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?
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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.
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