The Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm is one of the largest relative aperture (fastest) lenses in the history of photography. The lens was developed for the NASA Apollo lunar program in 1966. It was rumored to have been made specifically to capture the far side of the Moon, but Zeiss themselves have said, "There is no evidence to support the myth."

Stanley Kubrick used these lenses when shooting his film Barry Lyndon, which allowed him to shoot scenes lit only by candlelight..This Month's Object: the Zeiss lens f/0.7

In total there were only ten lenses made. One was kept by Carl Zeiss, six were sold to NASA, and three were sold to Kubrick.

See also Zeiss Planar

References

External links History of fast 35mm and small format film lenses Photo of the lens A schematic view of the optical design of the lens Includes a discussion of the lens and how it was fitted to a movie camera for shooting Barry Lyndon OMAGGIO ALL'IMMORTALE KUBRICK ED AL MITICO PLANAR 50mm f/0,7 # sk Objectifs ultra-lumineux