Kodak S-mount

The S-mount ciné lens mount was originally developed by Kodak and introduced in 1933 for the Ciné-Kodak line of movie cameras. The only camera body sold by Kodak with a native S-mount was the Ciné-Kodak Special II.[1]
Characteristics and applications
According to historian Doug Kerr, the S-mount was developed and released in 1933 to simplify the profusion of lens mounts for the line of Ciné-Kodak 16 and 8 mm movie cameras; at the time, many of the lens mounts were unique to the particular camera model, and the line of Kodak ciné lenses for 16 mm cameras spanned a range of focal lengths from 15 to 152 mm. It was not efficient to maintain an adequate stock of optically identical lenses with multiple mounts.[2]: 4 The S-mount uses a mixture of bayonet and threaded attachments; a locating pin on the lens fits into a matching slot on the camera body or adapter to ensure proper rotational orientation, and then a captive, threaded collar on the camera or adapter is rotated to engage corresponding threads on the lens, securing it.[2]: 5
| Lens focal length(s) Camera  | 15 | 25, 40, 50, 63 | 50, 63, 102 | 152 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ciné-Kodak | Model K | H | R[a] | J | ||
| Model E (f/1.9) | A | — | ||||
| Magazine Ciné-Kodak Magazine Ciné-Kodak Eight, Model 90 | M | |||||
| Ciné-Kodak Special | G | P | F | |||
| Ciné-Kodak Special II | — (native) | |||||
| C mount (incl. Cine-Kodak K-100) | C | |||||
| D mount (incl. Ciné-Kodak Reliant, Medallion) | D | |||||
Although the S-mount was introduced in 1933,[4]: 20 it was not fitted natively to a camera until the Ciné-Kodak Special II, which was manufactured from 1948 to 1961. S-mount lenses can be fitted to other ciné cameras using the appropriate adapter; for example, the 25 mm S-mount lens can be mounted on a Ciné-Kodak Special using a Type P adapter. For the Ciné-Kodak Special and Ciné-Kodak Model K, since the front part of the viewfinder is built into the lens mount,[4]: 22–23 there are multiple adapters which have identical mechanical interfaces, but carry different sets of viewfinder optics and mask(s).[2]: 7–9, 17 Other cameras, including the Ciné-Kodak Special II, made the front viewfinder optics a separate accessory bundled with the lens.[4]: 23
List of lenses
Lenses released by Kodak for Ciné-Kodak cameras include:
| F.L. (mm) | Name | Aperture | Constr.[7] | Min. focus | Angle of view[b][7] | 8 mm[c] | 16 mm[d] | S-mount[e] | Filter[8] | Notes | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Ektanon | f/2.7 | ? | 4 ft (1.2 m) | 25.9° × 19.6°[f] |  Yes |  No |  Yes | Ser.V | |
| 13 | Ektanon | f/1.9 | ? | 24 in (0.61 m) | 19.4° × 14.6°[f] |  Yes |  No |  No | Ser.VI | Kit lens with many Ciné-Kodak Eights | 
| Anastigmat | f/1.9 | 4e/4g |  Yes |  No |  No | Ser.V | Earlier lens | |||
| Anastigmat | f/2.7 | 3e/3g | fixed | 18.7° × 14.1°[f] |  Yes |  No |  No | ? | ||
| Anastigmat | f/3.5 | 3e/3g | fixed | 19.7° × 14.9°[f] |  Yes |  No |  No | ? | ||
| 15 | Ektar | f/2.5 | ? | 6 in (0.15 m) | 34.0° × 25.7° |  No |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| Ektanon | f/2.7 | ? |  No |  Yes |  Yes | |||||
| Anastigmat | 3e/3g |  No |  Yes |  No | Earlier lens; some marked as 3⁄4-in. Fixed-focus version takes Series V filters. | |||||
| 25 | Ektar | f/1.4 | 7e/4g (Double Gauss) | 12 in (0.30 m) | 21.5° × 16.2°[g] |  Yes |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| Ektar | f/1.9 | ? |  Yes |  Yes |  Yes | Later lens | ||||
| Anastigmat | 4e/4g | 2 ft (0.6 m) |  No |  Yes |  No | Ser.V | Earlier lens; some marked as 1-in. | |||
| 38 | Ektanon | f/2.5 | ? | 12 in (0.30 m) | 6.6° × 5.0°[f] |  Yes |  No |  Yes | ? | |
| Anastigmat | 4e/2g | 24 in (0.61 m) |  Yes |  No |  No | ? | Earlier lens; some marked as 11⁄2-in. | |||
| Ektanon | f/2.8 | ? | 6.5° × 4.8°[f] |  Yes |  No |  No | ? | D-mount lens | ||
| 40 | Ektar | f/1.6 | ? | 2 ft (0.6 m) | 13.7° × 10.3° |  Yes |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| 50 | Ektanon | f/1.6 | ? | 2 ft (0.6 m) | 10.8° × 8.1°[h] |  Yes |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| Anastigmat | 4e/2g |  Yes |  Yes |  No | Earlier lens | |||||
| Anastigmat | f/3.5 | 3e/3g (Cooke triplet) | 2+1⁄4 ft (0.7 m) | 10.9° × 8.1°[i] |  Yes |  Yes |  No | Ser.V | Earlier lens; some marked as 2-in. | |
| 63 | Ektar | f/2.0 | ? | 2 ft (0.6 m) | 8.7° × 6.5°[j] |  Yes |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| Ektanon | f/2.7 | ? | 1 ft (0.3 m) |  Yes |  Yes |  Yes | ||||
| Anastigmat | f/2.7 | 4e/2g | 1+1⁄2 ft (0.5 m) |  Yes |  Yes |  No | Earlier lens, some marked as 21⁄2-in. | |||
| 76 | Telephoto Anastigmat | f/4.5 | 4e/2g | 3+3⁄4 ft (1.1 m) | 7.2° × 5.4°[k] |  Yes |  Yes |  No | Ser.V | Earlier lens, some marked as 3-in. | 
| 78 | Telephoto Anastigmat | f/4.5 | ? | 3+3⁄4 ft (1.1 m) | 7.2° × 5.4° |  No |  Yes |  No | Ser.VI | Model B only | 
| 102 | Ektar | f/2.7 | 4e/2g | 3 ft (0.9 m) | 5.4° × 4.1° |  No |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| Ektanon | 2 ft (0.6 m) |  No |  Yes |  Yes | ? | |||||
| Anastigmat | 4+1⁄2 ft (1.4 m) |  No |  Yes |  No | Ser.VII | Earlier lens, some marked as 4-in. | ||||
| 114 | Telephoto Anastigmat | f/4.5 | 4e/2g | 4+1⁄4 ft (1.3 m) | 4.8° × 3.6° |  No |  Yes |  No | Ser.VI | Earlier lens, some marked as 41⁄2-in. | 
| 152 | Ektar | f/4.0 | ? | 6 ft (1.8 m) | 3.6° × 2.7° |  No |  Yes |  Yes | Ser.VI | |
| Ektanon | f/4.5 | ? | 55 in (1.4 m) |  No |  Yes |  Yes | ? | |||
| Telephoto Anastigmat | 4e/2g | 10 ft (3.0 m) |  No |  Yes |  No | Ser.VI | Earlier lens, some marked as 6-in. | 
- Notes
- ^ For the 25 mm f/1.4 Cine-Ektar lens, the camera required factory modification
- ^ For 16 mm cameras unless otherwise stated
- ^ Designates whether this lens can be used with 8 mm film cameras
- ^ Designates whether this lens can be used with 16 mm film cameras
- ^ Indicates if at least one variant of this lens was produced with a native S-mount
- ^ a b c d e f With 8 mm cameras
- ^ 9.9° × 7.4° with 8 mm cameras
- ^ 4.9° × 3.7° with 8 mm cameras
- ^ 5.0° × 3.7° with 8 mm cameras
- ^ 4.0° × 3.0° with 8 mm cameras
- ^ 3.3° × 2.5° with 8 mm cameras
References
- ^ a b "S Mount Movie Lenses (Cine-Kodak Special II Camera & Others)". Jimscamerasseattle.com. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
- ^ a b c d Kerr, Douglas A. (April 4, 2019). "The Kodak type S lens mount and the Ciné-Kodak Special" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Kodak Cine Ektar Lenses" (PDF). Eastman Kodak Company. September 1949. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library.
- ^ a b c Kerr, Douglas A. (December 31, 2017). "Lens mounts of Kodak Ciné-Kodak movie cameras" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ How to Use the Cine-Kodak Special (PDF). Eastman Kodak Company. 1937.
- ^ Cine-Kodak Special II Camera [manual]. Eastman Kodak Company. 1956.
- ^ a b Kodak Lens Manual (PDF). Eastman Kodak Company. March 1942. pp. 52–59. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library.
- ^ Lens Mount Diameters of Kodak and Graflex Cameras for Selection of Lens Accessories (PDF). Eastman Kodak Company. August 1946. p. 14. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via Pacific Rim Camera, Reference Library.