In the 1980s (could be wrong on that date, but was around that time), I accepted a job to photograph petrie dishes and enlarge the images to 16x20 inches. My client insisted on the best quality final Cibachrome prints. Initially I planned on using my Nikon Multiphot with its proprietary 120mm Macro Nikkor lens. But I was also able to rent a 120mm f/5.6 Apo-Symmar and borrow a 120mm Macro-Symmar HM to compare to my Nikkor. Also used a 150mm G-Claron which I had owned at the time. Shot a series of Chromes with each of the lenses at the same aperture (f/11 but memory could be wrong on that) and compared the resulting 4x5 transparencies. From some notes that I have saved after all these years... When I compared the 4x5 chromes, the 150mm G-Claron distinctly came in last. The images shot with the Apo-Symmar and the Macro-Symmar HM lenses were superb, but the image shot with the 120mm Macro Nikkor lens was indeed the best of the lot, but not by so far as to delegate it the absolutely the "best" of the lot. I'm sure that any of the final 16x20 Cibachrome prints made with the 120mm f/5.6 Apo-Symmar, the 120mm Macro-Symmar HM. or the 120mm Macro Nikkor lens would have been completely acceptable to the client. Point here is that "Apo" lenses are not always the best to be used for shooting color film.
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