In 1920 Carl Zeiss, a German optical manufacturer, invented the first commercial camera that could film horizontally or more specifically shot vertically. He called this camera the “zoomer” or in French Le Prime Quadragénaire.

Why is it called a “zoomer?”

The name “zoomer” came from the following: in the early days of photography, cameras were made of a piece of glass with a circle etched into it and two lenses at the bottom. This enabled people to take photos. However, if the picture was taken from a very high distance, the circle was not visible and the image was filled with blurred points. Zeiss came up with the idea to put some small mirrors in front of the camera and use the rear mirror to focus the image. The camera took two pictures on two different sides of the glass and then formed an image of a circle that looked like a zoomer when shown from a distance.
to the great applause of his colleagues at the company, the inventor was awarded the business prize in 1921. However, despite the popularity of his invention, Zeiss did not see a lot of interest from the mass market, and the “zoomer” was no more than a curiosity.

What are the different versions of the Zeiss Zoomer?

In 1924 Zeiss made a version that had a small lens and a big lens on the front. The next year, Zeiss also produced a simple black-and-white version. In 1928 they came up with a rangefinder version. A few years later, Zeiss introduced a prototype version with a rotating zoom that was activated by rotating the lens ring. In 1938 they introduced a half-body version which had a smaller lens and a simple mechanism. Zeiss didn’t stop at the optical concept. When Zeiss decided to produce the film for the camera, they added an in-built camera for developing the film at the same time. When the Zeiss Zoomer was launched, the film was expensive and nearly impossible to buy, so this turned out to be a real blessing. In 1953, a version of the Zeiss Zoomer was also developed for television.

Who owned Zeiss between 1927 and 1945?

After WWII, Zeiss decided to exit the film business. The Zeiss brands were then owned by Max Rheinstahl, a German filmmaker. In 1960, Zeiss left the film industry. Zeiss received a great deal of money from selling off the name for this type of camera. In 1969, Zeiss became part of Siemens, a German industrial firm. Siemens continued to sell Zeiss-branded optical equipment, but it stopped creating camera technology in the 1990s. However, today the Zeiss brand is owned by the company Carl Zeiss AG.

Did Zeiss invent the camera as such?
The concept of the zoomer camera was invented in 1919, but Zeiss only made a series of prototypes with the idea of releasing a product. The Leica camera and the Minolta have used the zoomer concept for at least a decade and it is widely believed that the same idea was also behind the Pentax K1000 film camera.

Is there any significance behind the Zeiss name?

Even if Zeiss did not invent the zoomer camera, it was very wise to use the name. Zeiss sold a lot of cameras with the Zeiss name, which helped the company earn good profits during the silent era and after the First World War. Zeiss needed more innovation to compete with the up-and-coming Kodak and the major American companies like Nikon and Canon. The Zeiss name remains important for the image of modern German optics as well as for most of the cameras and lenses made by Carl Zeiss AG.

Did Zeiss ever make a mechanical camera with an automatic transmission?

Yes, there were mechanical versions. In 1936, a factory in Friedrichshafen was producing camera bodies equipped with a manual or automatic transmission. A year later, the company began producing a mid-range mechanical 35mm camera with the Zeiss name, however, it was never released. It was likely that the maker was interested in a post-war demand for compact cameras and the automatic transmission could be useful in situations where the owner wants to use the camera but also wants to be able to take pictures without the need to hold the camera and press the shutter.