nikon) logo on it, with a rubberized grip around it which smells like well-used tennis shoes.
 
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multivoiced said:
Is Ektar a lens or a film? I've definitely been wondering about "Nikkor" and "Fujinon" myself.
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There are plenty of good reasons for the naming conventions, mainly to identify its underlyig design. a Wikipedia search will give much insight.
 
There's the Leitz Elmar and Hektor lenses - named after dogs.

So....
 
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The only name no one will ever explain, according to George Eastman, is "KODAK".
 
RalphLambrecht said:
There are plenty of good reasons for the naming conventions, mainly to identify its underlyig design. a Wikipedia search will give much insight.
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Ektar? I have tessar type Ektars, a heliar type Ektar, a double Gauss type Ektar and a dialyte type Ektar. What's the underlying design type of the Ektar?
 
xkaes said:
The only name no one will ever explain, according to George Eastman, is "KODAK".
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My Dad worked as the Customer Services manager at a Kodak Canada lab and facility between 1961 and 1983. His Customer Services department was fairly large, with a number of desks and employees reporting to him.
I got to visit it fairly regularly over the years.
On the wall there was a poster that explained the history of how George Eastman coined "Kodak". As I remember it, it was intentionally chosen because it was both memorable and because it didn't have ancillary meanings.
I don't remember that poster ever moving!
 
Dan Fromm said:
Ektar? I have tessar type Ektars, a heliar type Ektar, a double Gauss type Ektar and a dialyte type Ektar. What's the underlying design type of the Ektar?
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There is no underlying design type. The name Ektar only signifies that the lens is of the highest quality made by Kodak, which normally means they are pretty damned good. All Ektar lenses are also unit focusing, rather than front element focusing.
 
Don_ih said:
There's the Leitz Elmar and Hektor lenses - named after dogs.

So....
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I know Hektor was Max Berek's dog, as was Rex (as in Summarex), but I recall Elmar was coined as a replacement for the name Elmax (named after Max Berek himself) as that was ruled to be to close too a rival product
 
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Mr Flibble said:
I know Hektor was Max Berek's dog, as was Rex (as in Summarex), but I recall Elmar was coined as a replacement for the name Elmax (named after Max Berek himself) as that was ruled to be to close too a rival product
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You're right - looking it up quickly shows that you are. I either remembered incorrectly or read something that was wrong.
 
Don_ih said:
You're right - looking it up quickly shows that you are. I either remembered incorrectly or read something that was wrong.
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Not sure I'm a 100% right on the Elmax/Elmar though. The Elmax is a 5-element lens and they switched to the 4-element Elmar because it was cheaper to make/sell.
Same reason why the 50/2.5 Hektor got replaced by the Summar.




Kodak did some odd name changes for their commercial lens names from the 1930s tot 1950s, Anastigmat - > Anaston -> Ektanon, Anastigmat Special -> Anastar -> Ektanar.
 
The El in Elmer and Elmax stands for Ernst Leitz. Many Nikon lenses follow a similar pattern.
 
Hunter_Compton said:
There is no underlying design type. The name Ektar only signifies that the lens is of the highest quality made by Kodak, which normally means they are pretty damned good. All Ektar lenses are also unit focusing, rather than front element focusing.
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This forum is an echo chamber. See post #5 above.
 
xkaes said:
That begs the question -- why not Koraks?
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If that had been the choice, my moderator colleague @koraks would have probably chosen a different Photrio screen name .
 
I think Raptor would be a good name for a lens. Leica take note.
 
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