RF lens advantage: fact or myth?

Tim Gray · Mar 18, 2011

In my experience, RF lenses from 50mm and down tend to be smaller and have less distortion than their SLR counterparts. Part of the size difference is that most RF lenses are manual focus still; part of it is because of design. RF wides generally seem to have more vignetting to me as well.

As far as sharpness and contrast goes, I think that has less to do with the differences between RF and SLR design nowadays (if it ever did) and more with the resources a particular company decides to pout into a particularly design.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 18, 2011

Dan ,

This is the funniest post mail I got in my life Thank you very much.

Umut

Dan Fromm · Mar 18, 2011

vpwphoto said:
The Hasselblad SWC is the best non-retrofocus wide known to man (I do not own one... but borrow one from time to time. I know a guy that mounted it on a view camera and used it with 8x10 film.

I stand by to be flamed.

I won't flame you directly, but your guy is having you on.

I have a 38/4.5 Biogon in Copal #0 that I use on a Century Graphic. The lens covers 84 mm with good sharpness and illumination, cuts off completely at around 87 mm. Puts absolutely nothing at all in 2x3's corners.

On 8x10 it would make a circular image 84 mm in diameter. Massive waste of film on 8x10. Is there an 8x10 camera on which it can be focused to infinity?

38/4.5, 45/4.5, 53/4.5, and 75/4.5 Biogons made to Bertele's 1952 (or is it '53?) patent are old designs. There are better -- sharper, less distortion -- wide angle lenses nowadays. I adore my 38 Biogon, have no delusions that it is the best.

Ian Grant · Mar 18, 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
Dan ,

This is the funniest post mail I got in my life Thank you very much.

Umut

My wife sings along with that while driving

Ian

vpwphoto · Mar 18, 2011

I saw the 8x10 negs... It was a photo-prof. Perhaps it was not a Biogon off a swc but another Biogon... but that's what I was told.

I also knew that guy to have "smoked" a few.

.... no more quoting stuff from people that lived the 1960's to the fullest.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Mar 18, 2011

Ian ,

I said my mother and she started to sing all song in French. It is even better.

Umut

Dan Fromm · Mar 18, 2011

vpwphoto said:
I saw the 8x10 negs... It was a photo-prof. Perhaps it was not a Biogon off a swc but another Biogon... but that's what I was told.

I also knew that guy to have "smoked" a few.

.... no more quoting stuff from people that lived the 1960's to the fullest.

The longest Biogon is the 75/4.5, covers around 170 mm. Your smoker no doubt had a wide angle lens, but if it covered 8x10 it wasn't a Biogon. There are many wide angle lenses longer than 75 mm, some made to ancient designs.

Dan Fromm · Mar 18, 2011

Ian Grant said:
My wife sings along with that while driving

Ian

My mother had the record and played it, IIRC, around 1955. Hard to forget.

RF lens advantage: fact or myth?

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