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.

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. 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.
Although the S-mount was introduced in 1933, 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, there are multiple adapters which have identical mechanical interfaces, but carry different sets of viewfinder optics and mask. Other cameras, including the Ciné-Kodak Special II, made the front viewfinder optics a separate accessory bundled with the lens.

List of lenses

Lenses released by Kodak for Ciné-Kodak cameras include:

F.L.	Name	Aperture	Constr.	Min. focus	Angle of view	8 mm	16 mm	S-mount	Filter	Notes
9	Ektanon				25.9° × 19.6°				Ser.V
13	Ektanon				19.4° × 14.6°				Ser.VI	Kit lens with many Ciné-Kodak Eights
13	Anastigmat		4e/4g		19.4° × 14.6°				Ser.V	Earlier lens
13	Anastigmat		3e/3g	fixed	18.7° × 14.1°
13	Anastigmat		3e/3g	fixed	19.7° × 14.9°
15	Ektar				34.0° × 25.7°				Ser.VI
15	Ektanon				34.0° × 25.7°				Ser.VI
15	Anastigmat		3e/3g		34.0° × 25.7°				Ser.VI	Earlier lens; some marked as -in. Fixed-focus version takes Series V filters.
25	Ektar		7e/4g		21.5° × 16.2°				Ser.VI
25	Ektar				21.5° × 16.2°				Ser.VI	Later lens
25	Anastigmat		4e/4g		21.5° × 16.2°				Ser.V	Earlier lens; some marked as 1-in.
38	Ektanon				6.6° × 5.0°
38	Anastigmat		4e/2g		6.6° × 5.0°					Earlier lens; some marked as 1-in.
38	Ektanon				6.5° × 4.8°					D-mount lens
40	Ektar				13.7° × 10.3°				Ser.VI
50	Ektanon				10.8° × 8.1°				Ser.VI
50	Anastigmat		4e/2g		10.8° × 8.1°				Ser.VI	Earlier lens
50	Anastigmat		3e/3g		10.9° × 8.1°				Ser.V	Earlier lens; some marked as 2-in.
63	Ektar				8.7° × 6.5°				Ser.VI
63	Ektanon				8.7° × 6.5°				Ser.VI
63	Anastigmat		4e/2g		8.7° × 6.5°				Ser.VI	Earlier lens, some marked as 2-in.
76	Telephoto Anastigmat		4e/2g		7.2° × 5.4°				Ser.V	Earlier lens, some marked as 3-in.
78	Telephoto Anastigmat				7.2° × 5.4°				Ser.VI	Model B only
102	Ektar		4e/2g		5.4° × 4.1°				Ser.VI
102	Ektanon		4e/2g		5.4° × 4.1°
102	Anastigmat		4e/2g		5.4° × 4.1°				Ser.VII	Earlier lens, some marked as 4-in.
114	Telephoto Anastigmat		4e/2g		4.8° × 3.6°				Ser.VI	Earlier lens, some marked as 4-in.
152	Ektar				3.6° × 2.7°				Ser.VI
152	Ektanon				3.6° × 2.7°
152	Telephoto Anastigmat		4e/2g		3.6° × 2.7°				Ser.VI	Earlier lens, some marked as 6-in.

;Notes