Grandagon

[Peter Galea]

What is the difference between the MC Grandagon and the Grandagon-N? What does Grandagon mean?

[Bob Salomon]

The MC version is multi coated. If the Grandagon-N does not say MC it is not multi coated. Grandagon is Rodenstock's name for their wide angle lenses. Biogon was Zeiss's name for their wide angles and Super Angulon or Angulon was Scheider's. Grandagon, Grandagon-N, Apo Grandagon are simply the name Rodenstock uses.

[Peter Galea]

Thank you Bob, that clears it up.

[Michael S. Briggs]

The German manufacturers follow a more than century old tradition of naming lens types. Sometimes the names have meaning, such as "Dagor" = "Double Anastigmat Goerz", sometimes they don't. So the various Grandagons are Rodenstock's wide-coverage lenses. Perhaps "Grand" refers to the coverage, or perhaps it doesn't mean anything. The Japanese have a more technical approach, e.g., Nikon's wide-coverage lens is the Nikkor-SW, "SW" for "Super-Wide". Interestinging, the Japanense lenses are named in English.

The Grandagon-N is a revised version of the Grandagon, with the change circa mid/late 1980s. Presumedly the "N" is for "Neu" or "New". The change in the 1980s doesn't seem to be a major one, at least from the specs of the lenses. (There are some even older f5.6 Grandagons, but they wouldn't have the MC designation.)

The Grandagon line existed both before and after Rodenstock used multicoating. So a "Grandagon" with the "MC" label would be a later Grandagon with multicoating. AFAIK, all Grandagon-Ns are multicoated.

[Peter Galea]

Thank you Michael, that's even clearer. I have the 90mm f6.8 MC. All the searches turn up "N." I'm very happy with the lens, I was just curious if there was a big difference.

[Jim Rice]

Peter,

I have one. It's a very nice lens.

-j

[Ernest Purdum]

Many lens names are at least partially Greek. The "gon" on Grandagon is Greek referring to an angle, so Grandagon means large angle. "Gon" also appears in Hypergon and several other lens names. "Tessares" is Greek for four, so a Tessar is a lens with four glasses. "Planar" is a name bragging about flatness of field. "Artar" is a claim of perfection. "Anastigmat" started out as a lens name rather than a type description. It is a funny word, a Greek double negative meaning "not not stigmatic".

[MAubrey]

Many lens names are at least partially Greek. The "gon" on Grandagon is Greek referring to an angle, so Grandagon means large angle. "Gon" also appears in Hypergon and several other lens names. "Tessares" is Greek for four, so a Tessar is a lens with four glasses. "Planar" is a name bragging about flatness of field. "Artar" is a claim of perfection. "Anastigmat" started out as a lens name rather than a type description. It is a funny word, a Greek double negative meaning "not not stigmatic".

Just to contribute a bit more: 'stigmatic' from Greek στίγμα (stigma) 'mark/point/dot/speck' a-stigmatic meaning, 'burry (i.e., not a point)' and then an-a-stigmatic meaning 'not blurry'. In Greek, the word ἀστίγμα (astigma) lexicalized so strongly that it was treated quite separately from its etymological origin--henced the double negation.

[Leszek Vogt]

Thanks all. Appreciate learning the nuances.

Les