nick rowan
9-Apr-2001, 21:18
Has anyone ever compared Rodenstock's Apo-Ronar MC with its Sironar S or N?
I am contemplating the purchase of a 300mm, 360mm, or 480mm lens for 8 x10 portr aiture relatively close up (half-figure), and am wondering if there would be a d ifference in sharpness, contrast, resolution, overall picture quality, as well a s aesthetic "look" between these two admittedly dissimliar lens types.
The Sironar S is Rodenstock's top-of-the-line general use lens, reputed to be am ong its sharpest, while the Apo-Ronar, a "process lens", is advertised as "world famous for extreme sharpness", particularly at 1:1.
Bob Solomon of HP Marketing has told me that the Apo-Ronar was never designed to render properly the volume and space of three-dimensional objects such as a hum an being--and is thus not the right lens for portraiture. Moreover, he maintain s that, in spite of the process lens excelling at close shooting distances, at r atios of 1:4 or 1:5 (one-quarter or one-fifth life size, my taking ratio) the Si ronar S will still outperform the Apo-Ronar on all counts, most notably in terms of sharpness.
Do you agree? Any thoughts?
I am contemplating the purchase of a 300mm, 360mm, or 480mm lens for 8 x10 portr aiture relatively close up (half-figure), and am wondering if there would be a d ifference in sharpness, contrast, resolution, overall picture quality, as well a s aesthetic "look" between these two admittedly dissimliar lens types.
The Sironar S is Rodenstock's top-of-the-line general use lens, reputed to be am ong its sharpest, while the Apo-Ronar, a "process lens", is advertised as "world famous for extreme sharpness", particularly at 1:1.
Bob Solomon of HP Marketing has told me that the Apo-Ronar was never designed to render properly the volume and space of three-dimensional objects such as a hum an being--and is thus not the right lens for portraiture. Moreover, he maintain s that, in spite of the process lens excelling at close shooting distances, at r atios of 1:4 or 1:5 (one-quarter or one-fifth life size, my taking ratio) the Si ronar S will still outperform the Apo-Ronar on all counts, most notably in terms of sharpness.
Do you agree? Any thoughts?