Unusual Yet General Technique Question

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"Reading this interesting old thread raises the question: are two lenses of the same focal length likely to show the same characteristic depth of field if they are of different design? "

Yes, they will show the same DoF with the same FL, aperture and focus distance with any normal design.

There could be some esoteric designs out there that beat the system but all normally available lenses use the same DoF tables.

[Ole Tjugen]

There could be some esoteric designs out there that beat the system but all normally available lenses use the same DoF tables.

which doesn't necessarily mean that the perceived DoF will be the same in the finished picture. Try comparing otherwise identical shots with a Tessar, a Dynar and a Plasmat...

[Oren Grad]

which doesn't necessarily mean that the perceived DoF will be the same in the finished picture. Try comparing otherwise identical shots with a Tessar, a Dynar and a Plasmat...

Yes. Perceived DOF depends on how the transition to OOF is rendered. See the section "Depth of field in practice - Departures from theory" in Ray's "Applied Photographic Optics". In my copy, which is the 1988 edition, it's section 22.3.1, p. 185.