Are there 2 distinct types of Canon 50/0.95?

[Abbazz]

While I was browsing the amazing website of Marco Cavina (a mandatory read for everyone interested in lenses -- if you don't read Italian, use a web translator), I stumbled upon this page about the famous Canon 50/0.95 "dream lens". Then I saw this image, which seems to prove that the "photographic" 50/0.95 lens had a different optical formula (7element-5 group) than the video lens (8 element-7 group):

Canon095.gif
Image copyright by MARCO CAVINA

I always thought that these two lenses had identical optical formulas. How come?


Cheers!

Abbazz

[Mackinaw]

As far as I know both the 35mm version and the cine version of the Canon 50/0.95 are the same. The diagram on the left is correct one.

Hopefully either Peter K. or Peter D. will see this and chime in.

Jim B.

[jlw]

There might, for all I know, have been at some point an eight-element Canon f/0.95 lens designed specifically to cover the smaller area of a video-camera imager and using a different optical design.

It wouldn't necessarily be a 50mm lens; note that on the diagram, the left design is specifically labelled "50mm f/0,95" while the right one is simply labelled "f/0,95." Lenses of this speed, or even faster, were fairly common in shorter focal lengths designed for motion-picture cameras or video cameras, which have a smaller coverage area and consequently can use more aggressive optical designs.

Since this lens (if it exists) wouldn't be intended for still photography, it probably (if it exists) wouldn't be listed on Canon's "Camera Museum" website or in photographically-oriented lists.

What makes the photographic Canon 50/0.95 unusual is that it was a volume production lens that covered the 35mm still format. The commonly-seen "TV" version of the photo lens is in the same type of barrel as the photo lens, whereas it's clear from the diagrams that the video-only lens (again, if it exists) would need to be in an entirely different style of barrel.

I agree that it will be interesting to hear from the real collectible-Canon experts on this, but in the meantime I'll bet dollars to donuts that the left lens in the diagram is the Canon 50/0.95 with which we're familiar (in either its rangefinder-coupled photographic or uncoupled TV guise) and the lens on the right is a completely different optic, possibly with a different focal length, designed for video coverage only.

[colyn]

I sold a TV version a couple of months ago and based on the diagrams it is the same as the 35mm version not the video version.

The video version has a concave external rear element whereas the original and the TV version I sold isn't..and the elements are smaller on the video version while both the TV and 35mm lens are the same size..