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View Full Version : 90mm f/6.8 Rodenstock, Caltar, Sinar



Songyun
24-Feb-2007, 17:25
I know they are the same.
For the price of a new lens
Caltar < Rodenstock <<Sinar
Why is the sinar 90mm much more expensive than the Rodenstock?
The price of Sinar on BH is almost double of Rodenstock.

Now, I have a used Caltar and Sinar side by side. Is there any test that I can do to tell the difference between the two lens?

Ted Harris
24-Feb-2007, 18:31
Sinar lenses are supposedly "handpicked" to insure that they are the bet of the best. Sinar says they run additional tests on the lenses. All that said, will you see any difference between a lens labeled Caltar, one labeled Rodenstock and one labeled Sinaron? Maybe but probably not.

Frank Petronio
24-Feb-2007, 20:08
There is probably more variation between individual lenses than between the rebranded lenses as a whole.

Oren Grad
24-Feb-2007, 21:11
At B&H, the Sinaron costs $2006.95. It includes a lensboard that costs $139.95. The Rodenstock costs $1069.95. Doing the arithmetic, we conclude that the Sinar label on the lens costs $797.05.

walter23
24-Feb-2007, 21:44
I got my caltar for $400 on ebay. Superb lens.

I don't believe this "hand-picking" stuff, whether it's Sinar, Linhof select, or whatever. I also don't believe Caltars are factory rejects or anything like that. It's all just branding and marketing. In fact, given that I've done pretty well by exploiting these prejudices I'm not sure why I'm so eager to preach ;)

I really wish Canon's big white L telephotos were available for $400 on ebay under the Calumet label. A Caltar-II L 500mm f/4 would be a nice addition to my SLR bag.

JW Dewdney
24-Feb-2007, 22:26
It costs more because they have to mark it up.




I know they are the same.
For the price of a new lens
Caltar < Rodenstock <<Sinar
Why is the sinar 90mm much more expensive than the Rodenstock?
The price of Sinar on BH is almost double of Rodenstock.

Now, I have a used Caltar and Sinar side by side. Is there any test that I can do to tell the difference between the two lens?

Frank Petronio
24-Feb-2007, 23:40
I do believe Bob Salomon when he says that Linhof (and by extension, Sinar) subject their lens to an additional round of quality control testing. I suspect that in getting either the Sinar or Linhof selected lens you stand a better chance of avoiding the proverbial "lemon".

The problem is that I don't think there are many lemons in modern LF optics. Rodenstock uses the same test machins that they sell to Linhof for Linhof's quality inspection. So even if you are at the margins of what is acceptable, the lens is already plenty sharp.

People on the DSLR forums are always buying and testing 2-3 models of the same lens in hopes of finding a better one. If you are worried enough to pay $2000 for Sinaron, why not just buy two $1000 Sironars and test them side by side? Then sell the loser and save the difference.

Alan Davenport
25-Feb-2007, 00:50
I know they are the same.
Why is the sinar 90mm much more expensive than the Rodenstock?

Because P.T. Barnum was right!

(I know: it's questionable whether Barnum ever actually said the quote obliquely referred to. But he never denied it.)

Oren Grad
25-Feb-2007, 02:16
Sorry - I should have said we conclude that the Sinar label on the lens costs $697.05. I failed to take into account the $100 in Swiss labor needed to mount the lens on the lensboard, as per Sinar's literature: "These lenses are subjected to strict inspection controls at Sinar and then mounted with exacting care on lens boards".

Seriously, I think Frank has it right. Quality control for modern LF lenses is pretty high across the board. It's rare to hear of a dud even in the Caltar line, which is the cheapest of the three. I have a mix of Caltar II-N, Rodenstock and Sinaron lenses - including a 90/6.8 Caltar II-N - and they're all great.

I'd guess that in addition to the Sinar name, you're paying for access to Sinar service. No doubt they'll snap smartly to attention if you're a properly registered purchaser and you approach them with a problem with a Sinaron-labeled lens, or a problem involving integration of Sinaron lenses with Sinar cameras to meet a photographic challenge.

Whether that's better than Rodenstock service is an open question, since Bob Salomon has always been very responsive on questions or problems involving Rodenstock lenses.

Photomax
25-Feb-2007, 19:28
I have the Rodenstock version of this lens: great little lens!!!

Max

Brian K
26-Feb-2007, 12:27
I own a great many Rodenstock lenses and Sinaron Rodenstocks. The Sinarons that I purchased came with MTF test charts on the actual lens I bought. I recently tested a 180mm Sironar-N versus a 180mm Sinaron-S (the same lens type), granted these lenses were used, but the Sinaron, which was about 2 years older according to the serial numbers, was clearly sharper and contrastier that the Rodenstock lens.

It has been my experience that lens quality control does vary, lenses afterall are very precise and a small error in alignment can make a difference, this is why I almost always bought multiple versions of a lens tested them all and kept the best one. You pay a premium for the Sinarons, to me the premium was worth it, for others the differences might not justify the extra cost and it is still possible to get a Caltar that is a pick of the litter but with the Sinarons you are assured of it.

my 90 6.8 is a Rodenstock Grandagon and I've been very satisfied with it.

walter23
26-Feb-2007, 13:51
I figure the most significant misalignment would occur when I screw the front & rear cells of my lens into my lensboard, so I don't much care about any minor factory misalignment.