Sharpest Hand Held MF Camera

David A. Goldfarb · Sep 8, 2008

Rolleijoe said:
Zeiss is god when it comes to glass. Planar, or Xenotar. Even Tessars give beautifully sharp results.

Xenotar is of course Schneider, but it still holds its own pretty well.

Here's a detail from this image in the gallery--

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Made with a 105/2.8 Xenotar, handheld, on a Linhof Tech V23b.

That's a 1.5" wide section from an 8x10" print from a 6x7cm neg (cropped maybe 5-10%, so maybe 9-10mm wide on the neg), enlarged through another piece of Schneider glass (150/4 Apo-Componon), and finally digitized for posting here through the zoom lens on a Nikon Coolpix 990, so the image as posted isn't quite as sharp as the print viewed through a loupe.

Uhner · Sep 8, 2008

Rolleijoe said:
Rolleiflex TLR beats everything else hands down! Zeiss glass is known throughout the world as the leader in sharpness

Huh?

I have a Rolleiflex 2.8 E2/F (E2 body - F front plate and optics). Its Zeiss Planar is truly a stupendous lens, and it is very sharp. But I can’t say that it is better, or sharper, than for instance the 80mm Sekor a friend has on his Mamiya C330.

WarEaglemtn · Sep 8, 2008

Even though a bit dated info, Brett Weston used a Rollei 66(if my memory is still working, easy enough to check on). The model that would allow him to tilt.

He was a nut on sharpness and printed with a point light source.

Might be a good starting point in your search.

36cm2 · Sep 8, 2008

Uhner said:
Huh?

I have a Rolleiflex 2.8 E2/F (E2 body - F front plate and optics). Its Zeiss Planar is truly a stupendous lens, and it is very sharp. But I cant say that it is better, or sharper, than for instance the 80mm Sekor a friend has on his Mamiya C330.

I'd second that, as the owner of a mint, recently CLA'd Rolleiflex 2.8F. I love the camera and the photos I've taken with it, but I'd be loathe to do a side by side against a Mamiya 6 or 7.

ic-racer · Sep 8, 2008

Glad to read all the Rollei support here. I love my 2.8F and it will go to the grave with me, however, its mechanical shutter release jerks the camera more than the electronic switch on my Horseman. Therefore not as sharp, when handheld.

Tom Stanworth · Sep 9, 2008

Rolleijoe said:
Rolleiflex TLR beats everything else hands down! Zeiss glass is known throughout the world as the leader in sharpness, and I can frame, focus (checking critical focusing scale on the focusing knob), and get the shot in around 30sec or less. Zeiss is god when it comes to glass. Planar, or Xenotar. Even Tessars give beautifully sharp results.

Rolleijoe

Errrr, righhhhht. Don't ever shoot your Rollei next to a Mamiya 6/7 - it might upset you. Those TLRs can be darned quiet though, just like a Mamiya 6/7 and far quieter than a Leica M.

Also hate to say that the sharpest LF lens I own/owned, is a Nikkor 90 SW f8, by a hair.

I love German lenses, but Hassleblad did not start using Fuji glass on their H series etc because they were prepared to put up with rubbish....

nemo999 · Sep 9, 2008

emanded said:
Any views on the sharpest hand held MF set up?
I have an Xpan which I use for 35mm - very sharp. I also have a Mamiya RZ system that I use for tripod work. What I'm looking for is something to fill the gap as I sometimes need to print 12x16 or above and the 35mm loses a little when enlarged over this size - especially if the frame is cropped.
I need to be able to take it anywhere and use mostly hand held.

The theoretical answer to your question must be an Alpa:
http://www.alpa.ch/index.php?path=home
Whether you would see any practical gain over. say, a Mamiya 7 in exchange for the stupendous price of the Alpa only you can decide!

dpurdy · Oct 4, 2008

Tom Stanworth said:
Errrr, righhhhht. Don't ever shoot your Rollei next to a Mamiya 6/7 - it might upset you. Those TLRs can be darned quiet though, just like a Mamiya 6/7 and far quieter than a Leica M.

Also hate to say that the sharpest LF lens I own/owned, is a Nikkor 90 SW f8, by a hair.

I love German lenses, but Hassleblad did not start using Fuji glass on their H series etc because they were prepared to put up with rubbish....

I have done the Rollei test against the Mamiya 7 test a few times. Both with the 80mm lens using a tripod and the Mamiya lens was not better. I can't say it was worse either. But there seems something odd about the Mamiya tonality in my tests. The Rollei has a beautiful feel to it.

Jeff Kubach · Oct 4, 2008

I go with any TLR. I have a Rollei which I like very much.

Jeff

naturephoto1 · Oct 4, 2008

I have both a Rollei 3.5F 12/24 Planar and a Mamiya 7II. Both are extremely sharp. I use the Mamiya 7II much more frequently and particularly on a tripod with the Kirk L bracket which allows for switching from horizontal to vertical without incident. The Mamiya 7 lenses are some of the sharpest ever designed for medium format; I have the 43mm, 50mm, 65mm, and the 150mm lenses. Very small, light, compact, and quite system. But it does have some limitations for close focusing, usage with the supplementary finders for the 43mm and 50mm lenses, smaller finder for 150mm (without the 150mm supplementary finder), lack of DOF preview, inaccurate markings on the lens barrels for hyperfocal (off by about 2 stops), difficulty in using grad filters, but doable, etc.

Rich

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