Mamiya 28mm f/4.5 D vs Mamiya Schneider 28mm LS f/4.5

[armaniphoto]

I have IQ180 Digital back Phase One-DF body, Planing to by wide angle 28mm. There is two lenses on this range, Mamiya and Schneider. There is a good deal for Mamiya 28 4,5.
I cannot find any reviews or images to make decision. I need advise by this one or go for Schneider version with LS.

 

[GrahamWelland]

No significant difference according to the DT tests a while back. However, if you need the leaf shutter flash sync then that's where the LS is differentiated.

 

[jagsiva]

I had the 28D with my IQ180. Tried the 28LS, and the difference in cost/weight/size was not anywhere worth the upgrade, unless of course, you need the leaf shutter.

I ended up selling the 28D and moved to a tech cam with 23HR/32HR. If you're using the XF or DF+ with a FF back, and IQ in the corners is important, the 35LS is a great piece of glass. On a 1.3X back, I think you could get away with one of the 28's.

 

[Paul2660]

My thoughts, try the lens out. I have realized that there is considerable sample variation on the 28mm. I am shooting with a 60MP back, you have an 80MP, so things might be different on the 80MP.

Thanks to Steve Hendrix, at Capture Integration, I learned a bit about the 28mm. I was looking to purchase a used 28mm, as I am slowly moving away from the tech camera environment.

Steve had 3 lenses, the Mamiya 28mm, the Phase 28D, and the Schneider 28LS. He was kind enough to test all three and send me the results.

Net, the Schneider 28mm LS, by far was the best. Less CA than either of the other 2 and more consistent in focus. The other two lenses, each had a variation in focus by a bit and the 28mm LS was much more even, and had less distortion in the lower corners. All three of these lenses had sharpness fall off in the lower corners, but the Schneider 28, had quite a bit less smearing. Are you going to get a single seamless shot with sharp focus from 10 feet to infinity, probably not, but Helicon focus allows for that.

I have used the 28mm several times now and no it's not as sharp as across the frame as my former 28mm Rodenstock, but with Piccure+ you can get quite a bit back. Impressive but very slow software BTW. (thanks to Graham for the tip).

So, if you are working with a dealer, and can try out the lens, that to me is the best solution.

It will be interesting to see if the Schneider 28LS gets a re-work sometime in the future.

Paul

 

[dougpeterson]

I have IQ180 Digital back Phase One-DF body, Planing to by wide angle 28mm. There is two lenses on this range, Mamiya and Schneider. There is a good deal for Mamiya 28 4,5.
I cannot find any reviews or images to make decision. I need advise by this one or go for Schneider version with LS.

28LS vs 28D is nominally the same design. But I've seen significantly less sample variation on the 28LS.

Neither lens can hold a candle to the new 35LS. The 35LS is a superlative lens. If you don't absolutely positively need the wideness of the 28mm I'd go with the 35LS in a heart beat. We have many sample Phase One raw files with Schneider 35LS on our blog.

We have a Phase One Showroom and Testing location in Culver City near Los Angeles, CA. We'd be glad to arrange for you to test any Phase One or Schneider gear in our studio or in the Culver City neighborhood around us. We can also arrange rentals-towards-purchase for longer tests.