Seriously now Brian, a close reading of Gary's 200/4 tests leads me to
conclude that the SC version, while not better, is probably about the
same in resolution as the MC lens. The SC test was made with OM-1 and no
lens support. Compare it to the MC tests with OM-1 and no lens support,
Cs and Ds from f4-11 in both cases, equally poor within the accuracy of
the tests for non-paired comparisons. Then look at how the MC performs
with proper technique. I don't see why the SC wouldn't show similar
improvement with proper use. I don't see anything in the tests to
suggest anything more than a possible slight edge in resolution for the
MC design, and even that is probably reading too much into the available
data.
Light transmission and contrast may be another matter, but evidence is
scarce and indirect. Gary was so involved in vibration/resolution issues
that he made no comments on contrast in the MC tests except with the 2X
converter. However, I think we can safely assume the 2X-A doesn't
improve contrast and the MC has mod-low through mod-high contrast with
the converter. Given the SC rating of low contrast, it's clear the MC is
contrastier, which means 'sharper looking' in most cases, particularly
with conventional processing/printing (vs. digital).
The most immediate logical reason I can think of for Gary's comment on
the SC that shutter speeds were generally slower than for the MC is that
the SC transmits less light and is, in effect, slightly slower. However,
I don't think the math supports this. With only 8 air/glass surfaces,
the transmission difference should be negligable in terms of stops. The
Britanica says coating reduces reflection loss to about 0.50er
surface, for a total compounded loss of about 4 0.000000or SC. Even if MC had
no reflection loss, 1/4 stop is 12.5%, so the difference is less than
1/10 of a stop. Are my numbers off somewhere?
Moose
Brian Swale wrote:
In view of what Gary found in his tests, in your experience, what is aspect of
the 200/4 SC performance is better than the MC?
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