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This is the first of a two part series to find out which tube lenses performs best in a stacked configuration with 2.8/35 machine vision lens. Ideally a tube lens will allow the front lens to project a sharp image onto the the sensor from center to corner and without adding any chromatic aberrations.

Each lens in this test is standard issue and nothing special, and should be easy to find on the used market. All seven of these lenses cost me less than $100 USD for a clean copy, and if you are patient, you should be able to pick any of these up for just a fraction of that.

All of the lenses here are the Plasmat-type 6 element 4 group designs for good coverage, high resolving power, moderate maximum aperture, and high level of aberration correction. Thanks to their compact size and threaded mounts, all of these lenses, except for the Komura’s missing filter threads, are very quick and easily to install in a rigid studio setup, compared to a typical native-mount telephoto type lens.

All of the lenses in this post were purchased without any discount or commission from anyone, this test does not contain any affiliate links, ads or visitor tracking as there are on commercial for-profit lens review sites.

3.85x LENS LIST:

Beseler HD 135mm f/5.6 Lens
Komura Komuranon-E 135mm f/5.6 Lens
Nikon EL-Nikkor 135mm f/5.6A Lens
Rodenstock Rodagon 135mm f/5.6 Lens
Schneider Componon 135mm f/5.6 Lens chrome finish
Schneider Componon-S 135mm f/5.6 Lens all black
Schneider Componon-S 135mm f/5.6 Lens Latest model

The 135mm focal length seems to be a sweet spot for performance vs price, since all of the lenses in the group make excellent tube lenses, and all are available for an ultra low price that can easily fit anyones budget. There is a difference in corner sharpness and chromatic aberration control between the lenses but you need to look closely. The best tube lens should be as sharp as possible and should introduce as little aberrations as possible all the way to the very edge of the corners.

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3.85X: 100% view crop images

Click on any image below to view a larger 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer with a dark background. To see an images in a new browser tab, right click, or two-finger press, and select Open in a New Tab or New Window from the menu. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As and compare the images in an image viewer.

Beseler-HD 135mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Private label Rodagon lens
Optical design: 6 element 4 group
Front threads: M40.5 × 0.5
Mounting threads: Leica thread mount, M39 x 26 TPI

Center: very good performance, about equal to the Rodagon.

Corner: not quite at the same level of the Componon-S or the Komura lenses with more field curvature. Corner performance identical to the Rodagon.

Chromatic Aberrations: identical to the Rodagon. Slightly higher level than the Componon-S or the Komura lens in the corners.

Judging by the results here, its a safe bet to say the Beseler HD shares optics with the Rodagon.

Komura Komuranon-E 135mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Optical design: 6 element 4 group
Front threads: none
Mounting threads: Komura supplied Leica thread mount adapter, M39 x 26 TPI

Center: results here are detailed and sharp.

Corner: second highest corner sharpness in the test,

Chromatic aberrations: CA control in the corners is better than the Rodagons or EL-Nikkor.

Notes: This lens lacks filter threads, so I glued a de-glassed 52mm UV filter on front of the lens, in reverse, to give me male M 52 x 0.75 threads.

Nikon EL-Nikkor 135mm f/5.6A Enlarger Lens
Newer A version
Optical design: 6 element 4 group
Front threads: M52 × 0.75
Mounting threads: Leica thread mount with supplied adapter, M39 x 26 TPI

Center: sharpness in the center is higher than average but so are LaCAs.

Corner: good sharpness in the central area of the frame.

Chromatic aberrations: Slightly more than the others in the test.

The EL-Nikkor 5.6/135 were originally supplied with individual verification certificate that included the measure focal length for professional printing setups.

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Rodenstock Rodagon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Optical design: 6 element 4 group
Front threads: M40.5 × 0.5
Mounting threads: Leica thread mount, M39 x 26 TPI

Center: Good sharpness in the center of the field.

Corner: IQ does not reach the level or sharpness of CA correction of the Componon-S. Performance identical to the Beseler HD.

Chromatic aberrations: LaCAs slightly higher than the best lenses here.

The measured focal length is written on the base of the lens for professional printing setups.

Schneider Componon 135mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Older unit with a chrome finish
Optical design: 6 element 4 groups
Filter threads: M 40.5 x 0.5
Mounting threads: M 32.5 x 0.5

Center: good level of sharpness and detail.

Corner: Good but the performance here is not as good as the later model Componon-S.

Chromatic aberrations: more LaCAs than the rest of the lenses tested.

This lens uses a beautiful 19 blade iris.

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Schneider Componon-S 135mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Earlier version with the f-stop printed on the aperture ring
Optical design: 6 element 4 groups
Filter threads: M 49 x 0.75
Mounting threads: M 42 x 1

Center: very good sharpness, slightly more CAs here than the later model.

Corner: excellent corner IQ, sharpness here is equal to the later model.

Chromatic aberrations: slightly more lateral chromatic aberrations overall than the later model Componon-S.

This model is are very easy to find on the used market.

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Schneider Componon-S 135mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Latest model with the aperture window
Optical design: 6 element 4 groups
Filter threads: M 49 x 0.75
Mounting threads: M 50 x 0.75

Center: great sharpness and details in the central area with ultra low LaCA levels.

Corner: excellent IQ here, the highest corner sharpness in the test.

Chromatic aberrations: excellent, the lowest lateral chromatic aberrations in the test.

Easily to find on the used market at a great price.

TEST SET-UP

Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 35mm f/2.8 lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: mounted normally, set at f/5.6, and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f3.5
Effective aperture at 3.85x: f/13.4

Camera: Sony α6300, model # ILCE-6300, also known as: A6300
Sensor size: APS-C. 23.5 × 15.6 mm. 28.21 mm diagonal. 3.92 micron sensor pitch
Flash: Godox TT350s wireless flash x 2 with one Godox X1s 2.4G wireless flash transmitter
Vertical stand: Nikon MM-11 with a Nikon focus block

For this test a stack of images was made with 2 micron steps, and was repeated for each aperture. The sharpest frame was then chosen using Photoshop at 100% actual pixel view. Separate images were selected for center, and corner if needed. Each image was processed in PS CC with identical settings with all noise reduction and lens correction turned off, all settings were zeroed out (true zero) and the same settings were used for all of the images. All of the images shown here are single files.

TEST RESULTS

All of the lenses in this test showed a high level of sharpness in the center of the field. The best tube lenses will show the same high level of sharpness in the far corners, without introducing any chromatic aberrations or excessive field curvature. The two Componon-S lenses did the most convincing job here. The Rodagons were not as good as the Componon-S lenses. It’s nice to see a Komura brand lens near the top of the results!

Best of the test:
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 135mm f/5.6 Latest model with the blue aperture window
The most consistent sharpness level from center to corner, with the best balance of sharpness and chromatic aberration correction.

Almost as good:
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 135mm f/5.6 Earlier version with the f-stop printed on the aperture ring
Very good performance, very close to the later model lens.

Not as good as the Componon-S design, but an excellent performer and better than the rest of the group:
Komura Komuranon-E 135mm f/5.6
Good center IQ and very good corner sharpness and very low CA levels.

Notes:

Lens data from Rodenstock indicates the Rodagon is optimized for 6x magnification, and the EL-Nikkor is listed at 5x and a range of 2x - 10x, where the Componon-S is rated for 1/3, 1/6, 1/12th, since these lenses are designed for these magnifications does this make them unsuitable for stacking use?

No, the Rodenstock and Nikon lens data is from a time when the lenses were marketed for enlarging use to print film. The Schneider data is current as the lens is now marketed as an industrial taking lens for machine vision use. So, 1/3 = 3x, 1/6 = 6x etc.

What’s next?

How does the Componon-S compare to the very well known Raynox +8 tube lens, this is the second part of this test that I have already shot, I just need to process the images!