Quick Lens Comparison. Printing Nikkor 105mm F2.8 And Sony Fe 90 MM F 2.8

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 4,980
austrokiwi Pillar of the Community 2087 Posts	Posted 11/12/2016 1:19 pm It is not much of a comparison. Today was just a cold grey wet day... and instead of writing I distracted my self with seeing how these two lenses imaged the same coin. I don't think it is even an equal comparison as the Sony lens' profile is programmed into the Camera and the in Camera processing compensates for any known issues in the lens. In this case I actually prefer the result from the Printing Nikkor. The Sony seems to be much more "silver" than the coin is in real life. The Sony takes a bit of getting used to( at least it took me a good few weeks to adapt this form of focusing), as it is a focus-by-wire lens( I have three lenses of this type). For those unfamiliar: the focusing ring has no mechanical connection, The lenses CPU reads the direction speed and distance the focusing ring is moved and adjusts the focusing motor accordingly. Edited by austrokiwi 11/12/2016 1:23 pm Report this Post to the Staff

rmpsrpms Pillar of the Community United States 4038 Posts	Posted 11/12/2016 2:33 pm How do the 100% crops look? Of course, the 105PN is well outside its optimum range for field flatness at this magnification, but should still do very well. Looks also like you shot at different apertures (f4 for 105PN, f5.6 for 90FE. Any reason you chose to shoot at different apertures? The 90FE is a f2.8 lens like the 105PN so should also have done well at f4, no? Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com Report this Post to the Staff
austrokiwi Pillar of the Community 2087 Posts	Posted 11/12/2016 3:48 pm I have the A version of the Printing Nikkor. It is, I believe, different to the version rmpsrmps has. Yes it is optimised for 1-1 but Mark Goodman notes( you have to look in his older lens assessments): Quote: This lens has exceptional resolution and sharpness, outperforming every other lens that I have tried from about 0.60:1 to 1.5:1. There is a slight dip in the sharpness and resolution at 1:1. The field is dead flat at 1:1, but the corner sharpness suffers a bit above and below this magnification. There is almost a total lack of distortion and virtually no chromatic aberration. Since it has a focal length of 105mm, the working distance is very good across the magnification. It has very good contrast, similar to a modern macro lens. I assure you at the .64 times I was using the A version still exceeds the performance of many other macro lenses. It was only a quick test and I should have actually used the printing nikkor at F 2.8... the "A" version works extremely well wide open, its the earlier version that needs to be stopped down. I should have used both lenses at F 2.8. Report this Post to the Staff
rmpsrpms Pillar of the Community United States 4038 Posts	Posted 11/13/2016 12:41 am Quote: I assure you at the .64 times I was using the A version still exceeds the performance of many other macro lenses. It was only a quick test and I should have actually used the printing nikkor at F 2.8... the "A" version works extremely well wide open, its the earlier version that needs to be stopped down. I should have used both lenses at F 2.8. Ahh, I forgot you were on FF, so magnification is higher. For me on APS-C, that ASE would be shot at around 0.35:1, which is getting to be where even the 105PN needs to be stopped-down a bit to maintain sharpness at the edges. Corners of course don't matter much with coins... Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com Report this Post to the Staff
austrokiwi Pillar of the Community 2087 Posts	Posted 11/13/2016 01:39 am Quote: ........ I forgot you were on FF, so magnification is higher. Yep of course: the lens would have been hopeless on a MFT camera. Some time ago you expounded upon the Printing Nikkor 95mm I recall you commenting it was, perhaps, the perfect coin lens. However I think for full frame (sensor size 36 X 24mm) the 105mm is an equal, if not better, option( for coins). I haven't used the 95mm I am just relying on Mark Goodmans review to make that judgement. "perfect lenses" depend on which camera they are used with and the photographers purpose. I know for MFT the best lens that I have identified is the Schneider Kreuznach Apo Componon-S 40/2.8 HM. On an MFT camera that lens is imaging well within its optimal range when mounted normally. ON APSC and FF it will disappoint. I recently "Scratched my head" over Mark Goodmans review of the Nikkor-O 55mm F 1.2. His opening sentences of his conclusion: Quote: This is a lens that is not ideal for most macro work. The first problem is that you can't even use it on a dSLR at the magnification it is made for, 1:5. Note: the frame of reference errors in the quoted statement. He states it is not ideal for most Macro work... for coins that might be the case but I don't think it extends to other subjects. What is loved about the lens is the negative field curvature which can create brilliant bokeh. Quite rightly Mark Goodman notes you can't use the lens at optimal magnification on a DSLr...... but you could use it on a system camera at the optimal setting. My rambling off topic is only meant to illustrate that the perfect lens depends on your purpose and the camera system you use. Edited by austrokiwi 11/13/2016 01:44 am Report this Post to the Staff
rmpsrpms Pillar of the Community United States 4038 Posts	Posted 11/13/2016 11:46 am I'd say that the 105PN may be indeed the perfect full-coin lens on FF. It is optimized at 1:1, so assuming ~90% frame coverage is optimum for 22mm coins of FF. US coins range from 14mm (Ag 3 Cent) up to 38mm for Dollars (or 41mm for Ag Eagle). So the magnification range on FF would be from 22/41=0.54:1 up to 22/13=1.7:1, which is a near ideal range for the 105PN. The corresponding numbers for APS-C (Canon) are 13.5/41=0.33:1 up to 0.96:1. The 0.33:1 is outside the optimum range of the 105PN wide open, but stopped-down a bit it would be fine. In fact if you have the goal of maintaining constant effective aperture, it would probably work out very well. Shooting at f3.3 at 1:1 gives f6.6 (slightly wider than the DLA for T1i...T5i), while shooting at f5.6 at 0.33:1 gives f7.4 (slightly narrower than the T1i...T5i DLA). Similar effective aperture numbers for the 75ARD1, given its smaller aperture, are f11.2 at 1:1 (shooting at f5.6) and f10.6 at 0.33:1 (shooting at f8). This is the primary reason I've been recommending these duplication lenses for full coin shooting, ie they have the right combination of optimum magnification, and can be kept at a constant and reasonable effective aperture throughout the mag range needed for US coins. Now, my recommendation for the "perfect" coin lens was intended to go beyond full coin use and extend to variety detail shooting, using the same lens. The 95PN, and other lenses that are optimized at 0.5:1 forward, and 2:1 reversed such as the 75ARD2 and 89PE, seem naturally geared to this application, but as you point out the differences between FF and APS-C shift this perception. Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com Report this Post to the Staff
rocky Pillar of the Community Canada 2784 Posts	Posted 01/04/2017 08:45 am AK I just got a 4K monitor. that Sony lens is quite the performer. those 2 lens are outstanding. Report this Post to the Staff
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