In case you missed it, the OP listed FUJI as well. It's the big FOUR-- not three!
http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/
Havoc, Xkaes: Apologies for neglecting Fuji, it was a sin of careless omission. I am very happy with my Fuji C 300 lens. My lenses include 3 Schneider, 1 Rodenstock, the afore mentioned Fuji, and 1 Olden-rebranded Congo (which was my very first LF lens, and is noticeably not in the same class as the other lenses).
Pick coated lenses. Buy from reputable dealers with a solid return policy. Good luck.
Flickr Home Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/albums
You could show us 100 photographs made by 100 skilled photographers and in 95% of these examples, none of us would be able to identify what lens or brand of lens made those photographs.
So no - there's very little reason to isolate a specific brand or line of lenses as "better".
Fast, wide, sharp...Pick any two.
Yup; it's the "Big Four". Fuji has been right there at the top too for a long time. And Fuji was held in especially high repute for video and TV studio lenses. Although all these brands offered analogous general purpose lenses, they also had their own unique specialized lenses. Fuji didn't advertise in the US as much as the German brands; but the big downtown Photo Store at the time carried every one of their lenses in stock at the Pro counter, along with every LF lens from Nikon, Schneider, and Rodenstock. The counter men were pros in their own way back then, and one of them told me that, in his opinion, Fuji had the highest quality of all.
I have always used a mix. But at one point I sold off my well-used Schneider lenses when the exchange rate favored the German Mark, and bought Japanese when the Yen was low. I came out making a little bit of money - selling off the old used lenses for more than the new ones cost.
Last edited by Drew Wiley; 11-Jan-2024 at 11:36.
Ansel Adams requested that John Sexton and Alan Ross compare all the different lenses, and Nikon lenses emerged as the most contrasty. I think it likely that different lenses within manufacturers and lens designs tend to exhibit similar characteristics.
For myself, with certain exceptions for specific reasons, I have all Schneider Apo Symmar lenses and Schneider multi-coated XL lenses. For example, I have the 90mm f8 SW Nikon for its convenient size and its extra large image circle. And so on.
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