  |
Kilfitt/Zoomar Exakta Lenses |
Kilfitt/Zoomar Macro Lenses
|
In 1955, Kilfitt produced its first macro lens, the 40mm f3.5 Macro-Kilar. It was a true macro enabling 1:1 photography. In the years that followed, various revisions were made to the lens. In 1960, a faster 40mm f2.8 Macro-Kilar was introduced. Both the original and the newer 2.8 had manual diaphragms and were extremely light in weight. In 1960, recognizing the need for greater working distance when shooting close-ups, Kilfitt introduced the 90mm f2.8 Macro-Kilar, one of my personal favorite lenses. The 90mm lens in my collection is a very late Zoomar Macro-Kilar. In the photo to the right, you can see the big size difference between the 40mm f2.8 and the 90 mm Macro-Kilars. Both lenses are shown fully extended. I pesonally hand-picked and tested the 90 Zoomar at their Glen Cove, Long Island location years ago. It is very sharp and the results show outstanding bokah particularly at close focusing distances. |
 |
Kilfitt, and later Zoomar, produced a variety of lenses. In addition to the macro lenses, they produced telephoto optics in focal lengths from 135mm to 600mm, several zoom lenses and various mirror lenses. Most, if not all of these longer lenses, had interchangeable lens mounts permitting their use on a diverse number of 35mm, medium format and high end motion picture cameras.
Kilfitt 300mm f4.0 Pan-Tele-Kilar
| The Kilfitt 300mm f4.0 Pan-Tele-Kilar is one of their most famous telephoto lenses. It is pictured below with its fitted Kilfitt case mounted on an Exakta VXIIa. It utilizes a rack and pinion focusing system and focuses to slightly under 6 feet. In super clean condition, such as this one, they are quite difficult to find as they were heavily used and favored by photographers worldwide. Although a bit cumbersome to use, the 300 Pan-Tele-Kilar is optically outstanding!!! |  |
Kilfitt/Zoomar Pistol Grip & Stock
| Kilfitt, and later Zoomar, each produced a pistol grip/stock combination, for use with their lenses. The apparatus consists of several parts and can be broken down rapidly for easy transport. It is fitted with a cable release for attachment to the camera cable release socket. |  |