Understanding len spec

[sanjaym]

I bought a Sony DSC H50 a few days back. The lens spec written on len is "Vario Tessar 2,7-4,5/5,2-78" . I don't understand what it means. Can anyone explain me please?

[RexK_Cozumel]

vario tessar is the brand of lens

2.7-4.5 is the maximum aperture depending on the focal length

5.2-78 is the focal length range.

[inkista]

Tiny more detail.

Vario is the Zeiss way of saying it's a zoom lens. Tessar used to mean the lens has a classic four-element "pancake" design, but these days it's more a Zeiss branding thing. Zeiss tends to name its lenses after the number of elements/overall design: Sonnar, Tessar, Distagon, etc., while Leica uniquely names them after the lens's maximum aperture (Summicron = f/2, Summilux = f/1.4, Elmarit = f/2.8, etc.)

The 5,2-78 is the focal length range of the lens in millimeters. The 35mm film equivalent (i.e., if it were a lens designed for 35mm film, or a full-frame digital SLR) is 31-465mm. The short end of the range is the "wide angle" end, the long end of the range is the telephoto end. The longer the focal length you're using, the more you're "zoomed in." The range here is a superzoom range--from wide angle to supertelephoto. It's not particularly wide on the wide end, though.

The 2.4-4.5 is the maximum aperture--how large the shutter opening can go: at 5.2mm (the wide end of the lens), the widest the lens can open up is f/2.4, and at 78mm (the tele end of the lens), the widest the lens can open up is f/4.5.

[RexK_Cozumel]

Thanks Inkista I knew someone would come along who was not lazy like me and actually type all of that out

[fantasmic2tek]

Originally Posted by RexK_Cozumel

Thanks Inkista I knew someone would come along who was not lazy like me and actually type all of that out

Rex he won't admit it but he did it the lazy way and copy and pasted it. I would have done it the same way.

LMAO

[sanjaym]

Thanks all, especially inkista for the great detail.