Super Angulon vs. Super Symmar XL

[paulr]

"Does anyone have MTF charts for the Schneider Super Symmar HM and Rodenstock APO Sironar-W "

I have curves for the super symmar hm. Nothing for the apo sironar-w, but i have curves for the apo sironar -s and -n lenses at all apertures (I think the ones on Paul Buzi's site are only for one or two apertures).

Looking at the 210 schneiders, the main advantage of the super symmar hm lens is coverage. it has flatter curves than the apo symmar at f22 and infinity. on axis it's not as good, at the edges it's much better. wide open or at higher magnifications the apo symmar is better.

Looking at the 120 schneiders, the super symmar hm is a little better than the super angulon, but has only 75% of its coverage. It's a bit better at infinity, and a bit better better wide open. and it's a stop faster. It seems to outperform all the true wide angle lenses.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Looking at the 120 schneiders, the super symmar hm is a little better than the super angulon, but has only 75% of its coverage. It's a bit better at infinity, and a bit better better wide open. and it's a stop faster. It seems to outperform all the true wide angle lenses.

Yep, the 120mm Super Symmar HM is a GREAT lens that often gets overlooked. I sold mine after I bought my 110mm XL. I really like the 110mm XL, and since I also use it on 4x10, it's a better fit for my needs than the 120mm HM. However, for those shooting 4x5 who want awesome perfmance for considerably less money than the 110mm XL, the 120mm Super Stymmar HM is hard to beat.

So, how's the 150mm Super Symmar HM compare to the 150mm APO Sironar-S? I know it's not an apples:apples comparison due to the difference in coverage (80 degrees vs. 75), but until I can locate MTF charts for the APO Sironar-W series, it's the next best thing.

Kerry

[John C Murphy]

Kerry,

I bought the SSXL80 after renting the SAXL72 (75?) from Lens and Repro. From my test shots, the Symmar made rocks and tree trunks look a lot better to me. This may seem like a stupid reason to buy a lens, but I am happy with my choice.

Did you notice anything like this during your tests, or is this all in my head?

[Oren Grad]

i have curves for the apo sironar -s and -n lenses at all apertures

I'd be real curious to see those, if they're in a form that's not a huge hassle to share...

[paulr]

i don't have curves for the 150 super symmar hm. comparing the 210 to the rodenstock -s is a bit tough, because rodenstock only has curves for 1:10, and at f11 and f22. The schneider's curve is flatter, and much better all the way to the edge of the image circle (which is a 5 degree bigger image circle). the rodenstock is a little sharper on axis. the apo sironar -s is closer to the regular apo symmar s in these regards.

[A.B. Davenport]

Kerry,

Perhaps I'm "seeing" too much into the scans, but it looks to me that the Super Symmar XL has more contrast while the Angulon seems to have smoother tones. I know my 165 mm Angulon has less contrast than my 10" Wide Field Ektar but with smoother tones.

Alan

[paulr]

I looked at those pics again and saw the same thing. at those magnifications more contrast=sharper. but the difference isn't as big as i might have expected. I bet off axis the difference would be dramatic.

[Michael S. Briggs]

Re the original question, another advantage of the Super-Angulon (and Grandagons, Nikkor-SW, Fuji-SWs) over the Super-Symmar-XL is more even illumination. In some applications this might save the hassle and expense of a center filter. See http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ic/503195.html
and http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ic/501033.html.





Re picking lenses by comparing MTF curves: I'm not sure that small differences in MTF curves between manufacturers are meaningful. Some small difference in the assumptions of the calculation might change the curve more than the difference.