It is worth mentioning that we didn't increase or maintain our customer base by ever publicly boasting about who buys what from us. So, whatever you ask about, or get from us, will not be used as a recommendation by us for any others to do the same!	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "CS" Video Camera Lenses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This page covers both "C" and "CS" lenses that are used as the primary optic for boxed CCD video cameras that can be seen almost everywhere you look. However, we rarely hold inventory of "C" type as most users want newer "CS" type. The "C" is said to stand for "Cine" and were for 'cine cameras' that first used 16mm film, then 2/3" and then 1/2"and now down to 1/16th and smaller CCD and CMOS sensors. As technology improved and pixel density increased, the sensor size reduced. This meant that the physical size of the lens could be reduced as well. The size reduction of the lens meant that the final element in it would be closer to the sensor, so existing "C" mount lenses needed an adapter ring to properly space the "C" mount lens from the face of the sensor. However, the diameter of the screw threaded mechanical connection to the camera body stayed the same. These adapters changed the focal length of the "C" mount lens when mounted on a "CS" mount camera. (The 'S' is said to stand for Small) As the sensors have become smaller, the more 'telescopic' the focal length becomes on any given lens. This only adds to some of the confusion regarding what can be expected from any given lens, as when used with a 1/4" sensor it's resolved image will be more telescopic than when used with a similar camera that has a 1/3" sensor. This ambiguity may be dealt with by deploying 'varifocal' lenses. Varifocal lenses are often a solution for the recurring question; "What focal length lens do we need to cover this scene?" Modern varifocal lenses will most often have an 'auto iris' capability driven by the CCD camera's own electronics. This is ideal for unattended camera systems. The first image shows the simple controls for the Focus and the Zoom. The overall size of this 5mm to 100mm auto Iris Zoom lens, including the screw thread, is a scant 3 inches. There are just two simple rotating sliders for ZOOM and FOCUS with the "Electronic" Iris being controlled by the camera! As can be seen, the lens on the left is a "5 to 100mm" 20 to 1 ratio Zoom, while the smaller one on the right is a 10 to 1, "6 to 60mm" unit. These are both "CS" mount lenses, however, the images are not to the same scale!