sharpest lenses for 8x10

[Seymour]

I shoot 8x10 landscapes with a 210 Super Symmar f5.6 HM and want to purchase lenses in the 300-450mm range . I make enlargements from color negs to 30"x40" so the utmost in quality is important. Aside from price and size, would the Schneider Apo Symmar L in 300/480mm and Rodenstock Apo Sironar S in 300mm f5.6 outperform the Nikkor M 450mm f9 and Fujinon 450mm F12.5 C for my purposes. Which lenses would be best between the Schneider vs. Rodenstock and Nikkor vs. Fujinon in the focal lengths mentioned.

[Dan Fromm]

Lessee now. 30" x 40" from 8x10 means around 4x enlargement. To get 8 lp/mm in the print at 4x you need 32 lp/mm in the negative. Just about any old lens that will cover the format will give you more.

Now, why are you worried? Just get a decent lens that will cover, the less expensive the better, and be happy.

[Kevin M Bourque]

I agree with Dan's assessment.

Having said that, I use a 450mm Nikkor M on 4x5 and I'm frequently amazed at how sharp it is.

[JPlomley]

I've been using the 300mm APO Sironar-S for the last few months on 4x5 and this lens bests my 135 APO Sironar-S. Hard to believe, but the proof is in the chromes.

[Walter Calahan]

Get a Cooke XVa can cover all bases. Clearest glass I've ever owned.

But pretty much any modern 8x10 lens will fit the bill. Put more effort in finding images than worrying about lines per millimeter. A sharp lens of an image not worth looking at, isn't much to look at.

[Ken Lee]

"Aside from price and size..."

The differences between manufacturers would be slight enough, that variations between individual samples might be relevant for your comparison. Given two lenses of same model, shot at the same aperture, one sample might outperform another, merely based on natural variations.

But at only 3-4x enlargement, the differences in resolution might be impossible to detect.

Other factors still worth considering: filter size and color rendition.

[David R Munson]

FWIW, one of the sharpest lenses I've ever used in ANY format was a 240mm f/10 Process-Nikkor. I had one mounted into shutter when I shot 8x10 and it was INCREDIBLE. I still look at the negs from that with a loupe sometimes and am still amazed. On par with 35mm optics.