Schneider Kreuznach quality...

[aztwang]

Hello, being fairly new to the medium format world I have a question regarding the quality of Schneider Kruetznach lenses. I originally come from a Nikon camp and in general I find the lens quality decent but still have to fine tune auto focus adjustment quite often and it can sometimes be a crap shoot on "Do I have a nice sharp copy". I understand Nikon optics are not having to resolve images produced by medium format sensors....So , I would say its safe to say that Schneider Kreutznach lenses from all I read are steps above what I'm used to, certainly the price tag is 2 to 4 times what I'm used to spending.
Given that and I hope I am somewhat accurate in my statements above, does SK have extreme consistency/quality in their lens line up or does one still have to hope that they are receiving an "accurate/sharp copy" ?

Thanks


Don

 

[turtle]

There will be sample variation (just as there is with Leica, Zeiss etc), but overall you will find much better consistency than with the likes of Nikon, Tamron, Canon etc. What tends to disappear are things like glaring decentering and the other obvious production outliers. If you bought ten copies, you might find one or two that just seem a hair better and one that may seem a hair less perfect (but still very very good). This is my impression from buying lots of LF lenses in the past. One cannot rule out lemons of course, but I have never had a lemon Schneider, Rodenstock, Fujinon (LF), Nikkor (LF) or similar. All my Mamiya 7 lenses were perfect too. 35mm and cheap mass production seems to be where the lemons mostly grow!

 

[Don Libby]

Don, I've had the pleasure of owning 3-lenses, the 55LS, 240LS and now the 40-80 which just replaced the 55LS so I'm now down to only 2. In each case no matter the lens, they are/were great lenses. I used my 55LS more than either the 45 or 80 which was also replaced by the 40-80. I've had the 240LS as well as the 2x for a couple years and have enjoyed using it as well both capturing wildlife and landscape. While I've only had the 40-80 since Monday I can see that it functions just as smoothly and sharp as the others.

These do cost more but that cost is well worth it in regards to build quality and image quality. I recommend you try one out but be prepared to open your wallet.

Don

 

[aztwang]

Don, I've had the pleasure of owning 3-lenses, the 55LS, 240LS and now the 40-80 which just replaced the 55LS so I'm now down to only 2. In each case no matter the lens, they are/were great lenses. I used my 55LS more than either the 45 or 80 which was also replaced by the 40-80. I've had the 240LS as well as the 2x for a couple years and have enjoyed using it as well both capturing wildlife and landscape. While I've only had the 40-80 since Monday I can see that it functions just as smoothly and sharp as the others.

These do cost more but that cost is well worth it in regards to build quality and image quality. I recommend you try one out but be prepared to open your wallet.

Don

Don,
I asked this question more so out of curiosity. I own 3 LS's... 55,80 & 150 that came with the kit I bought and they seem to be right on par. I am looking at the 110LS and possibly the 75-150LS....and it's nice to know what to expect when shopping for gear