Left to right: Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 150mm f/5.6 lens, Rodenstock Rodagon 150mm f/5.6 Lens, Nikon EL-Nikkor 150mm f/5.6 Lens, Schneider Kreuznach Comparon 150mm f/5.6 Lens, Schneider Kreuznach G-Claron 150mm f/9 Lens

This test compares six 150mm enlarging lenses using a Schneider Componon 2.8/35 as the front lens in a stacked configuration at 4.28x. I chose the 2.8/35 Componon for the high image quality output and especially good corner sharpness.

LEns List

Nikon EL-Nikkor 150mm f/5.6 A Enlarger Lens
Rodenstock Rodagon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Schneider Kreuznach Componon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens
Schneider Kreuznach Comparon 150mm f5.6 Enlarger Lens
Schneider Kreuznach G-Claron 150mm f/9 Reproduction Lens

All of the lenses in this test are capable tube lenses but some lenses are definitely differences in sharpness and chromatic aberration control. The ideal tube lens should be as sharp as possible without adding any aberrations.

4.28x Image samples

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.

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Nikon EL-Nikkor 150mm f/5.6 A Enlarger Lens

Optical design: 6 elements / 4 group design
Front threads, M 52×0.75
Mounting threads, M 52×0.75 or M 39×26 tpi with supplied adapter.

Good sharpness sharpness in the center and corners, but more chromatic aberrations than most of the other lenses in this test.

Easy to find on the used market and usually comes with an M39 adapter. This lens is the newer A version.

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Rodenstock Rodagon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens

Optical design: 6 elements / 4 groups
Front threads, M 52×0.75
Mounting threads, M 50×0.75.

Excellent sharpness in the center and corners with minimal chromatic aberrations at 4.28x.

One of the top 3 lenses in this comparison.

Very Common and easy to find on the used market for a fair price.

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Schneider Kreuznach Componon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens

Optical design: 6 elements / 4 groups.
Filter threads, M49 x 0.75
Mounting threads, M 39×26 tpi.

Excellent sharpness in the center and corners with some of the lowest chromatic aberrations of all the lenses here at 4.28x. Warm color response.

One of the top 3 lenses in this comparison.

19 blade iris, black version with a chrome filter thread ring. I somehow managed to pick up this lens on eBay for $35 as a late addition to the test and I’m glad I did, it’s the best looking lens in this test and one of the best performers.

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Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens

Optical design: 6 elements / 4 groups
Filter threads, M52 x 0.75
Mounting threads, M50 x 0.75

Excellent sharpness in the center and corners with minimal chromatic aberrations at 4.28x.

One of the top 3 lenses in this comparison.

This is the later version with the blue aperture window, BL-0a model body.

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Schneider Kreuznach Comparon 150mm f5.6 Enlarger Lens

Optical design: 4 elements in 3 groups
Front threads, M 32.5×0.5
Mounting threads, M 34×0.5.

Lowest image quality in this group and not the easiest to install with the odd thread sizes.

This lens is in the Schneider B-0 mount. Used a cheap Raynox 37-34mm adapter to mount this lens.

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Schneider Kreuznach G-Claron 150mm f/9 Reproduction Lens

Optical design: 6 elements / 4 groups.
Front threads, M 35.5×0,5
Mounting threads, M 32.5×0,5

Good chromatic aberration control, okay sharpness in the center/corners. This lens performed better than I expected. Schneider recommends f/22 for best results at infinity.

Difficult to adapt with these thread sizes, I glued on a setup-up ring to mount this lens. This is a Schneider B-0 mount. Graphic-Clarons use a symmetrical design optimized for 1:1 reproduction.

TEST SET-UP

COMPONON STACKED SETUP

Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 35mm f/2.8 lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f3.5
Effective aperture at 4.28x: f/14.98

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 will give you good decent image quality when downsized (except for maybe the Comparon). But if you want the very best image quality and will be viewing images at large sizes or somewhere near 100% on the computer you can’t go wrong with the top three. Since I completed this test I’ve used the top lenses here with other stacked lenses and the Componon-S has proven to be excellent, better than the Componon or Rodagon. The Rodagon seems to introduce more CAs and just slightly less sharp than the Componons. The older Componon has a slightly less detailed image but might just have the lowest CAs of any lens here.

Best of the test:
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens

Almost as good:
Schneider Kreuznach Componon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens

Not as good as the other two:
Rodenstock Rodagon 150mm f/5.6 Enlarger Lens

Not the best, and not the worst award:
Nikon EL-Nikkor 150mm f/5.6 A Enlarger Lens

Not as sharp as the Nikon but less CAs:
Schneider Kreuznach G-Claron 150mm f/9 Reproduction Lens

Worst performer in the test:
Schneider Kreuznach Comparon 150mm f5.6 Enlarger Lens

The Nikon, Comparon and G-Claron all had the lowest level of find details. The EL-Nikkor had the brightest CAs of any lens in the test. The Comparon was worst performer overall. The G-claron was better than I expected, especially in the corners, but there were noticeably less fine details than the top lenses.

Honestly I didn’t expect enlarging lenses in this long focal length to be this good. In the next test I will be comparing eight or nine 135mm enlarger lenses and they seem to perform even better than the 150s. I have tested a Componon-S 180mm lens and it does not seem to be as good as the 150 CNP-S.

STACKING VS EXTENSION

Stacking lenses, also called coupling lenses is a technique where you mount a lens in reverse on a second lens, usually a telephoto lens mounted normally, that can deliver excellent results. With the rear lens set to infinity focus and with the front lens reverse mounted there is no loss of light due to extension so you have the potential to resolve more than a since a wider aperture has the potential for higher resolution. Certain pairs of lenses, when stacked, can eliminate or greatly reduce chromatic aberrations.

Short Focus

Setting up a tube lens for short focus, that is focused past or shorter than infinity focus, appear to be slightly sharper and with even less LaCAs than infinity focus. Below are two examples from the Componon-S 150 using short focus.