Hello everyone,
I know this may sound like a silly question but I really would appreciate some o pinions based on my arguments below.
I am just starting out in large format photography and am looking to get three l enses. The sharpness and overall image quality is of paramount importance to me, especially since I will shoot 6x9 almost exclusively, using a roll film back.
In particular, I am comparing Rodenstock and Schneider lenses and it seems that from the data of the lenses, the Rodenstock lenses are superior then their Schne ider counterparts.
For example the MTF curves of the Rodenstock Apo-Grandagon 45/4.5 are vastly sup erior to the Schneider Super Angulon XL 47/5.6. In fact the MTF curve for this p articular lens is so impressive that it pretty much matches the legendary Zeiss Biogon 38/4.5 for the Hasselblad SWC! And beats most other Zeiss wide angle lens es! Truly remarkable, if true!
Similarly the Grandagon-N 75/4.5 beats the Schneider Super Angulon XL 72/5.6. Ev en standard lenses seem to go Rodenstock?s way as far as the MTF curves are conc erned. Each Apo-Sironar-S beats its Schneider Apo Symmar counterpart and the che aper Sironar-N about matches it.
I know a lot of people will say that they are all the same ? performance wise th at is, even the G-Clarons! But then most people stop down to f22 or more. At suc h small apertures diffraction takes over and yes there indeed is very little or no difference at that aperture! In fact at f45 even a hundred year old lens will be as sharp as a modern one!
That really is not a fair way to judge a lens. One must stop down to the optimum aperture of each lens and not f22.
At f22 diffraction limits the resolution to around 60 lines per millimeter. I th ink f16 is fair since the diffraction limit is then 90 lines per millimeter. But again one must stop to the optimum aperture for that particular lens.
So what is the bottom line here? Are the Rodenstock lenses really that superior to the Schneider equivalents as the data suggests? Or are the MTF curves by Rode nstock rigged?
So which is better? Schneider or Rodenstock?
Thanks for reading and I look forward to some interesting posts!
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