A zoom lens is a lens that can have it's focal length

continuously change without losing it's focus. The

name, zoom, comes from the strong visual
impression that makes it appear as if the viewer
were "zooming" towards an object or image as if in
a fighter plane. How does does this all work? Here
is an explanation.
When you hold a fixed focal length lens in your The optical path of a hand-held zoom
hand, you know that changing the distance lens has a four part structure. The first
between the lens and the object, changes the size group is called the focusing group,
of the image along with the focus of the image. because it is used to focus the image.
So,each time you move, you have to refocus and
reframe the image . If two lenses were combined, by
moving them in coordination it is possible to
change the distance between the lens and the
object and still retain the focus of the object.
The zoom lenses used in broadcast or professional
video cameras are much more complex than the The second group is the variator that
"two lens" theory, but the basic principle remains changes the image size.
the same; move one part of the lens system to
change the size of the image, and move another
part to keep it in focus.
At the wide-angle end of the zoom, the variator is
moved forward, creating a retrofocus type of lens
structure. At the telephoto end, the variator is The third group is the compensator that
moved back, so the lens structure resembles the maintains the focus.
telephoto type. To keep the image in the same
position as the two lens groups move, the lens
groups must move along precise curves
determined by the laws of geometric optics. The
motion of the variator and compensator is
controlled by the barrel cam mechanism. The
normal hand-held zoom lens has a divergent The fourth group is a stationary lens
variator and a divergent compensator. The track group called the relay lens.
followed by the compensator takes it forward, then
back.

The inner barrel has a linear guide groove (linear

cam), and the outer barrel has a curved cam groove
matching the track of the lens motion (curved cam).
When the outer, curved cam barrel is turned, the
variator and compensator move following the
curved cam grooves.
If the correct cam curve, designed for a particular
lens, is not followed precisely, focus will be lost
during zooming. Because of this need for precision,
the cams are machined to micron tolerances by
computer controlled machining tools.
The "text book" explanation is as
follows:
"The zone in front and back of the image
plane in which the defocus is less than
the permissible circle of confusion is
called the depth of focus."
"The depth of field is the one within
which the subject forms an image that is
within the depth of focus. Anything
within the depth of field will appear as
sharp as if it were in focus."

A simpler explanation is to tell you that

the depth of field is that area behind and
in front of the subject that remains in
focus at any given f-stop or range of the
zoom lens.
The larger F-numbers,(smaller
A zoom lens must also correct optical aberration so aperatures),give greater depth of field. In
that the image will stay sharp when zoomed. The
paths of the light rays passing through the internal
lens groups undergo complex changes during
zooming. To correct for aberration at all focal
lengths, the aberrations caused by each of the lens
groups must be minimized. The aberrations that the
individual lens groups cannot correct on their own
must be carefully balanced by another lens group,
so that one lens group corrects another.
Lens specifications contain a large quantity of
figures/specifications. To interpret them and to tell
whether the lens is right for a specific purpose,
requires some basic knowledge of optics.
The first item to check in the specifications is the
image size. There is no point fitting a 1/2" lens on a
addition to the F-numbers changing
depth of field, you will find that depth of
field is greater at the wide angle end of
the lens and smaller at the telephoto
end.
If parallel rays of light pass through a
convex lens, they will converge to a
single point on the optical axis. This point
is called the focal point or focal plain of
the lens. The focal length of a fixed focal
length lens is indicated by the distance
from the center of the lens to the focal
point/plain.
A lens has two focal points, one on the
object side, called the primary focal point,
and one on the image side, called the
secondary focal point. When the term
"focal point', is used alone, it means the
secondary focal point.
2/3" camera. The image it forms is too small, the
image will cover the complete area of the image
sensor.
The image formed by the lens is round, not
rectangular. The range of the image is called the
"image circle".
In a video camera, the CCD sensor occupies a
rectangular area, which touches the "image circle".
The size of the image sensor is the actual image
size. Current video cameras use two main sizes of
The zoom ratio is the ratio of the focal length at the
telephoto end of the zoom to the focal length at the
wide-angle end. The zoom ratio indicates how much
the size of the image on the monitor can be
changed. If a zoom lens has a zoom ratio of lOx, the
image it gives at the telephoto end will be magnified
exactly 10 times as much as the image at the wide-
angle end. You can use the model numbers on the
lens to determine it's zoom ratio. An A16X8.5 or
J16X8.5 is essentially, at the telephoto end, 16 times
8.5 millimeters.
The larger the zoom ratio is, the more the size of the
image can be changed. It is important to select an
appropriate zoom ratio. A large zoom ratio is
desirable, but it also makes the lens bigger and
heavier.
The lenses used on video cameras are
compound lenses, consisting of several
individual lenses combined so as to
correct "aberrations". However, they
function like a single lens located at an
imaginary point called the "principal
point".
The focal length is the basic factor used
to calculate the image position and
magnification of a lens. The focal length
of a video lens is important as a
parameter describing the angle of view of
An item of equal importance with the
focal length is the F-stop/number, which
indicates the brightness of the image
formed by a lens. A smaller F-stop
means a brighter image. The F-stop is
closely related to the depth of field. For a
given focal length, the larger the
aperture of the lens is, the smaller its F-
number is.
The iris ring of most lenses are marked
with a series of numbers with a ratio of
1:1.4, 1.7, 2, 2.8, 3.5, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22.
The brightness of the image is inversely
proportion to the square of the F-
If you have zoomed with a zoom lens open to full aperture, you may have noted a drop in video
level at the telephoto end. This is called the F drop or "ramping". The "entrance pupil" of a
zoom lens changes in diameter as the focal length is changed. As you zoom toward the
telephoto end, the entrance pupil gradually enlarges. When the entrance pupil diameter is equal
to the diameter of the focusing lens group, it can not become any larger, so the F-stop drops.
That is the reason for the F drop.

To eliminate F drop completely, the focusing lens group, (the elements in the front of the lens),
has to be larger than the entrance pupil at the telephoto end of the zoom. It has to be at least
equal to the focal length at the telephoto end divided by the F-number. To reduce the size and
weight of a zoom lens to make it easy to use for hand held cameras, we have a trade off that
makes it common to have a certain amount of F drop or ramping at the telephoto end. For
better composition effect, however, in some studio zoom lenses the focusing group is made
large enough that no F drop occurs. F drop is a major determinant of the value of zoom lenses
used in live on-site sports broadcasts, which require a long focal length and must frequently
contend with twilight or inadequate artificial illumination.

As many people know, movie camera lenses are rated by a T-number instead of an F-stop.The
F-stop expresses the speed of the lens on the assumption that lens transmits 1OO% of the
incident light. In reality, different lenses have different transmittance, so two lenses with the
same F-stop may actually have different speed. The T-number solves this problem by taking
both the diaphragm diameter and transmittance into account. Two lenses with the same T
number will always give the same brightness.

A television camera contains a beam splitting prism, filters, and other glass blocks. Its lens has
to be corrected so that it will deliver optimum performance when these glass blocks are
inserted. Different television cameras have different beam-splitting prisms, so the lens glass
compensation has to be matched to the type of camera. Currently, most camera manufacturers
have standardized their 2/3" prism compensation and design for their entier line of 2/3"
cameras. This allows for camera matching between the studio type and the hand held cameras
and allows a user to combine both types of cameras for a production.
When the prism mounted behind the lens differs from the designed glass compensation, the
main effects are increased spherical aberration and longitudinal chromatic aberration.
Longitudinal chromatic aberration caused by different glass material the letters and numbers at
the end of the lens designation indicate the glass compensation type. If the designation is
18x9134, for example, the letter B indicates that the lens is glass compensated, and the number
that follows indicates the type of compensation.
This form of aberration causes the different color Lateral chromatic aberration occurs
wavelengths to focus on different image planes. It because the magnification of the image
corresponds to the lens tracking error. In a zoom differs with the various color
lens, the amount of the longitudinal chromatic wavelengths. In a video camera it causes
aberration varies as the lens is zoomed. The what appears to be a registration error.
aberration is largest at the telephoto end. If Lateral chromatic aberration also has a
corrections for longitudinal chromatic aberrations secondary chromatic aberration, making
are not put in the lens, a color tracking error will it difficult to correct all three of the red,
occur on the red and blue channels. This will cause blue and green wavelengths at the same
color blurring, even when the lens tracking time.
adjustment is optimal. In a long-focal-length, high
zoom ratio lens, chromatic aberration is the greatest
problem, particularly with the secondary spectrum,
which is a high-order chromatic aberration. The
chromatic aberration of a lens is usually corrected at
two wavelengths. The secondary spectrum is the
residual chromatic aberration left at the wavelength
midway between these two.
Two-wavelength correction is inadequate in a
television camera that has three (red, blue, and
green) channels. The secondary spectrum also has
to be corrected. The main cause of the problem is
the residual chromatic aberration of the focusing
group of lenses. It is difficult to solve because of
inherent limits in the dispersion (wavelength
characteristic of refractive index) of optical glass.
The secondary spectrum of many manufacturers
lenses is corrected by using fluorite crystal, which
has a better dispersion than ordinary optical glass.
This is why many lenses appear to have a tinted
front element that differs by manufacturer.

This has been some basic and advanced information regarding video lenses, and why we see
what appear to be problems with our lenses on occasion. From what we have heard from the
various manufacturers of cameras, the capability of the current generation of cameras out
performs the current generation of lenses. And with CCD cameras, it's harder to make a lens
that focuses all three channels on one focal plane at a time, throughout the entire zoom range.
This is why you may see more abberations with your lens currently, while a few years ago you
wouldn't see a thing. Hopefully this little bit of lens information is interesting to you, and makes
a bit of sense. If you have any questions, please feel free to write us. Keep shooing out there!