Sorry but I cannot see a difference between my APO lens and modern, non-APO lens in black and white... Maybe if you blowed up your images real good, you can. (sorry for the SCTV reference)
The advantage of APO lies in the fact that all colors of the spectrum unite at one focal point, whereas in a non-APO some colors are a bit off focus. So APO has above all to do with sharpness and contrast, whether it’s B&W or color film is not relevant. It’s even usefull to use an APO enlarger lens for printing B&W photo’s, because the light source also has this spectrum of colors that don’t land all at the same place in a non-APO lens
Dear Team,
Have a chance to purchase APO lens for not much more than conventional 210mm lens, Question...
A) would image quality be superior to justify cost differential?
B) I shoot mostly Fp4 and Hp5 would it be sharper in black and white?
C) Is APO a lens coating or is it a completely different lens design (physics?)
D) would APO be more contrast than single coated lens of same focal length?
What say you?
Thanks for your input on this!
Vincent/Harlequin
+1I disagree with David for a technical reason. If a lens is not created equal with respect to all three primary wavelengths, a strong contrast filter of the same color an the less corrected wavelenth, it will result in slightly less acutance. I recognize that darn well with a couple of MF teles I own which are not as well corrected for red. If I shoot with red filter in place, it just increases the problem. But if I use a complementary across the color wheel, like a deep green, it truncates the offending color and results in a sharper result. .... Not such a big deal in LF, since that generally has a surplus of real estate with respect to degree of enlargement; but it can sometimes be an important variable for me when making greater enlargement from roll film negs, especially if I choose to travel with lenses of mine hypothetically reasonable in cost to replace if damaged or stolen. The are times one should not wear the crown jewels.
But to clarify that, I do not consider Y2, or O, old designations which David mentioned, to be strong contrast filters. Nor are they primaries; only actual red is. Also, multi-coating can in cases be a method used to fine-tune specific spectral transmission, which any optical engineer can describe better than me; but it's not simply related to increasing transmission or controlling reflections and flare.
As far as Ralph's comment goes, I'd just remark that I don't know any great cabinet maker or wood sculptor that uses either cheap or dull chisels. Tools matter. Mate the lens to the image itself you desire; and yes, sometimes the "latest and greatest and sharpest" might not the most desirable lens for a particular subject. All depends.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?