Little review of Apo Digitar 5,6/100 mm

[dchew]

But I guess the 'regular' 100mm N-53° should be more than capable as well, time to go shopping!

It certainly would have been great if SK would have produced that 100 asph. In case anyone is interested, here are three raw files from the 'regular' 100 apo-digitar shifted 18mm Left, Center, 18mm Right (93mm image circle). Sk100, IQ4150, Alpa STC. Mounted on a relatively wimpy RRS Ascent tripod. Not a test shot, just a real-world example. Boring light but enjoyable location. Keep in mind I'm shooting through a lot of air.

sk100ad

Composite below.
Dave

 

[guphotography]

This is the only iris mount lens in my R collection.

Without using the helicoid, Arca has calibrated it for infinity at get go, the helicoid has become very useful when the subject is up close, gives you the extra reach to bring it into focus.

With rotamount, there is no cut off at corners without extension box, you can maximise the movements on rm3di, a fantastic performer.

Though the missing copal means I cannot test it with film.

 

[Smoothjazz]

It certainly would have been great if SK would have produced that 100 asph. In case anyone is interested, here are three raw files from the 'regular' 100 apo-digitar shifted 18mm Left, Center, 18mm Right (93mm image circle). Sk100, IQ4150, Alpa STC. Mounted on a relatively wimpy RRS Ascent tripod. Not a test shot, just a real-world example. Boring light but enjoyable location. Keep in mind I'm shooting through a lot of air.

sk100ad

Composite below.
Dave

Hey Dave,

Just curious- what is this location? It looks like a beautiful place.

John

 

[dchew]

Hey Dave,

Just curious- what is this location? It looks like a beautiful place.

John

Hi John,
Wind Rivers in Wyoming. It is a beautiful place. Not that easy to get to, which adds to the beauty
Dave

 

[Geoff]

100 Digitar against the 120 ASPH. The overall view is with 100mm, stitched 9 shots, although foreground is cropped out. The other is both lenses at full crop, the 120mm a bit sharper, although the 100mm is much more compact. Maybe not at the 120mm level, but plenty good.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

BTW – The Rodenstock 105 or Sironar-S 135 are also great ... I think the main advantage of the 120 ASPH is to be seen at extreme shifts, most of the time more than an avg. tech cam.

For example, I can shift 35mm (!) on the Alpa Pano and still have a sharp image with the 120 ASPH. So if you use it on a bellows camera or a large shift cam beyond 20mm left right you'll see the benefits of the 120 ASPH.

So although a fringe case, these late-stage SK digitars are especially useful in the context of almost large-format like image circle uses. The 120 ASPH flexes its muscle in ultra high res panos – ie I'd say an unmounted cell on an Arca F metric is the best alternative to an XY (rare) and Pano (expensive).

How much shift did you use left right?

 

[Geoff]

Can't recall - either 15 or 20mm...

 

[Smoothjazz]

I second the vote for the Rodenstock 135mm lens; it does a great job on my Cambo- with shifts. It is a lens that is not talked about much on forums, but a bit of a sleeper lens.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Yes and also the Sironar-W 150; it is not as humongous as the other W variants, but it was actually sold before the Sironar-S line as black ring and then later on as yellow ring. I spoke to Rodenstock a few years ago to understand if there is any practical loss in sharpness between the W and the S and they said in effect not really; the 150-W, like the 135 S and the 100 SK are super sharp with the added benefit that the W was designed for 5x7 so even with super large shift ways the image stays super sharp.

Anythng above 100mm, if its late-gen analog, is still great for digital IMHO. Especially the long SK digitars and Sironar S stuff. Top lenses for a fair price.