Sharpest 360mm lens??

[gerryyaum.com]

I am a bit confused by all the various 360mm lens. I am doing 8x10

portraiture and want the SHARPEST of the bunch. Nikon? Rodenstock?

Schneider? Fujinon? I want to make enlargements to 20x24, possibly

larger.

The attached photo was shot with a Nikon 300m.<div></div>

[noah]

A 20x24 print is not a big enargement for 8x10. I would think that the minor differences

between current versions of 360mm lenses from the four brands you mentioned would

barely be visible.

 

Having said that, I've always preferred the german lenses since I feel they have a more

subtle (but still very sharp) look. The Nikons, in particular, always seem a bit harsh to me,

but this is obviously a personal opinion.

 

I have a Schneider apo-symmar 360, and a Rodenstock apo Sironar-S 240mm. Both are

tack sharp, and look great printed at 40x50 or more. I use the 240mm 90% of the time,

but the apo-symmar 360 is super sharp. It's also a HUGE lens, if that matters to you.

 

I'm just curious, why are you switching from your 300? Not sharp? Too short?

[steve_levine]

A sharp portrait lens? Isn't this an oxymoron?

[vivek iyer]

No, it isn't.

[j. salty]

I have a few lenses in the 355mm-360mm focal length (Fuji W, RD Artar, Commercial Ektar) and they're all sharp so I'd imagine any major brand would be the same. Have you thought about film and developer combinations to help you achieve what you want in terms of sharpness?

[pete_andrews10]

OK. Hands up everyone who's shelled out for brand new 360mm Nikon, Rodenstock, Schneider and Fujinon lenses, just so's you can do a side-by-side comparison. Not many I'll bet, and certainly not me.

 

Anyway, a 20 x 24 enlargement is nothing for large format. After all, it's only a five times blow-up from 5x4. With 10x8, it's like getting an enprint from a 35mm neg, and a relatively cheap G-claron will give you more than enough definition. Don't forget that your enlarger lens will also play a big part in the crispness of the final print, though.

[jeffcallen]

When I shot people in telephoto large format, I found that lens sharpness meant nothing

compared to camera-tripod vibration, or depth of field focus issues. I had access to a

Nikkor and a Schneider lens in that focal range. They seemed the same to me, though the

Nikkor's shutter was easier to work with. It was hard enough getting a person to stand in

the right place, they often moved slightly out of the focus plane without realizing it, even

though I had elaborate markers in place to try to avoid this. Shooting flash helped to

avoid the camera vibration issues. Also, making sure the lens or focal plane doesn't move

slightly when putting in the film holder was a huge issue for me. The hardest part for me

was getting a good facial expression from the sitter after telling them gently but firmly to

not move out of the box where things are in focus. I ended up shooting with a TON of

flash power at F16 to F22, still not much depth of field even then. Most lenses have very

similar resolution at F16, and considering you're taking 8x10 to 20x24, that's like printing

35mm film at 2x3 inches, so lens quality is much less important than focus precision.

[donald_brewster]

I don't think you will go wrong with any of the big 4 lensmakers. My personal pick (if I had the $$$) would be a 360mm Rodenstock APO-Sironar S (I use smaller versions). I've used a 14" Goerz Artar, but now use a 14" Commercial Ektar. Both of these are darn sharp.

[christopher perez]

<i>OK. Hands up everyone who's shelled out for brand new 360mm Nikon, Rodenstock, Schneider and Fujinon lenses, just so's you can do a side-by-side comparison. Not many I'll bet, and certainly not me.</i>

<p>

I can't confess to having purchased new just to see how they perform. But I can confess to having had a close look at other people's lenses and put them in front of a USAF Resolution Test Chart.

<p>

Prior comments are correct: There's really no difference between the lenses listed. All should perform quite well to the enlargements previously mentioned. Some people believe in the new Rodenstock Sironar-S lenses. Other people believe in Schneider's new Symmar-L. Yet other people love Fuji.

<p>

Lenses of this kind won't stand in the way of creating a wonderful image.

[paulmoore]

I'm a fan of the german glass over nippon, but in 810 it was more about the color and

contrast than sharpness - I did have a nikkor apo 450 that was very sharp...

360 is just a normal lens for the 810 - 450 was very good for that close portrait..

you will need some bellow though.

[michael_gudzinowicz1]

An easy and "correct" answer is the APO Sironar S. However, the enlargement factor indicates that you only need a very high MTF out to 18 lpmm or so, of which many lenses are capable.

 

You'll never see super sharp results without adequate depth of field. For the magnifications used in your posted picture and desired print size, the f/stop should be around f/32 which will optimize sharpness 5.5" in front of and 6.5" behind the plane of focus, corrected for diffraction.

 

The second aspect is control of flare. You can spend $$$$ on lenses with the latest multicoating technology, however, if non-image light is reflected off the bellows to the film, it will desaturate color and decrease contrast in much the same way that an uncoated complex lens will. With that much white background, I'd use a compendium bellows (lens hood) with an 8x10 ratio mask adjusted so no light hits the bellows. With a couple of flexible arms/clips, you might get away with the mask alone.

[andre_noble4]

Christopher, I noticed you have done ALOT of work testing some type of lenses on your site. But the one thing that's noticeably absent is a full accounting of the big guns: the Apo Sironars: 210, 240, 300, 360, as well as the Schneider 150XL and 210XL lenses. Your tests favor smaller sized, field camera type lenses. Someone, I beleive the guy in Seattle, really likes the Sironar-S 300 (or 360). I suspect that these Sironar-s's ARE superior to anything else out there. Jusrt a hunch based on my Sironar-s 150.

[brucecahn]

As several guys above have said, it is the Rodenstock apo sironar s. I personally use it as the basic lens on my 11x14, and I have tried the Schneide rapo, no comparison. We have 2 left new at very low prices.www.brucescameras.com