Carl Zeiss και Schneider-Kreuznach μπαίνουν στην Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group!

Δύο από τις μεγαλύτερες κατασκευάστριες οπτικών, οι Carl Zeiss και Schneider-Kreuznach, υπέγραψαν τη συμμετοχή τους στην ομάδα Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group, γεγονός που σημαίνει ότι θα αρχίσουν να κατασκευάζουν φακούς άμεσα συμβατούς με κάμερες Micro Four Thirds των Olympus και Panasonic!

SCHNEIDER KREUZNACH now a member of the “Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group”

BAD KREUZNACH, 4 February 2011. Schneider-Kreuznach has joined the “Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group” – a consortium of companies with the objective of improving the possibilities and quality of compact digital cameras. Developed by Olympus and Panasonic, “Micro Four Thirds” is a standard for lens mounts that is tailored to digital system cameras. “This standard has great potential. It simplifies and improves the options for compact digital cameras and offers an excellent opportunity for the industry as a whole, as well as for us as a lens manufacturer. We are working intensively on a corresponding series of lenses,” says Dr. Josef Staub, CEO of the Schneider Group.

The standard defines the sensor size, the lens mount together with the communication protocol, the aspect ratio and the flange back distance, as well as the optical requirements for production and construction. The industry standard has been developed deliberately without taking into account conventional lenses, cameras or sensor sizes. In this way, compatibility problems with older components are avoided as is the need to compromise when designing new components.

The forum standard policy means that any member company can make and distribute accessories for the system that meet the standard. It is therefore possible to combine components from different manufacturers.

About the Schneider Group: The Schneider Group specializes in developing and producing high-performance photographic lenses, cinema projection lenses, as well as industrial optics and precision mechanics. The group comprises Jos. Schneider Optische Werke, founded in Bad Kreuznach in 1913, and its subsidiaries Pentacon (Dresden), Schneider Kreuznach Isco Division (Göttingen), Schneider-Optics (New York, Los Angeles), Schneider Bando (Seoul), Schneider Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) and Schneider Optical Technologies (Shenzhen). The company’s main brand is “Schneider-Kreuznach”. It has around 620 employees worldwide, with 330 based in its German headquarters. For years now the group has been a world market leader in the area of high-performance lenses.

Carl Zeiss AG joins the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group

Announced jointly by Olympus Imaging Corp. (President : Masaharu Okubo) and Panasonic Corporation in 2008, the Micro Four Thirds System standard has rapidly grown in popularity. Now, support for the standard is expanding with the decision of Carl Zeiss AG to join the Micro Four Thirds System standard, and the company is releasing lenses compliant with the standard.

For more than 160 years, the lenses of Carl Zeiss AG have been defining the state-of-the-art in optical technology. Now, as Carl Zeiss AG joins the Micro Four Thirds System group, ZEISS HD Video lenses will be available to users of Micro Four Thirds cameras, contributing to a vastly expanded product line and enhancing the joys of digital imaging with the Micro Four Thirds System.

As the originator of the Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, Olympus Imaging Corp. will continue to develop and enhance the product lineup for both standards to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Carl Zeiss AG
A long-established optical systems manufacturer based in Germany, founded in 1846 by Carl Zeiss. It develops and manufactures a large variety of optical products such as astronomical telescopes, microscopes, eyeglasses and optical sight devices as well as high-class camera lenses.

Carl Zeiss Website

Outline of the Micro Four Thirds System standard
The Micro Four Thirds System standard was designed and developed to maximize the performance potential of digital imaging technology, and to extend the benefits of the Four Thirds System standard for digital camera systems.

When compared to the Four Thirds System standard, the primary distinguishing features of the Micro Four Thirds System standard are:

Approximately 50% shorter flangeback distance (mount-to-sensor distance)
Lens mount outer diameter approximately 6mm smaller
Electrical contacts in mount increased from 9 to 11
* Image sensor diagonal dimensions are the same for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards.
The Micro Four Thirds System standard enables users to enjoy the same high image quality of the Four Thirds System's 4/3-type image sensor in a much more compact body, and also take advantage of significantly more compact lenses, particularly in the wide-angle and high-power zoom range. The Four Thirds System standard offers the benefits of compact, lightweight performance, and the new Micro Four Thirds System standard takes this still further to enable development of ultra-compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems unlike anything seen before. The new Micro Four Thirds System standard also incorporates a greater number of lens-mount electrical contacts for the support of new features and expanded system functionality in the future.

Four Thirds Web Site : "Benefits of Micro Four Thirds"

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