What is the technical term for a zoom lens with the same maximum aperture throughout its range?

Asked 12/30/2011

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What is the proper technical name for a zoom lens whose widest available aperture stays the same at every focal length, such as a lens that remains f/2.8 throughout the zoom range?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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Constant-Aperture Zoom Lens.

Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1620

14y ago

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The usual term is constant-aperture zoom lens, or more precisely constant maximum aperture zoom lens.

That means the lens can maintain its widest aperture across the full zoom range — for example, f/2.8 at 35mm and also f/2.8 at 100mm. By contrast, a variable-aperture zoom might be labeled f/3.5–5.6, meaning the widest available aperture gets smaller as you zoom in.

Including the word maximum can be helpful, because fixed aperture can mean something different: a rare lens design that only has one aperture setting and cannot be stopped down. In everyday use, though, people often just say constant-aperture zoom and will be understood.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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