Schneider APO 40mm vs 50mm for Focomat V35?

[icmartin]

Hi All,

I'm going to swap out the original Focotar 40mm on my Leitz Focomat V35 for a Schneider APO lens. I'm not concerned with preserving the autofocus really. What I do want is the best possible optical performance from my new lens. So should I go for the APO 50mm or the 40mm? I've read several posts talking about how the the APO Schneider is superior to the Focotar, but what about Schneider 40 vs 50?

Thanks!

 

[richard ide]

In my experience, I tend to use longer focal length lenses. The longer length gives you greater depth of focus as well as using less of the peripheral part of the lens. As an example: I have an f5.6 150mm lens designed for enlarging 9" x 9" negatives. No longer using it in a business environment, I only use it for 4" x 5". The depth of focus is so narrow that just moving one element of the film/lens/enlargement setup by as little as a couple of thousandths of an inch makes a big difference in sharpness.
In your case I would suggest the 50mm even though the DOF increases with reduced apperature.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

You will not be able to focus at all with a 50 unless you can change the AF cam

 

[icmartin]

I just bought a Schneider Componon APO HM 45mm lens for my Focomat V35. I have no problems focusing it although I don't know if the auto focus works...

 

[waileong]

The auto focus will not work properly. However, manual focus isn't that hard.