I don't know the physics of this, but I can speak from 'experience'. And it is
my experience that Winsor is right in his suspicions. I own (of course) a ton
of Oly gear and I also own a Mamiya 645 with 2 lenses and a 4x5 camera with 5
N*kk*r lenses. I have also used (and sold) a Mamiya TLR 6x6 camera.
It is my experience that the great Zuiko lenses (here I'd include the 50/1.2,
90/2, maybe others) that I own are much sharper, pixel-for-pixel than the med
and large format lenses. I can look at the same scene on the light table thru a
loupe in the 3 formats (on Velvia, say) and see that the Zuikos can seemingly
'resolve' details to a finer level. I mean that the details are 'there' in all
3 formats to a similar degree relative to image size. It is, of course, that
image size factor which then gives the 4x5 transparancy a BIG advantage when
printed to 16x20.
Finally, let me add that I'd say that, in the above comparison, relatively
speaking, if I can compare apples to oranges here, the Zuikos are much better
than the M645 lenses, somewhat better than the N*kk*rs. And the Mamiya TLR
lenses, in my experience, were not as good as the 645s.
george
Winsor Crosby wrote:
> Something that I have been curious about for sometime is the resolution of
> larger format lenses. A number of list users have admitted to the use of
> non-Oly cameras, but only because Oly does not make equipment in the larger
> formats. I understand. ;-)
>
> I have never seen lens resolution tests for medium or large format lenses.
> Are they published? If so what kind of resolution would one expect from a
> pretty good lens. I would suspect that it would be substantially lower than
> a lens for an OM or one of its competitors, if for no other reason than the
> greater distance of lens from the film plane. Admittedly, it is less
> significant with a larger piece of film that does not have to be enlarged
> as much.
>
> I suppose that if a Zeiss lens on a Hasselblad could resolve half the
> number of lines per mm at the film plane as an Zuiko lens on an OM, you
> would see a net improvement in the resolution in the final photograph,
> aside from improvements in texture, gradation and finer grain.
>
> Is there something in the relative size of the lenses and the amount of
> film they are trying to cover that makes larger lenses, smaller lenses more
> difficult to build with great precision, or is that even a factor in
> today's technology.
>
> I did see a fairly large collection of industrial photos in black and white
> enlarged to 8 1/2 inches by 10 inches made with a Hasselblad and a Leica. I
> could not tell which camera took which photo.
>
> Any enlightenment?
>
> Winsor
>
> Winsor Crosby
> Long Beach, California
> mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
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