58mm Super Angulon XL

**Jack Flesher** · 16-Feb-2006, 21:09

Thanks Ed!

I don't remember exactly, but not very

Maybe about 18" or so across the long dimension and the front of the lens was maybe the same 18" from the rock. A bit of tilt, a bit of swing and f16.

**andrew vincent** · 30-Jun-2007, 11:00

"a lot of people seem to suggest that the Grandagons are sharper than the Super Angulons. Since I've already ordered this lens, I guess I'll have to live with it now"

I'm not sure I'd leap to the "a lot of people" conclusion. Jack Dykinga can certainly choose whichever he thinks is better, and he shoots with a 58mm.

I'd love to have a 55mm to test against, but I have a Linhof-selected 58mm XL in a prontor shutter and a linhof board, and I've always found it to be razor sharp to the edges. Remember that with the superwides, the smallest variation in mounting is going to show up. Aside from that, I think any different is just as likely individual variation as to the sample lens. For the new buyer, that means test to be sure. For the used buyer, it means roll the dice and take your chances!

**JPlomley** · 30-Jun-2007, 18:29

Andrew, not sure I get this as most pro shops selling used equipment will offer at least two weeks to test and return the product if not satisified. I would like to think that most sellers on this forum would also offer a money back guarentee should the buyer not be satisified.

**turtle** · 1-Jul-2007, 04:28

It is a great shot. The foreground rock was in fact a grain of sand

**archivue** · 1-Jul-2007, 10:47

i used to have a 55, i've sold it to buy a 58xl !
reason ? the 55 was sharper, but too cold for my taste and the light where i shoot !
The 58 brings more life in the picture !

This is a question of taste !

**turtle** · 2-Jul-2007, 10:34

I found my (sold) Grandagon 65 4.5 spectacular. I am not sure it was sharper per se than other lenses I have used but perhaps gave an impression of sharpness due to higher contrast. The issue was coverage. Its a shame they did not make the 58XL a 120 degree design like the 47 as a touch more coverage would have been handy with this lens also. Theres quite a leap between the 72 which offers masses of movement and the 58 which allows almost none. Maybe it was to keep the price down?

**JPlomley** · 2-Jul-2007, 12:15

the 55 was sharper, but too cold for my taste and the light where i shoot !
The 58 brings more life in the picture !

Would adding an 81B/C or 81EF not compensate for the "coolness" of the 55mm? For those of us scanning with a digital output endpoint, color nuances between lenses is not really a factor, but sharpness certainly is. Sharpness trumps color in the digital darkroom.

**archivue** · 2-Jul-2007, 17:11

Would adding an 81B/C or 81EF not compensate for the "coolness" of the 55mm?
i prefer to have a clean slide to start with... with my 55, the shadows were too much blue !

in the same idea, i just order a zeiss 35 for my 5D...

**turtle** · 3-Jul-2007, 05:04

The image circle is about 155mm for the 55 Grandagon-N, right? I found the 155 IC of the Schneider SA 65 f8 (olde one) a problem for the off centre image area on my Ebony. Got slight softness in corners on one side. Might be an issue with the 55 grandagon if you camera also has a slightly off centre image area. For this reason alon the 168 of teh 58XL seems the better bet, assuming I got the IC of the grandagon right.

FWIW, Joe Cornish commented on the surprisingly high image quality of the Grandgons when he tested the Horseman 612. He seemed quite blown away.