What does “Auto-Zoom” mean on an Olympus Zuiko 35–70mm lens?

Asked 12/29/2018

108 views

2 answers

My Olympus Zuiko 35–70mm lens is labeled “Auto-Zoom.” Does that mean it has some kind of automatic zoom function, or is it referring to something else?

olympus lenses zuiko lens-terminology vintage-gear

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

2 Answers

Your lens dates back to a time when some lenses were still completely manual, and the aperture had to be manually closed for stop down metering.

Your zoom lens has a more modern feature that allowed for wide open metering and then the lens would automatically stop down to the desired aperture just as the photo was taken. By the 1970’s most lenses had this feature and they were called “auto” lenses.

That’s why it is called “Auto-Zoom”.

Originally by user39427. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user39427

7y ago

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

“Auto-Zoom” does not mean the lens zooms by itself.

On older lenses, “auto” usually referred to the aperture mechanism, not the focal length. It means the lens stays wide open for brighter viewing and metering, then automatically stops down to the aperture you selected at the moment of exposure. This was an advance over older fully manual lenses that required manual stop-down metering.

“Zoom” simply means it is a variable focal-length lens.

So on your Zuiko, “Auto-Zoom” is basically combining two descriptions:

Auto = automatic diaphragm/aperture operation
Zoom = adjustable focal length

It’s an older naming convention that sounded modern at the time, but it does not indicate any powered or self-adjusting zoom technology.

What does “Auto-Zoom” mean on an Olympus Zuiko 35–70mm lens?

2 Answers

Your Answer

Related Questions