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First man to do spacewalk used Zeiss camera and lenses?
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:25 am    Post subject: First man to do spacewalk used Zeiss camera and lenses? Reply with quote
I just stumbled upon this NASA picture of the first spacewalk ever, which was performed by astronaut Edward H. White II during the Gemini IV mission in 1965:



If I am not mistaken, the camera looks like a mirrorless Contarex equipped with a Biogon 21/4.5 lens. Zeiss should label its Biogon "the Space Lens!"

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hmmm . . . rather than being mirrorless, it might just have been configured without a pentaprism. The suits being as bulky as they were, it seems that they probably could have used an open focusing screen area as a waist level finder, whereas trying to peer through an eyepiece would have been impractical.

Cool find, though. I've known about the Hassy space cams and even some Nikons that supposedly made it into space, but this is the first I've ever heard of a Zeiss.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:42 am    Post subject: Re: First man to do spacewalk used Zeiss camera and lenses? Reply with quote
Abbazz wrote:
I just stumbled upon this NASA picture of the first spacewalk ever, which was performed by astronaut Edward H. White II during the Gemini IV mission in 1965:

...
If I am not mistaken, the camera looks like a mirrorless Contarex equipped with a Biogon 21/4.5 lens. Zeiss should label its Biogon "the Space Lens!"

Cheers!

Abbazz


The camera is in fact a Contarex Special with the interchangeable viewfinder removed. The lens shouldn't be a 21/4.5 as the lens shown has:

1) protrude too much from the lens flange; and
2) Biogon 21/4.5 has no black version, all of them are in chrome finishing.

It is more likely a Distagon 18/4.0

Contarex Special with viewfinder removed and with Biogon 21/4.5, together with eye-level and waist-level finders and two other focusing screens. Focusing screens for Contarex Special are different from screens of other models as they have a condenser lenses integrated that give extra brightness ..



Last edited by amoebahydra on Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:30 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Edited my message after seing amoebahydra's post. It seems he got it right about the lens.

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes I can imagine the situation: can't focus wih this stupid visor, I'll open it .. oops!
Smile


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:
Yes I can imagine the situation: can't focus wih this stupid visor, I'll open it .. oops!
Smile


With a depth-of-field of 20" to infinity at F/8, who care the focusing... ha ha



PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Why didn't NASA build a sportsfinder .. I think they might have been capable of doing that?
EDIT: don't think waist level finder is very nice to use in that suit either .. Confused


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:
Why didn't NASA build a sportsfinder .. I think they might have been capable of doing that?


I saw in some documents that NASA in early day did not custom build photographic equipment but acquired them from market; at most they only modified some operational knobs to suit the gloved hand of the astronaut.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
amoebahydra wrote:
kansalliskala wrote:
Why didn't NASA build a sportsfinder .. I think they might have been capable of doing that?


I saw in some documents that NASA in early day did not custom build photographic equipment but acquired them from market; at most they only modified some operational knobs to suit the gloved hand of the astronaut.


Not only in the early days, all the Apollo 11 photo equipment was also Zeiss.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
amoebahydra wrote:
kansalliskala wrote:
Why didn't NASA build a sportsfinder .. I think they might have been capable of doing that?


I saw in some documents that NASA in early day did not custom build photographic equipment but acquired them from market; at most they only modified some operational knobs to suit the gloved hand of the astronaut.


Not only in the early days, all the Apollo 11 photo equipment was also Zeiss.


I saw some pictures of NASA Leicaflexes of the same age as well...


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
amoebahydra wrote:
Orio wrote:
amoebahydra wrote:
kansalliskala wrote:
Why didn't NASA build a sportsfinder .. I think they might have been capable of doing that?


I saw in some documents that NASA in early day did not custom build photographic equipment but acquired them from market; at most they only modified some operational knobs to suit the gloved hand of the astronaut.


Not only in the early days, all the Apollo 11 photo equipment was also Zeiss.


I saw some pictures of NASA Leicaflexes of the same age...


Yes, very likely, I don't think they made exclusivity contracts, they probably bought what suited them best. For sure I read that all moon photos are made with a Planar.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
amoebahydra wrote:
Orio wrote:
amoebahydra wrote:
kansalliskala wrote:
Why didn't NASA build a sportsfinder .. I think they might have been capable of doing that?


I saw in some documents that NASA in early day did not custom build photographic equipment but acquired them from market; at most they only modified some operational knobs to suit the gloved hand of the astronaut.


Not only in the early days, all the Apollo 11 photo equipment was also Zeiss.


I saw some pictures of NASA Leicaflexes of the same age...


Yes, very likely, I don't think they made exclusivity contracts, they probably bought what suited them best. For sure I read that all moon photos are made with a Planar.


I believe the removable viewfinder of Contarex Special has an edge over Leicaflex for use with space helmet.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Yes, very likely, I don't think they made exclusivity contracts, they probably bought what suited them best. For sure I read that all moon photos are made with a Planar.

Yes, but on a Hasselblad, not on a Contarex...

Cheers!

Abbazz

Last edited by Abbazz on Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:30 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The 18mm with practically infinite depth of field would surely be practical. Wide field of view would also come in handy as composing probably was more "just aim it roughly" technique.

NASA list of cameras used on space missions in more recent days: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/metadata/camera.htm

amoebahydra wrote:
I saw in some documents that NASA in early day did not custom build photographic equipment but acquired them from market; at most they only modified some operational knobs to suit the gloved hand of the astronaut.


In the early days everything was pioneering and custom built. Later on, starting from the late 1960s with Nikon F Photomic mod, Nikon built a whole line of NASA-specific cameras, lenses and photo equipment for use on Apollo missions and later in the shuttle program.

They even made a digital SLR already in 1991, for NASA only: http://www.nikonweb.com/nasaf4/
What we today know as a sensor NASA called image acquisition chip Very Happy





PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
So - that's an AI 35mm f/1.4, an AI Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/4 and an AI-ed Nikkor-S 55mm f/1.2?

Except that the Micro-Nikkor was never sold with that scalloped focus ring. The pre-AI version was a short mount for bellows.

And the serial number on the 55mm doesn't correspond to anything known.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Shuttle must then have a built in compact flash card reader, cool to know Cool


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
The Shuttle must then have a built in compact flash card reader, cool to know Cool


The camera used hard disks for storage, it could store 40 1Mpx monochrome images per disk.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ChrisLilley wrote:
the serial number on the 55mm doesn't correspond to anything known.


Chris, I have no clue about the production run, but it obviously was limited.

Images are authentic, I downloaded them from a Nikon.com campaign site where they had desktop wallpapers for download. It was that history site a few years ago, commemorating F-mount and 40 million manufactured Nikkor lenses. The figure now is I believe at least 55-60 million, with 5-7million manufactured per year recently.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Esox lucius wrote:
ChrisLilley wrote:
the serial number on the 55mm doesn't correspond to anything known.


Chris, I have no clue about the production run, but it obviously was limited.


Yes. It seems that might have been a run specially for NASA, for that lens?

Esox lucius wrote:
Images are authentic, I downloaded them from a Nikon.com campaign site where they had desktop wallpapers for download. It was that history site a few years ago, commemorating F-mount and 40 million manufactured Nikkor lenses. The figure now is I believe at least 55-60 million, with 5-7million manufactured per year recently.


Yes, I know they are authentic and its a Nikon official memorial wallpaper. I have seen it before, but didn't look so closely last time and which exact lenses they were.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sorry, but i think that lens used in first EVA spacewalk was a FSU lens.
First man to do an EVA spacewalk was Alexei Leonov Very Happy


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
atar wrote:
Sorry, but i think that lens used in first EVA spacewalk was a FSU lens.
First man to do an EVA spacewalk was Alexei Leonov Very Happy

With jammed shutter Smile


PostPosted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ok but what:


I guess Jupiter 12. Smile


PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:25 am    Post subject: Re: First man to do spacewalk used Zeiss camera and lenses? Reply with quote
Abbazz wrote:
I just stumbled upon this NASA picture of the first spacewalk ever, which was performed by astronaut Edward H. White II during the Gemini IV mission in 1965:



If I am not mistaken, the camera looks like a mirrorless Contarex equipped with a Biogon 21/4.5 lens. Zeiss should label its Biogon "the Space Lens!"

Cheers!

Abbazz


I'm sorry but it wasn't the first spacewalk.This was the second ever spacewalk. The first was made betweenin march the same year by Alexei Leonov. Let's lear some history Smile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Leonov


PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
atar wrote:
Sorry, but i think that lens used in first EVA spacewalk was a FSU lens.
First man to do an EVA spacewalk was Alexei Leonov Very Happy


seuret wrote:
I'm sorry but it wasn't the first spacewalk.This was the second ever spacewalk. The first was made betweenin march the same year by Alexei Leonov. Let's lear some history Smile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Leonov

Thanks guys for straightening this out and my apologies to Alexei. He certainly deserves the credit.

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Which one is the camera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tztq_VDsHeA

I think this could be some p&s style like undewater camera
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