They are equivalent manufacturers, although over the years Schneider has probably made more lenses and more money.
While they have both made some real dogs, mostly they have made good stuff.
Lynn
Uh, yeah. And that's the issue with many of the vastly blown-up images used for comparison on the Internet.
It's also why sharpness is a buzzword. People use it to discuss fine effects while missing gross effects, like any of these 5 points from Armin and Paul.
Rick "sharpness is a state of mind" Denney
I just qoute a german gent in a german photogforum:
My wife is sharper then your lens anyway;--))))
Cheers Armin
What do you believe to be the difference? The current company (owned by Mandermann) is not only the successor of the (once insolvent, but never liquidated) Jos. Schneider Optische Werke Kreuznach, but it is actually the same, complete with buildings, staff and all assets - Mandermann did not re-found Schneider, but acquired them out of the German equivalent of chapter 11.
ISCO, by the way, has only become a part of Schneider about three years ago, when Schneider bought them. It started as a formally independent company, supposedly to make projection lenses, but in reality it was a smoke screen to allow A.W.Tronnier to develop aerial recon optics - the assumed reasons being somewhere between Schneider protecting their international reputation against negative publicity over such a breach of the Versailles treaty, and the arrangement allowing Tronnier to work based upon both Zeiss and Schneider patents without leaking them to the respective other. What was left of ISCO after the war eventually was taken over by the local management and lost the remaining already loose tie to the Schneider family as a minority shareholder.
To be perfectly honest, this demonstrates why I bought Schneider lenses. The MTF curves from both companies looked practically identical. When I called Schneider for more information I got a technician who gave me a patient and impartial education about optics. When I called Rodenstock I got Bob.
Isco was a part of Schneider prior to Mandermann buying the company. The company was closed, Isco was spun off, and employees were reduced. He then re-opened as a new company with a different name.
Isco may have since been re-acquired by the current Schneider but not by Heinrich Mandermann. He died several years ago. His acquistions included B+W, Rollei as well as Schneider.
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