Stuart Richardson
Active member
I recently got a used 180mm f/4 Sonnar for my Hasselblad kit and I decided to test it compared to my 180mm f/2.8 Tele-Xenar AF for my Rollei 6008AF kit. I have been mostly shooting with my hasselblad these days, as I don't really like the bulk and battery issues of the Rollei. It also does not really meter as well for me in color as the 203FE. Anyway, it is an amazing camera, but the best camera is the one you use and I am always reaching for the Hasselblad. I am always looking for reasons to sell the 6008, but it always finds reasons to make me want to keep it around!
The latest came from this test. I took a number of shots in near identical situations, and the results from the Rollei 180/2.8 were consistently better than the sonnar 180. The Sonnar 180 is reputed to be astoundingly sharp, while the 180/2.8 is a sharp lens, but not so much in close or compared to sharper lenses like the 150mm Tele-Xenar. Anyway, the results from the Rollei were consistently sharper with all the lenses. I could not find a sharper area in the hasselblad pictures, so I am wondering if either there might be a misalignment in my body and magazine, or whether this is just a case where Rollei's better magazine design (flatter film) is carrying the day. The Hasselblad shots are certainly usable and pretty sharp in their own right, but we are talking about the Rollei being significantly sharper at 100% on a 3200dpi scan.
Any suggestions on where to start in trying to figure out whether my 'blad is performing at its peak?
P.S. All the shots were taken on the same tripod, most with mirror pre-release. I did use the focal plane shutter in the blad for most shots. I do not have 100% comparisons at the moment, but I could probably show some tomorrow.
The latest came from this test. I took a number of shots in near identical situations, and the results from the Rollei 180/2.8 were consistently better than the sonnar 180. The Sonnar 180 is reputed to be astoundingly sharp, while the 180/2.8 is a sharp lens, but not so much in close or compared to sharper lenses like the 150mm Tele-Xenar. Anyway, the results from the Rollei were consistently sharper with all the lenses. I could not find a sharper area in the hasselblad pictures, so I am wondering if either there might be a misalignment in my body and magazine, or whether this is just a case where Rollei's better magazine design (flatter film) is carrying the day. The Hasselblad shots are certainly usable and pretty sharp in their own right, but we are talking about the Rollei being significantly sharper at 100% on a 3200dpi scan.
Any suggestions on where to start in trying to figure out whether my 'blad is performing at its peak?
P.S. All the shots were taken on the same tripod, most with mirror pre-release. I did use the focal plane shutter in the blad for most shots. I do not have 100% comparisons at the moment, but I could probably show some tomorrow.