Vignetting with zoom lenses

[Christopher Santucci]

I've noticed with certain zoom lenses there is vignetting as the lens reaches the far end of the focal range when shooting wide open. I used to think this was inherent in cheaper zoom lenses but I notice it happening with a nice Super Wide Fujinon I used recently on an HDX900.

 

Is there a name for this kind of vignetting which appears to be caused (I guess) by some design limitation within the optics of the lens? I've never noticed this happening with zoom lenses on film cameras, only tape cameras.

 

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[Tom Jensen]

The simple answer is yes, it is a design limitation. Have you ever noticed that zoom lenses are slower than primes? The stop may be a 4 or a 5.6 but if you could open it up all the way to a 2, the vignetting would be even greater through the zoom range. They are stopped down or slow so there is no vignetting through the range as you zoom. I don't recall if there is a specific name for the vignetting.

[Christopher Santucci]

The simple answer is yes, it is a design limitation. Have you ever noticed that zoom lenses are slower than primes? The stop may be a 4 or a 5.6 but if you could open it up all the way to a 2, the vignetting would be even greater through the zoom range. They are stopped down or slow so there is no vignetting through the range as you zoom. I don't recall if there is a specific name for the vignetting.

 

 

Yeah, certainly I've noticed zooms are generally slower than primes. I suppose having a fast zoom comes with a price (and shooting with a fast zoom wide open).

 

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