Shen Hao - best value?

[John McCallum]

...So, if any of you were to choose between the Nikon W f-5.6 @ $530 and the
Rodenstock APO-Sironar-N 150mm/5.6 @ $575, in terms of corner to corner
sharpness, contrast and resolution would you opt for one over the other?

The pictures that I have made that I like the best are made with with a Zeiss
Planar design. This represents the ultimate lens design to me.

Bruce, I went with the Sironar-S 150mm (rather than the "N") on my Shen-Hao. Bit more expensive but reputedly one of the sharper 150mm's around. It has excellent cnr to cnr sharpness and seems to have great contrast. From memory we looked at the tech specs and the resolution compared favourably with most excepting perhaps the Schneider equivalent. But I recon it's sharper than the 150mm Schneider APO-Symmar-L that my friend bought at the same time . It's just about all I use. Hope that's helpful. p.s. please no flames either, just my opinion. By the way, don't judge it by my posted images. My scanner/scan abilities are altogether a different story :rolleyes:

 

[mobtown_4x5]

I would have to disagree, I had a sample Nikon and Rodenstock 150mm and decided to keep the Nikon, it seemed to have a little more "bite", at least to me . This is very subjective however , and samples can vary.
It seems to me that all 4 manufacturers modern 150mm offerings are probably so close in performance that other factors, (camera movement, film flatness, etc.) are going to affect your images before the (probably) minute differences between this modern MC glass.
Of course this is IMHO!!!
As I mentioned above, the Nikon folds nicely on the Shen-Hao (reversed) if that affects your descision at all- good luck! Maybe we can start a "Shen Hao user's group!

Matt

 

[John McCallum]

Shen-Hao user's grp

Hey - there you go!!

Have to agree with Matt re differences being small between modern lenses and probably negligent. There are other factors (in terms of user technique) that make a huge difference before lens quality IMHO. In saying that, do check the cnr to cnr sharpness. The most important thing I think is to have confidence that your lens is going to do what you need it to do for your style of photography. And I think that is what the process of deciding on a lens provides. At the end of the day it's nice to love your equipment )

 

[Bruce Osgood]

Jorge & John Mc

Thank you for your advice re: Nikon 150 V Rodenstock 150. As it turns out the Shen is offered with the Rodenstock "N" as a package, not the Nikon. I had them mixed in my thinking. And I'm sure Badger would switch the Rodenstock "N" for the "S" lens with the additional cost.

Thanks for your advice and insights.

 

[John McCallum]

Did for me . BTW meant to mention, you may not notice much difference between the Rod 150 'N' and the Nikor, but you would notice the difference in the Rod 150 'S'.