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Whatbs your opinion G Lenses Sharper Than Medium Format

coodeville

Well-Known Member
<font size="+1">An associate and I were talking about format sizes. We agreed that a larger negative is always better. But he insists that a Zeiss G lens is sharper than a good amount of other brand medium format lenses. He also claims to have made sharper 20 x 24's with the 45mm G lens than with the Mamiya 80mm f/2.8. What is your opinion?
 
His claim that the G lense is "sharper" than a good amount of other brand medium format lenese seems simply silly to me, but it depends on what he is comparing. If to a Holga, yes, he's right. If to a Hasselblad or Rollei, or Fuji, or Contax or modern Mamiya, no, he's wrong. Claims like that can really only be chuckled at, and not argued with.

Austin
 
Zeiss G lens is sharper than>

As beautiful as 35mm and G lens produced slides are- A projected Hasselblad slide can almost make you believe that you are actually there. There is no comparison.

Regards:

Gilbert
 
For a given, specifc area of film, the G lens might be a lttile bit sharper (for a few reasons, and a lens test would confirm that). But since the medium format lens covers a much larger peice of film, for a given output size, say an 11x14 print, the medium format lens will give you the sharper print -- and it will be increasingly apparent the larger your output size.

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I would guess that even CZ lenses have a tolerance margin and there will, for ex&le, be some 45mm G lenses that are better than others. I am very happy with my 45 and have blown up to approx A3 with no apparent problems. I used to have a Mamiya 645 and an 80mm f2.8 bought new. I think I got the "Friday" lens. It was at best adequate and was fairly instrumental in putting me off medium format photography other than using vintage cameras (Wirgin, Rikards Verascope, Zeiss Ikonta etc.) I sent it back to Mamiya who said it was within tolerance levels. If you end up comparing a "good" CZ G45 with a "poor" medium format lens, I am sure you could get better results from the 35mm negative. Wilson
 
The G lens might beat the others in resolution and contrast, but it is hard to compare the 35mm format with 6x6. There is a richness in medium format that 35mm cannot duplicate, and (more importantly), the resolving power of the film itself is the great equalizer. If your 45mm Planar has greater resolving power than the film you are using, the the film is the weakest link. For me Fuji 800 makes great 8x10 photos from 35mm, but looking at the grain structure after scanning shows me that I'm not taking advantage of the lens using that film.
 
Although I do not have the specific data regarding the G lenses, it is generally true that 35mm lenses are of a higher resolution than larger format lenses. They have to be in order to produce an acceptable image from a smaller negative. Still, MF will crush any 35mm system in terms of image quality for significant enlargements. At 4x6 or even 8x12, the difference may be hard to appreciate.
 
The reason *some* 35mm lenses have a higher resolution than MF lenses in general is the image circle for MF lenses is much larger. There are quite a few MF lenses that simply outperform most any 35mm lense...

None the less (as Robert said), when the increase in film size is taken into account as to how much usable "resolution" there is, there is no comparison, MF wins hands down.

Regards,

Austin
 
Robert and Jeff have a point on the resolving power.

Since 135 format generally has higher resolving power than the larger format, I think the 135 slide may looks shaper than the 120 slide on the light table, with all things being equal. But large prints and projected images, I don't think so. Unless you are comparing to a poor medium format lens.
 
If you are interested in seeing test results for different lenses, go to www.photodo.com and look at their MTF ratings. The Contax G 45mm Planar is rated higher than any other lens they have tested. However, as was mentioned earlier, if we are looking at comparative ratings, the common denominator is lost when we consider the negative size. If a lens for 35mm has the same resolving power as a lens for mediurm format, the medium format lens will beat the 35mm lens because there is far less magnification of medium format negatives. Thus, for an 8x10, the medium format lens has much greater potential resolving power.
 
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