Who Knew? Zoomar Long Lenses Were Used In The Studio…

The first example I ever saw of this was when I discovered some rare photos of ‘Kukla, Fran And Ollie’ being done at WNBQ in Chicago. That was the first time this was done and the lens inventor, Dr. Frank Back even paid a visit to the studio to see it in action in 1949.

‘KFO’ started in ’47 on WBKB, but moved to WNBQ in November of ’48 and I think the idea of the field zoom came shortly after that and just before the show was picked up by the NBC network January 12, 1949. Here’s a look through that lens at this clip and notice the crew laughing…standard fare as this show had a lot of adult viewers too.

The Zoomar Field lens was a huge 27 element zoom that, as the name implies, was meant for field use, but inside, it gave a smooth and unique look to images. I think all these photos are from before 1952 because that’s about the time two smaller Zoomar studio zoom lenses came into use.

As we see here, CBS did the same and later, local stations like Cleveland’s WXEL (now WJW) followed suit. Anybody here ever use this lens? Enjoy and share! – Bobby Ellerbee

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