Biogon

The Biogon name was introduced by Carl Zeiss in 1934 for a photographic lens designed by Ludwig Bertele. Bertele's first Biogon was an asymmetric seven-element, four-group construction derived in part from his earlier Sonnar work. The lens was assigned to Zeiss Ikon Dresden and sold with the Contax rangefinder camera. Carl Zeiss began producing it at approximately the end of the 1930s, first in Jena and later, after a redesign and the postwar reorganization of Zeiss operations, in Oberkochen. Bertele subsequently reused related optical thinking in the Wild Aviotar. After the Second World War, the Biogon designation became associated with a new generation of highly symmetric wide-angle optics. In 1951, Bertele created a design with a 90-degree angle of view. It was conceptually related to his Wild Aviogon, introduced the previous year, but used a simpler optical arrangement. The newer Biogon removed one meniscus element and simplified the group located ahead of the aperture. This construction offered very wide coverage while retaining the low-distortion characteristics associated with symmetric wide-angle designs. The second-generation Biogon entered regular production during the 1950s. Zeiss supplied a 21 mm f/4.5 lens for Contax, a 38 mm f/4.5 lens for the Hasselblad Super Wide system, and 53 mm and 75 mm lenses for Linhof professional cameras. The patent family described multiple versions with maximum apertures of f/6.3, f/4.5, and f/3.4. The resulting products served different image formats rather than representing a single standardized focal-length line. Biogon-type optics were used across a broad range of professional photographic equipment. Smaller-format examples included 21 mm, 25 mm, 28 mm, and 35 mm lenses, while medium-format products included 38 mm and 60 mm versions for Hasselblad. Larger-format versions included a 53 mm lens with an image circle suitable for cameras up to 6 by 9 cm and a 75 mm lens covering professional formats up to 4 by 5 inches. A 60 mm Hasselblad Biogon is especially associated with cameras used in the Apollo lunar program. The development of Biogon took place within a wider history of symmetrical wide-angle lens design. Earlier work included the Angulon, Topogon, Dagor, and Hypergon families, while later designs such as Schneider's Super-Angulon, Rodenstock's Grandagon, Nikon's Nikkor wide-angle lenses, Minolta's W.Rokkor optics, and Fujifilm's Fujinon-SW products addressed similar technical objectives. The patent record shows both shared historical influences and important differences among these designs. Biogon also influenced the broader direction of super-wide-angle development and formed part of the technical lineage surrounding later Zeiss names such as Hologon. As a Zeiss designation, Biogon is therefore both a historical trademark and a family of optical designs. Its importance comes from the combination of wide angular coverage, compactness in rangefinder applications, and careful control of distortion. The available source material documents the historical development and representative products but does not provide enough information to confirm which Biogon-branded products remain in current production.

• 1955

  Large-format Biogon variants introduced

  [1]Zeiss Biogonen.wikipedia.org

  53 mm and 75 mm variants were produced for Linhof professional cameras during the mid-1950s.

• 1954

  Regular production expands to Contax and Hasselblad systems

  [1]Zeiss Biogonen.wikipedia.org

  Regular production included a 21 mm f/4.5 lens for Contax and a 38 mm f/4.5 lens for the Hasselblad Super Wide camera.

• 1951

  Second-generation 90-degree Biogon designed

  [1]Zeiss Biogonen.wikipedia.org

  Bertele designed a new, more symmetric Biogon with a nominal 90-degree angle of view and a simplified relationship to the Aviogon design.

• 1937

  Carl Zeiss production begins

  [1]Zeiss Biogonen.wikipedia.org

  Carl Zeiss began producing the original Biogon at approximately this time, initially in Jena.

• 1934

  First Biogon design created

  [1]Zeiss Biogonen.wikipedia.org

  Ludwig Bertele designed the original asymmetric Biogon, a seven-element, four-group wide-angle lens developed while he was working for Zeiss.

Historically positioned as a high-performance Zeiss optical design family for wide-angle and super-wide-angle photography, emphasizing broad image coverage and low distortion across rangefinder, medium-format, and large-format systems.

• Rangefinder wide-angle lens · 1954

  Biogon 21 mm

  The 21 mm Biogon is a representative super-wide-angle design associated with Contax and later Zeiss optical offerings. Documented versions include an f/4.5 T* Classic model and a faster f/2.8 version. The approximately 90-degree field of view made it suitable for architectural, landscape, documentary, and other applications requiring extensive scene coverage.

• Medium-format camera lens · 1954

  Biogon 38 mm

  The 38 mm f/4.5 Biogon was produced for the Hasselblad Super Wide camera system. Its wide coverage was adapted to medium-format photography, where the larger image area required an optical design capable of maintaining coverage and correction across a substantial frame. The lens is among the best-known medium-format applications of the Biogon name.

• Large-format professional lens · 1955

  Biogon 53 mm

  The 53 mm f/4.5 Biogon was designed with an image circle of approximately 115 mm, making it suitable for professional cameras using formats up to 6 by 9 cm. It illustrates how the Biogon concept was adapted beyond conventional 35 mm rangefinder photography for larger image formats and professional technical-camera applications.

• Medium-format camera lens

  Biogon 60 mm

  The 60 mm f/5.6 Biogon was made for Hasselblad medium-format equipment. It is notable in photographic history because Biogon-equipped Hasselblad systems were associated with the Apollo lunar missions. The lens extended the family into a focal length and image format combination suited to medium-format wide-angle work.

• Large-format professional lens · 1955

  Biogon 75 mm

  The 75 mm f/4.5 Biogon was built for large-format professional cameras and provided an image circle of approximately 153 mm. Its documented coverage extended to formats up to 4 by 5 inches, demonstrating the use of the Biogon optical approach in technical and large-format photography rather than only in compact rangefinder systems.

1. 1Zeiss Biogonen.wikipedia.org