Carl Zeiss (11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German maker of  optical instruments commonly known for the company he founded, Carl Zeiss Jena (now: Carl Zeiss AG). Zeiss made contributions to lens manufacturing that have aided the modern production of lenses. Raised in Weimar, Germany, he became a notable lens-maker in the 1840s when he created high-quality lenses that were "wide open", or in other words, had a very large aperture range that allowed for very bright images. He did this in the city of Jena at a self-opened workshop, where he started his lens-making career. At first his lenses were only used in the production of microscopes, but when cameras were invented, his company began manufacturing high-quality lenses for cameras.

Carl Zeiss (* 11. September 1816 in Weimar; † 3. Dezember 1888 in Jena) war ein deutscher Mechaniker und Unternehmer. Er gründete die Firma Carl Zeiss.

Carl Zeiss (11 septembre 1816 – 3 décembre 1888) était un ingénieur-opticien, fondateur de la société Carl Zeiss.

Carl Zeiss, född 11 september 1816 i Weimar i Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, död 3 december 1888 i Jena i Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach i Tyskland, var en tysk finmekaniker och optiker. Han grundade företaget Carl Zeiss i staden Jena 1846. Företaget kom tidigt att utvecklas till ett av världens stora optiktillverkare och tillhör än idag de ledande.