The goal of this test was to find how out how 3 easy to find popular lenses compared to the hard to find and somewhat rare Scitex LFOV lens. This results here prove that taking the time to test a new lens against a known reference lens, in this case my Makro-Symmar 5.6/80, is really is worth the effort. The 3 tested copies of the LFOV lens all performed slightly differently.
To see the full test of the LFOV lens, follow this link: https://www.closeuphotography.com/scitex-lfov-lens
All of the lenses in this test were purchased and I did not receive any discount, incentive, or commission from anyone. Also it’s important to know that this post which does not contain any affiliate links, ads or visitor tracking that you find on other lens review sites.
Lenses Tested
Rodenstock Scitex LFOV 5.6/108 Scanner Lens
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/110 Scanner Lens
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/100 Line Scan Lens
Schneider Kreuznach Makro-Symmar 5.6/80 Line Scan Lens
SETUP
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
The Sony A6300 camera was used for this test with my Thorlabs SM2 studio setup vertically mounted on a Nikon MM-11 stand for this test. For each lens and each aperture setting focus was bracketed and the sharpest image was chosen at 100% view in photoshop. Manual mode was used at ISO 100. To avoid any sharpness loss due to vibration, two Godox TT350S units were used at 1/128th to 1/32nd power. To avoid any change in light angle, the flash units remained in place and never moved over the entire test, mounted on a flash bracket that is bolted to an optical breadboard.
Sony Raw image files were processed in Ps CC ACR with all noise reduction turned to zero, and lens correction profiles disabled. All settings were zeroed out and the same white balance setting used for all the images. With Sony lenses and some other brands (Leica, Fuji, Olympus and Panasonic) chromatic aberration correction is baked into the RAW file using opcodes that cannot be disabled in Lightroom or Photoshop ACR, this means that the lens correction is not controllable by the user so even with lens correction profiles disabled, they are still being applied.
All of the test images are single frames, none of the images were stacked. To avoid focus shifts with aperture changes, a series of images were made at 10 micron steps at each aperture. Each lens was shot from wide open to f/5.6 to find sharpest image. The sharpest images were chosen at 100% actual pixel magnification, cropped and saved in Photoshop CC.
1.1 X TEST TARGET
Silicon wafers are my preferred targets for tests like this for the fine details like micro-lettering and plenty of contrast. The silicon disk will always stay flat and won’t warp or bend with changes in temperature like a butterfly wing. The downside to wafers is they are very delicate and can shatter if they are dropped on a hard surface so they need to handled carefully.
Center Crops at 100% View
Click on any image to open the image in a new window. Right button or two-finger click to save-as.
Edge Crops at 100% View
Corner Crops at 100% View
Chromatic Aberrations at 200% View
Click on the image below to open the image in a new window. Right button or two-finger click to save-as.
Test Results
The Scitex LFOV was not the sharpest lens here, the Scitex S-3 110 lens was the faster and slightly sharper lens, but that extra sharpness came with higher levels of chromatic aberrations in the form of red fringing, easy to see in the 200% view crops above. The LFOV and Makro-Symmar were better balanced, better controlled chromatic aberrations with slightly less sharpness. The LFOV lens was as sharp as the Makro-Symmar but with zero CAs.
Best image quality overall: The Rodenstock Scitex LFOV 5.6/108 Scanner Lens
Very consistent, sharp results, corner to corner. Highly recommended if you can find one.
Easiest to use: Schneider Kreuznach Makro-Symmar 5.6/80 Line Scan Lens
Very good correction. Standard V38 V-mount and compact body with locking aperture ring.
Best price vs performance: Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/100 Line Scan Lens
Sharp. Less than $100, sometimes down to $50-60, and a big image circle. More CAs than the other lenses but also out of it’s designed range.
LFOV lens 2500 pixel sample
Click on the image below to open the image in a new window. Right button or two-finger click to save-as. Check the URL to make sure you have the full size 2500 pixel version, if not, change the ending to 2500 and hit enter to display the full image.
Lens Notes
Rodenstock Scitex LFOV 5.6/108 Scanner Lens
Tested at f/5.6. Measured f/5.8. Effective at 1.1x: f/7.48
Optimized for 0.6 - 1.5x
Normal forward mount
Can be hard to find on the used market
https://www.closeuphotography.com/scitex-lfov-lens
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/110 Scanner Lens
Tested at f/5.0. Measured f/5.2. Effective at 1.1x: f/6.82
Optimized for 0.6 - 1.5x
Normal forward mount
https://www.closeuphotography.com/scitex-s3-110mm-lens
Schneider Kreuznach Componon-S 5.6/100 Line Scan Lens
Tested at f/5.6. Measured f/5.6. Effective at 1.1x: f/7.15
Optimized down to 0.5x
Reverse mount
Very easy to find for less than $100 USD on eBay.
https://www.closeuphotography.com/componon-s-100mm-lens-test
Schneider Kreuznach Makro-Symmar 5.6/80 Line Scan Lens
Tested at f/5.6. Measured f/5.6. Effective at 1.1x: f/7.15
Optimized for 1x. Range of 0.5 - 2x
Normal forward mount
Easy to find for a great prices. Should cost less than $300 USD.
https://www.closeuphotography.com/makro-symmar-80-test