DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Zeiss to launch world’s first lenses with “Transparent Aluminum” ALON elements, rumour suggests

May 3, 2018 by John Aldred 7 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

It’s being reported by Sony Alpha Rumors that Zeiss are planning to launch the world’s first lens with ALON lens elements. Perhaps a 35mm f/1.8 Sony FE mount pancake lens. ALON is Aluminium Oxynitride, which is essentially “transparent aluminum“. Yes, that’s right Star Trek technology is coming to lenses. Maybe.

The tip received by SAR is as follows…

They are preparing to announce a new compact lens series with astonishing image quality at smaller lens size. Think premium pancake lens.
The first lens of the new series will be an 35mm f1.8 with a total length of under 4cm…..
has developed a lens where several elements are made out of Aluminium oxynitride (ALON for short)

This Material has a diffractive index of 1.79 that is high compared to normal glass (1.4-1.5)
Also it is highly scratch resistant having a MOS hardness of 9
Because of the difficulty in manufacturing it will only be used in the front element and two highly diffractive elements.

So, if the rumours are true, then not every element in a new lens will be made from ALON, just a small handful. But it’s still pretty exciting.  Presumably, though, they mean refractive index, not diffractive index. A 1.79 is very high. Water, for example, has a refractive index of 1.33, and glass is typically around 1.4-1.5, as mentioned in the quote above.

Essentially the higher the refractive index means that the elements can be made much thinner. This means the elements are also typically lighter, too. Which is always a good thing in lenses, especially if you have to carry them around all day. And while a small and compact pancake lens might not benefit too much from that reduced weight, it’s a nice start. As the technology evolves and the price gets lower, we’ll hopefully start to see ALON elements in much longer, bigger and heavier telephoto lenses, too.

As well as reducing the thickness and weight of the elements, it should also be less susceptible to things like chromatic aberration and ghosting. Eliminating both of those things has been the goal of lens manufacturers for decades, so this should be a very cool development in that regard.

Hopefully, we’ll finally start to see truly scratch-resistant mobile phone screens, too.

[via Sony Alpha Rumors]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Rumour suggests Godox will announce an AD600 replacement before the end of the year Rumour suggests new high end Sony APS-C camera coming before Christmas Sony gearing up to announce the A7R IV later today, rumour suggests Anime photoshoot featuring Zeiss new lens causes backlash; Zeiss apologizes

Filed Under: news Tagged With: ALON, Lenses, rumor, Transparent Aluminum, zeiss

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Rosco’s new MIX LED panels eliminate casts and can be any colour you want
Conan O’ Brien responds to the stuffed anteater scandal with more faked wildlife pictures »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy