Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
IanG
Bob, I think that matches my comments tht Rodenstock only really became pre-eminent around the time Voigtlander and Zeiss were leaving the market. It seems the company was reinvigourated.
Ian
Since we were the last distributor of Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses as Zeiss Ikon Voigtlander USA (up to 1979) I can tell you that both Rodenstock and Schneider were very strong in the US market well before we stopped offering the Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses. Zeiss lost their headway it seems when they lost major market share VS Leica and Nikon in the 35mm market. Voigtlander bounced around after their name was sold in the 70's Rollei and currently to the Ring Photo camera store group.
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
genotypewriter
A doublet with fancy stops... but fair enough :)
Yeah - nothing all that special about a doublet, but the fancy stops have been copied by at least two other lens manufacturers - so at least it can be considered innovative in that respect. In any case I think it can be considered one of their "signature" lenses ( for better or worse depending on your opinion of soft focus lenses).
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dap
Yeah - nothing all that special about a doublet, but the fancy stops have been copied by at least two other lens manufacturers - so at least it can be considered innovative in that respect. In any case I think it can be considered one of their "signature" lenses ( for better or worse depending on your opinion of soft focus lenses).
Which two use the disks in front of the lens rather then inside the lens?
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
I think the Sironar-S is iconic in that it is an exemplar. It is, I believe, the finest plasmat made in terms of overall sharpness, contrast, coverage, and rendering.
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jason Greenberg Motamedi
I think the Sironar-S is iconic in that it is an exemplar. It is, I believe, the finest plasmat made in terms of overall sharpness, contrast, coverage, and rendering.
Does that really make it all that special? It's a bit like calling sherwin williams white better than any other white because it's whiter than all other whites.
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
No, it is more like calling Sherwin Williams better because it is whiter, covers better, dries faster, has lower VOCs, and doesn't require a primer on all sorts of different materials. Of course the same could be said about any product. Why is a 1966 Mustang 289 iconic compared to another product of Ford? There was nothing unique about its mechanics.
But yes, you are correct, in a way my point echoing others above, was that Rodenstock hasn't really created any unique lenses, but rather tweaked the designs which are out there, just like Ford did in 1966.
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bob Salomon - HP Marketing
Which two use the disks in front of the lens rather then inside the lens?
Your right - Mamiya and Fuji both place the strainer inside the lens rather than on the outside rim. Knock the Imagon off the influential lens list - I'm sure both companies came up with the idea for using a strainer disc aperture in their soft focus lenses independently without any consideration to what Rodenstock was doing at the time. :)
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
C. D. Keth
It's a bit like calling sherwin williams white better than any other white because it's whiter than all other whites.
If it is in fact whiter, then it's a better white. Why not call it such?
- Leigh
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Leigh
If it is in fact whiter, then it's a better white. Why not call it such?
- Leigh
As a matter off fact, their industrial whites are whiter, as they're titanium-based instead of zinc. Toxic as all h*, especially with the solvents they use, but they are a better white. I've gotten pretty high spraying metal parts with that stuff, even in a shelter with an open wall.
Re: Rodenstock's iconic lenses
How about a lens that performs as well at 1:1 as it does at infinity? That has no discernable fall off from edge to edge and corner to corner. That has exceptionally high resolution with excellent color curves and no distortion?
Take a look at the newest Rodenstock lens, the 90mm 5.6 HR Digaron-S/W (NOT the older 90mm 5.6 HR Digaron-W). Or check out the specs on the 23mm 5.6 HR Digaron-S or the new 32mm 4.0 HR Digaron-W.
While these are lenses that cover 2x3 rather then 4x5 there are some in the series that do cover 45, the 135, 150 and 180mm 5.6 Apo Sironar Digital lenses.