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Cyber-shot™ with lenses by Carl Zeiss

A great camera starts with a great lens. Sony collaborates with Carl Zeiss to create high-quality lenses for selected Cyber-shot™ digital cameras. Legendary Vario-Tessar® and Vario-Sonnar® lenses are the key to beautiful, high resolution still photos and Full HD video.

Lenses by Carl Zeiss were used by NASA for the first lunar landing

About Carl Zeiss

Carl Zeiss is an international leader in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. The company’s innovative technologies are found in industries ranging from medical devices to consumer optics.

Lenses by Carl Zeiss are prized by photographers and movie-makers around the world. They’re also used in a huge range of other applications, from spectacles and smartphones to microscopes and flight systems.

Carl Zeiss has helped document some of the most iconic moments in human history. When NASA astronauts landed on the Moon in 1969, unforgettable images from the harsh conditions of the lunar surface were captured with camera lenses by Carl Zeiss.

Carl Zeiss lenses feature in many award-winning movies

Carl Zeiss: the legendary name in lenses

Since 1890, Carl Zeiss has created precision lenses that are prized by professional and amateur photographers.

The company is synonymous with legendary brand names like Sonnar®, Tessar® and Planar® which are trusted daily by photo professionals and enthusiasts around the world.

Countless movies have also been shot through Carl Zeiss lenses, from The Lord of the Rings to the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

To date, the company has been honoured with three Scientific and Engineering Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This prestigious award is the Academy’s highest accolade for movie technology.

Outside the creative realms of photography and professional cinematography, lenses by Carl Zeiss also appear in smartphones and other consumer devices.

Sony and Carl Zeiss develop photographic lenses in close collaboration

Sony and Carl Zeiss in partnership

Precision lenses by Carl Zeiss have enhanced the unique creative capabilities of cameras and camcorders by Sony since 1995.

Today, Carl Zeiss and Sony jointly develop lenses that are used in products including selected Cyber-shot™ cameras and Handycam® camcorders. There’s also a choice of lenses by Carl Zeiss that are compatible with α SLT, DSLR and NEX compact cameras by Sony.

Every lens in a Sony product that carries the Carl Zeiss name is designed and produced in close collaboration between the two companies. Manufacture of a new lens is carried out by Sony, closely following stringent quality and testing guidelines defined by Carl Zeiss.

Enjoy crisp images at all zoom settings with Vario-Tessar® lenses

Vario-Tessar® by Carl Zeiss: versatile performance

Whether you’re shooting stills or HD video, you’ll get great results with the Vario-Tessar® lens in selected Cyber-shot™ cameras.

The advanced optical design by Carl Zeiss packs a generous zoom range into a light, compact lens that won’t weigh you down. And best of all, you’ll enjoy crisp, sharply-detailed images with superb contrast and extremely low distortion at all zoom settings, from wide angle to telephoto.

Experience the highest quality imaging with Vario-Sonnar® lenses

Vario-Sonnar® by Carl Zeiss: ultimate refinement

Great images start with a truly great lens. The refined Vario-Sonnar® zoom lens that’s specially selected for some of the finest Cyber-shot™ cameras brings every frame to life with outstanding resolution and exquisite detailing.

Alongside rich, lifelike colours, you’ll enjoy remarkably even clarity and brightness with any subject, right across the image. What’s more, the bright aperture of this remarkable lens makes it ideal for shooting in low light.

Multi-layered T* coating on lens surfaces cuts glare and reflections

Unique T* coating for high contrast and brilliant colours

Reflections caused by light bouncing off the surface of any lens can be a big problem, whether you’re shooting still photos or Full HD video.

In 1935, Carl Zeiss pioneered the development of a thin coating that cuts these reflections when it’s applied to the lens surface. Today Sony employs a modern refinement of this technique, adding a multi-layered coating to the optical surfaces of selected Vario-Sonnar® lenses. This T* coating, as it’s known, combats reflections to ensure high-contrast pictures with brilliant colours.

You’ll see the difference with a dramatic reduction in flare or ‘ghosting’, especially when you’re shooting into strong sunlight.