Which will be the best lens for 1:1

[Kazuhiro Tsuji]

I have to take a picture of animal skins in 8x10 1:1 size, This is for study reference. I need it to be really sharp and clear. I am looking for lens now, I am thinking 360 to 480 mm lenses. My selection is Apo Ronar 480 , Apo Sironar 360 or Apo Symmar 480 . or for this kind of purpose ,is it bettr to use Macro Lens ? Even what I can get will be 210 mm Nikon AM( longest ) . I am worry about this c ould me wide lens ,or it doesn't matter because so close in distance?

[Wayne_6692]

I can't answer all of your questions but I do have an observation. If you are going 1:1 your bellows extension will be twice the infinity focal length of the lens - I don't think you want to deal with a 1 meter extension with the Apo Ronar hanging at the end of it. Maybe a shorter Ronar or other process-type lens will do (there should be 300mm lenses that will give good coverage). You don't need a "macro" lens for 1:1 and such a small degree of enlargement. A Nikon or Schneider process lens will probably work as well as the Ronar in this application. Watch out for diffraction at the effective aperture (actually 2 stops smaller than marked).

[TAN K H]

One issue to address is how much bellows draw your camera has. The Ronar is an excellent lens but 480 could be a little too long for 1:1 use. Consider a 270mm G Claron (Schneider) or even the 240mm version.

Use a lens corrected specifically for 1:1. The 210mm Nikon AM is way fine.

Apart from having enough bellows draw, the other thing to note is to use a lens long enough so that you have sufficient space between the camera and subject to position lights!!!

[Julio Fernandez]

The Apo Ronar is an outstanding lens which at 1:1 will not only give you ZERO distortion but which will give you superb image quality, color correction, high contrast and tonal range. Additionally, this lens is also excellent at infinity and is multicoated. As correctly pointed out, make sure that the focal length does not exceed your bellows capability. At 1:1 your bellows should be = 2 X F, F being the focal length of the lens. At 1:1 the Apo Ronar 360mm has an image circle exceeding 350mm, in fact at 175mm from centre the image quality is incredibly sharp as indicated by the corresponding MTF. This is more than enough to cover 8X10. For your application this lens is superior to any of the others you mention. Schneider no longer makes the equivalent lens, the Apo Artar. Nikon does not provide performance data, you buy on reputation and luck! Good luck!