Lens Speed - Fast Lenses

Fast Lenses

For scale, note that f/0.7, f/1.0, f/1.4, and f/2.0 are each 1 f-stop apart (2× as fast), as an f-stop corresponds to a factor of square root of 2, about 1.4. Thus around f/1.0, a change of 0.1 corresponds to about 1/4 of an f-stop (by linear approximation): f/1.0 is about 50% faster than f/1.2, which is about 50% faster than f/1.4.

As of 2012, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony all make an autofocus 50mm f/1.4 lens. These are not unusual lenses and are relatively inexpensive. Canon also makes autofocus 50mm and 85mm f/1.2 lenses, while Nikon makes a manual focus 50mm f/1.2 lens and an autofocus 85mm f/1.4; see Canon EF 50mm lenses and Canon EF 85mm lenses for details. Pentax makes a 77mm f/1.8 lens; see Pentax lenses. Sony makes a 50mm f/1.4 lens which is a continuation of the Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4 lens, and a 85mm f/1.4 autofocus lens (with Carl Zeiss).

For historical background, see (Puts 2009).

Some of the fastest camera lenses currently in production as of 2011 are as follows:

• Cosina Voigtländer Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds mount

• Cosina Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds mount, announced 26/8/2010
• Leica Noctilux-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH announced on September 15, 2008, it is the fastest aspherical lens to have ever reached mass production, with a MSRP of £6290 (approximately US$10,000).
• SLR Magic HyperPrime LM 50mm T0.95 (f/0.92)
• Noktor 50mm f/0.95 'HyperPrime' a fast CCTV lens design adapted for the Micro Four Thirds system
• SLR Magic 25mm T/0.95
• SLR Magic 35mm T/0.95

The following camera lenses are no longer in production as of 2010:

• American Optical 81mm f/0.38 Solid Schmidt Mirror lens
• GOI CV 20mm f/0.5 Mirror lens
• Signal Corps Engineering 33mm f/0.6
• GOI Iskra-3 72mm f/0.65 Mirror lens
• Fujinon-IDEAX 125mm f/0.67
• Zeiss 50mm f/0.7 Limited production lens built for the NASA space program, used on 35mm movie cameras by Stanley Kubrick for some candlelit scenes in Barry Lyndon
• Tokyo Kogaku 50mm f/0.7 (WWII) and Similar 5cm f/0.7 (1951; only three were produced, two of which were used on a South Pole expedition)
• Kinoptik Lynxar 60mm f/0.7
• Wray 64mm f/0.71
• LOMO 60mm f/0.75 35mm photography lens
• American Optical 43mm f/0.8
• Leica Summar 75mm f/0.85
• Leica Leitz-IR 150mm f/0.85
• Farrand Super Farron 76mm f/0.87
• Farrand Super Farron 150mm f/0.87
• Рекорд-4 52mm f0.9
• Nikon TV-Nikkor 35mm f/0.9 Fastest Nikon lens ever made
• Noktor HyperPrime CINE 50mm f/0.92 T0.95, Fastest cinema lens made for 35mm interchangeable lens camera
• Canon 50mm f/0.95 Available in TV and Canon 7 Rangefinder Version
• Astro Berlin 52mm f/0.95
• Perkin Elmer 114mm f/0.95 Military lens for Medium Format photography
• Pacific Optical 25mm f/1.0 Medium Format Fish-eye lens. Only 3 were ever made for the Canadian Government for aurora borealis research in the late 60s/early 70s. One of these lenses was used in the production of the IMAX movie Solarmax
• Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1.0 Leica M mount, discontinued and replaced 2008 with a new Noctilux, see above
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.0 for Canon autofocus SLR, now out of production
• Panavision 50mm f/1.0
• Nikkor-O 50mm f/1.0 Prototype lens for Nikkor-S RangeFinder camera
• Leica ELCAN 90mm f/1.0
• Kollmorgen 153mm f/1.0
• Zeiss UR 250mm f/1.0
• Canon 8.5-25.5 mm f/1.0 zoom lens, made 1975-1983 for the 310XL Super 8mm silent and sound camera series, fastest lens ever made in Super8, was originally advertised as facilitating "shooting at candlelight" in combination with 160-ASA films.
• Zoomatar 75mm f/1.3
• Zoomatar 180mm f/1.3
• Super-Zoomatar 240mm f/1.2

Many very fast lenses exist in C-mount (such as used by CCTVs), including:

• Fujinon 50mm f/0.7
• Canon 'TV-16' 25mm f/0.78
• Apollo 25mm f/0.85
• Ernitec 25mm f/0.85
• Fujinon 25mm f/0.85
• Tarcus 25mm f/0.85
• Kern Switar 18mm f/0.9 built for NASA for Apollo Moon landing
• Ampex 'LE610 Television Lens' 25mm f/0.95
• Angenieux 'M1' and 'M2' 25mm f/0.95 NASA used the M1 for first high-resolution photographs of the Moon by Ranger 7)
• Angenieux 35mm f/0.95
• Angenieux 50mm f/0.95
• AstroScope 25mm f/0.95
• Avenir 25mm f/0.95
• Century 'Nighthawk' 25mm f/0.95
• Carl Meyer 25mm f/0.95
• Cinetar 25mm f/0.95
• Goyo Optical 17mm, 25mm, and 50mm f/0.95
• JML 25mm and 50mm f/0.95
• Navitar 25mm and 50mm f/0.95
• Navitron 25mm and 50mm f/0.95
• Schneider Kreuznach 'Xenon' 17mm, 25mm, and 50mm f/0.95
• Senko 25mm and 50mm f/0.95
• Soligor 'Super Elitar' 25mm f/0.95
• Som Berthiot 'Cinor' 25mm and 50mm f/0.95
• Tarcus 'I.T.V. Lens' 50mm f/0.95
• Kowa 50mm f/0.95
• Yakumo 25mm and 50mm f/0.95
• Zeika 'Nominar' 25mm f/0.95
• Dallmeyer 25mm f/0.99 (1930)
• Astro Berlin 25mm f/1.0
• Astro Berlin 'Tachonar' 35mm f/1.0
• Carl Meyer 38mm f/1.0
• RTH (Rank/Taylor Hobson) Monital 130mm f/1.0 made by SOPELEM in France

Very fast lenses in D-mount for 8mm movie use on H8 cameras:

• Kern Switar 13mm f/0.9
• Cinetor 'TELE-PHOTO' 37.5mm f/1.0
• Walz 'TELEPHOTO' 37.5mm f/1.0
• Amitar 'Telephoto' 38.1mm f/1.0

Very fast lenses used in x-ray machines:

• Zeiss R-Biotar 100mm f/0.73
• LOMO 100mm f/0.73
• Canon 50mm/65mm f/0.75
• Leitz 50mm/65mm f/0.75
• Rayxar 50mm/65mm/150mm f/0.75
• Tachon Astro-Berlin 65mm f/0.75
• Rodenstock XR-Heligon 42mm/50mm f/0.75
• Rodenstock XR-Heligon 68mm f/0.95 etc.
• Kowa 42mm/65mm f/0.75
• Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/0.77
• Kowa 55mm f/0.8
• Zeiss R-Biotar 55mm f/0.85
• Lenzar Optics 184.6mm f/0.9 (Photographic lens made by Lenzar Optics Corp., Riviera Beach FL, f0.9-f8)
• Kowa 33.5mm f/0.95
• Kowa 55mm f/1.0
• Rodenstock Heligon 68mm f/1.0
• Canon 90mm f/1.0
• Fuji 90mm f/1.0
• Kowa 90mm f/1.0
• Leitz 90mm f/1.0
• Mt Prospect 90mm f/1.0
• Zeiss R-Biotar 120mm f/1.0