Sinaron: lenes by Sinar, good lens? do not seem to be mentioned in the forum!

Hi, I noted some lenses lablled as Sinaron which was sell for Sinar

cameras. Are they good?/ Are they make by one of the R/S/F/N lens

company?

Sinaron lenses are made by Rodenstock I believe.

They are made by Rodenstock, tested by Rodenstock, mounted in Shutters

chosen by Sinar and retested by Sinar.

I own a Sinaron 480 mm lens. Huge hunk of glass. Great lens. Wish I got to use it more often than I do. If you see them for sale and you use a Sinar you need not hesitate in buying them. If Sinar puts their name on them they have to be up to Sinar's standards.

 

Kevin

Keep an eye out to see if there is a shutter mounted on the lens. Sinar have an optional DB behind the lens shutter. Often shutterless lenses are used with these. I notice that this point is not always highlighted on some lens adverts. The lenses are the same, just with out a shutter. Shutterless lenses are cheaper but at the same time harder to resell if need be.

Does anyone know what the Sinar testing involves? A number of people have

suggested that the Linhof-picked lenses are noticably better than the regular

Schneider lenses. Can one say this about the Sinar lenses?

I have a nice Sinaron 150/f5.6 MC which as well as being sharp and contrasty is also small enough to allow me to close the camera with it mounted. It is a Rodenstock as most Sinarons seem to be.(a Sironar of some kind) However you can get Sinar badged Schneiders such as this Super Angulon :

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1386834496

The Sinaron is a Rodenstock Siranon.<p>I'm not sure about this myth of Sinar and Linhof 'cherry picking' Schneider and Rodenstock lenses. As far as I can tell, they simply rebadged whatever those optical companies threw at them.<br>If Sinar and Linhof were really picky, they wouldn't have used late model Compur shutters at all!

"I'm not sure about this myth of Sinar and Linhof 'cherry picking' Schneider

and Rodenstock lenses."

 

I can't speak for Sinar but I have watched the QC program at the Linhof

factory. And yes they do reject lenses that do not pass the QC test they use.

 

Of course it is always easier to simply "doubt"

Does anyone know the rejection rate and if it has changed over the years?

"Does anyone know the rejection rate and if it has changed over the years?"

 

Since any lens tested by Linhof has already passed the manufacturer's QC

tests Linhof does not release the rejection rate.

 

But the rate has gone down over the years as manufacturing and design

become more controlled by computers.

 

The largest reason for failure is dirt or dust or paint parts inside the lens

groups that can not be removed without disassembling the lens groups.

 

One reason this occurs is that after a leaf shutter is fired a few times particles

from the coating on the shutter blades may flake off and work their way into

the lens. If these can be blown off then there is no problem. If they can't the

lens is rejected.

 

The major part of Linhof's final QC test is examing Siemens star targets as

projected through a Rodenstock projector. This duplicates part of the

Rodenstock final QC test.

Yes, Kevin, I also own a Sinaron 480 mm lens. (and a 240) It is not a huge chunk of glass relative to my 600 f6 or 900 f6.3, but large, and very useful.

Excuse me for doubting Bob, but there's so much overblown hype and downright lying in advertising these days that I can't help being a bit cynical.<p>So. What you are saying, Bob, is that Linhof checks the lenses for cosmetic defects after assembly into shutters, and re-checks that the lenses meet the OEM optical specification, right?<br>This is a bit different from creaming off the top-performing lenses, which is how I would describe 'cherry picking'.

"Excuse me for doubting Bob, but there's so much overblown hype and

downright lying in advertising these days that I can't help being a bit cynical."

 

Since Linhof has been hand inspecting lenses and selecting the BEST of the

ones sent to them for testing for over 50 years you can hardly include this as

being something "in these days"

 

And yes they pick the lenses that perform best for the application they are to

be used for. Technorama 90, 75, 180 and 250mm lenses perform best over

the 6x17 format. They might be rejected for 5x7 format. The 90mm, to 250mm

lenses for an Aero Technika perform best for near infinity work. They could be

non acceptable for 45 work at 1/10th life size - but the camera can't shhot that

close.

And lenses choosen for 45 are the best performers the factories can produce.

 

But I stated that the single largest reason for rejection is things in the lens.

Those are immediatly rejected.

 

Those that pass that test go on to shutter testing and Siemens Star tests. The

Siemens Star projected images quickly eliminate lenses with centering and

other optical defects. Once past this test the name is put on the lens.

 

But then you can continue to doubt - it is so much easier.

No it's not easier to doubt Bob. It's easier just to lap up everything that one is told.

"It's easier just to lap up everything that one is told"

 

As I mentioned earlier. I have watched the test at the factory. I have seen

rejected lenses. I have watched the operator of the Rodenstock Siemens Star

projector manipulate the controls to rotate the lens and inspect the patterns on

a screen larger then most living room walls. I have watched the technicians

examine the lens under high magnification in a black box with baffled lighting.

I have watched the test and calibrate the shutters to ensure they met spec.

 

But since you have not it is so much easier to doubt.