Three versions of the Schneider 28mm f/4 lens with the Canon MP 35 Macrophoto lens for scale.
the 28mm lens test
This test compares the image quality of different types of Schneider 28mm lenses in a stacked configuration, and two Canon lenses, the MP 35mm f/2.8 and MP-E 65mm f2.8 lenses for reference.
LENSES IN THIS TEST
Canon 35mm Macrophoto lens; reversed double Gauss 6 element in 4 groups design. Bellows lens.
Schneider M-Componon 28mm f4 macro lens; special design 6 element in 4 groups for higher than 1x magnification and actually measures f/3.5 lens wide open. This lens is a different design than the Componon. See the test here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f4-m-componon
Schneider Componon 28mm f4 enlarger lens; 6 element in 4 groups in a plastic BKV-L barrel with a 5 blade iris, M39 x 26 tpi mount.
Schneider Componon 28mm f2.8 line scan lens; 6 elements in 4 group designed for machine vision in an all-metal Makro-iris body with the V38 mount. Optically similar to the f/4 design.
Canon 65mm MP-E Macro lens; 10 elements in 8 groups design, single UD element, complex variable extension tube design with floating elements, said to correct chromatic aberrations, which is not entirely successful in this test. (not pictured above)clos
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.
Test Set-up
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 4 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.
Quick Look: 3.5x image Center at 100% view
These center crop images are arranged from, left to right, worst to best.
Click on any image below to view a 1800 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
The Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 is worst in the center with the 2.8/28 Componon the sharpest on the far right.
Quick Look: Center details at 200% view
200% view can make it easier to see the differences in performance between the lenses. Take a quick look at the areas outlined in yellow, the 9 dots arraigned in a square is resolved differently by each lens. The black strip near the bottom shows the differences in CA suppression between the lenses. Here the Canon lenses chromatic aberration renders this area as red or orange rather than the black with the Schneider images. The 2.8/28 lens image appears that it was sharpened twice, but all the images here were processed with actions so they received the same identical amount of sharpening.
Quick Look: 3.57x image Corner at 100% view
These center crop images are arranged from weakest to best, left to right.
COMPONON 4/28 VS Canon MP-E 65
COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f4
Effective aperture: f/14
Canon MP-E 65 SETUP
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 lens was mounted normally using a Sigma MC-11 Sigma Canon EOS to Sony E-mount adapter (this is a no glass type adapter).
Nominal aperture: f/3.5
Effective aperture: f/15.9
COMPONON 28mm f4 VS Canon MP-E 65 CENTER CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full size 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
Even though the 28mm was stopped down to f4 and the Canon was shot at a wider f/3.5, the effective aperture for the 28mm lens at 3.5x is f/14, while the MP-E is working at an effective f15.9, the advantage goes to the Schneider.
After shooting the Canon MP-E 65mm from f/2.8 to f/4, f/3.5 was sharpest at 3.5x. The Schneider lens was best shot wide open at f/4.
It’s interesting to note the differences in the color reproduction of the lenses. Each image was processed identically using presets in Photoshop and processed with presets in Photoshop ACR.
Verdict: The Schneider 28mm f4 image on the left is sharper and shows a lot less CAs than the Canon MP-E 65 macro lens image on the right.
COMPONON 28mm f4 VS Canon MP-E 65 Corner CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full size 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
The image quality in the corner with the Canon MP-E is actually better here at f/3.5 than f/2.8 and f/3.2. The corners do improve at f/4 but center sharpness gets worse. The Schneider lens is a great performer in the corners.
Verdict: The image quality advantage of the Componon 28mm f/4 lens over the Canon MP-E 65mm at 3.5x is even greater in the far corners.
COMPONON 4/28 VS Canon 35mm macrophoto lens
COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal and effective aperture: f/14
Canon 35mm macrophoto lens SETUP
Canon 35mm macrophoto lens was mounted normally on extension using a Thorlabs RMS>SM1, SM1>SM2 adapters.
Nominal aperture: f/3.5
Effective aperture: f/15.9
COMPONON 28mm f4 VS Canon 35mm macrophoto CENTER CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full-sized 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
Both lenses in this comparison were made using f/3.5, but there is a difference in effective aperture. The 28mm lens at 3.5x is f/14, while the MP35 is working at an effective f15.9, the advantage goes to the Schneider.
Both lenses are very sharp at 3.5x with only a very slight difference in sharpness between the two lenses ,but the Schneider lens, on the left, has a big advantage in contrast and better CA control, than the Canon MP-35 image on the right.
Verdict: The Schneider 28mm f4 image has the advantage here with more contrast and less CAs than the Canon MP35 macro lens image on the right.
COMPONON 28mm f4 VS Canon 35mm macrophoto CornER CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full-size 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
Both lenses are very good here but the Componon has is better.
Verdict: The Schneider 28mm f4 image also has the image quality advantage in the corners with better sharpness and contrast.
Comparing sharpness both lenses are good but the M-Componon slightly ahead here mostly due to better CA control. Looking at the black and blue lines in the lower right the M-Componon image has pure black without any red fringing.
COMPONON 4/28 VS M-Componon 4/28
COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f4
Effective aperture: f/14
M-COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 Componon lens normally mounted, that is facing forward, not reversed
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f4
Effective aperture: f/12
Note: The M-Componon is marked f/4 but actually measures f/3.5 wide open.
COMPONON 4/28 VS M-Componon 4/28 CENTER CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full size 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
M-Componon 4/28 VS COMPONON 2.8/28
f4 COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f4
Effective aperture: f/14
f2.8 COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f2.8
Effective aperture: f/9.9
M-Componon 4/28 VS COMPONON 2.8/28 CENTER CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full size 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
COMPONON 4/28 VS Canon MP-E 65
COMPONON STACKED SETUP
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 28mm f/4 Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach Componon 100mm f/5.6 lens mounted normally and focused at infinity
Nominal aperture: f4
Effective aperture: f/14
Canon MP-E 65 SETUP
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 lens was mounted normally using a Sigma MC-11 Sigma Canon EOS to Sony E-mount adapter (this is a no glass type adapter).
Nominal aperture: f/3.5
Effective aperture: f/15.9
COMPONON 28mm f4 VS Canon MP-E 65 CENTER CROP IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a full size 1000 pixel version in a Lightbox viewer or better yet, to open an image 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 any image viewer.
CHROMATIC ABERRATIONS
At 200% the differences in chromatic aberrations between the lenses are easy to see. The M-Componon is clearly best with the Componon S in second place. The Tamron is easily the worst.
One of the advantages of the stacking the 80mm lenses is that the some of the lens aberrations seem to cancel out when stacking lenses of the same type.
Final verdict
Stacking lenses can produce some really impressive sharpness at high magnifications thanks to the wider effective aperture. Just a few years ago the MP-E 65 and MP 35 were considered the lenses to beat in this magnification range but today the sharpness and chromatic aberration performance of the Canons look weak compared to the Componons.
The results of the test show that a stacked configuration allows the stacked lenses to perform much closer to the optimized design range. Focusing with only extension, even in reverse would not give the 28mm lenses the advantage you see here.
Both of the Canons have the advantage of having a wider magnification range but if clean image quality at a certain magnification is your goal, stacking enlarger lenses can give you much better image quality at a lower cost.
Did I Mention These Lenses are Cheap?
You should be able to source both lenses used in this test, the 100 and 28, for less than $200, compared to the Canon MP-E 65 are about $600 used, or $1000 new. The MP 35 is a little better at about $300 or so in nice condition. The rear lens used in the test here, the Schneider Componon 100mm f/5.6, can be picked up for less than $50, even $25 if you are patient. The 28mm Componon usually costs a little more but, I was able to pick up a 4/28 SK lens in May for only $89. The 2.8/28 shows up from time to time on Ebay for about $300-400 on the used market.
TEST Notes
Canon 65mm MP-E Macro lens image quality: Dead Last Place
Last place and least convincing test images. This lens was designed to work over a big range and it shows. The lens was outperformed by the other lenses here, even the other Canon. My biggest disapointment with the MP-E 65 is lack of chromatic aberration control. The blacks in the test images are the least black of all the lenses, really more purple than black, even stopped down a bit. For the cool $1000 price tag you can do a lot better and Canon engineers could have done a lot better, I would hate to see the CAs without the ‘UD’ element. This is a popular, easy to use lens but in this test it came it was the least convincing at 3.5x.
Canon 35mm Macrophoto lens: Still better than the MP-E
3.5x is the MP35’s best range and as always it performed better than the and more expensive Canon MP-E 65 lens in both sharpness, center and corner, and CA control. It’s also a much easier lens to use thanks to the slim body tapered front cone. This design is almost 40 years old and it has better CA control than the current MP-E 65! Canon can do better than this.
Schneider Componon 28mm f4 enlarger lens:
This is the latest model, the plastic BKV-L barrel 6 element enlarger design version with a 5 blade iris. Clean examples of these lenses can be hard to find on eBay, let me know if you are looking for one, I do have a few extras as of May 2019. These sell for $750 direct from Schneider USA, where the all-metal 00 barrel versions sell for just $450 new.
Schneider Componon 28mm f2.8 line scan lens
This is the newest and latest all-metal design for industrial use for line scan and machine vision installations. Unused and in-the-box examples of this lens pop up on the used market occasionally for $350, usually from sellers in Asia. New from Schneider they are about $700, which is not bad at all. This is one of my favorite lenses and an extremely good performer, on of the best I have ever tested to be honest. See more info here at Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f2-8-componon-lens
Schneider M-Componon 28mm f4 macro lens
The M-Componons were designed and made by Schneider Kreuznach and sold by Linhof and Rollei. These can sometimes be hard to find on the used market but don’t over pay. In 2018-2019 you can pick up clean examples for $300 - $350 with box and caps. This lens is more expensive but its a much better performer than any of the enlarger lens versions. This is a completely different design than the 28mm f4 enlarger lens. Probably due to sky high prices when sold new, all three or four of my copies arrived in what seemed to be in unused condition.
More about the lenses in this test
Schneider M-Componon 28mm f4 macro lens
The M-Componons were designed and made by Schneider Kreuznach and sold by Linhof and Rollei. These can sometimes be hard to find on the used market but don’t over pay. In 2018-2019 you can pick up clean examples for $300 - $350 with box and caps. This lens is more expensive but its a much better performer than any of the enlarger lens versions. This is a completely different design than the 28mm f4 enlarger lens. Probably due to sky high prices when sold new, all three or four of my copies arrived in what seemed to be in unused condition.
Schneider Componon 28mm f4 enlarger lens
This is the latest model, the plastic BKV-L barrel 6 element enlarger design version with a 5 blade iris. Clean examples of these lenses can be hard to find on eBay, let me know if you are looking for one, I do have a few extras as of May 2019. These sell for $750 direct from Schneider USA, where the all-metal 00 barrel versions sell for just $450 new.
Schneider Componon 28mm f2.8 line scan lens
This is the newest and latest all-metal design for industrial use for line scan and machine vision installations. Unused and in-the-box examples of this lens pop up on the used market occasionally for $350, usually from sellers in Asia. New from Schneider they are about $700, which is not bad at all, considering its that is the same retail price as the all-plastic housed BKV-L barrel enlarger lens f4 version.
Canon 35mm Macrophoto lens
These lenses are usually plentiful on eBay but sometimes the supply gets tight. Prices range from $200-400 or so with the plastic case. I do have one extra lens for sale if you are looking for one, let me know. The MP macrophoto lenses from Canon are my all-time favorite bellows lenses and much better optically than the Minolta 25 and 12.5mm lenses.
Canon 65mm MP-E Macro lens
This has to be the most popular and best selling larger than life-size macro lens every made. I bought my lens direct from Canon USA online store for $760 with free shipping a few years ago. It’s sad that they have to undercut their own dealers and sell to the public directly for a discount but a great chance for the consumer to pick one up for a great price.
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LENSES IN THIS TEST
https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f2-8-componon-lens,
https://www.closeuphotography.com/50-dollar-componon-vs-mitutoyo-objective)
The Schneider Componon S BKV-L barrel mount 4/80 PDF on the Schneider Optics US site:
https://www.schneideroptics.com/ecommerce/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?CID=176&IID=1978
Schneider Componon S 4/80 tech sheet PDF from the Scheider Optics US site:
https://www.schneideroptics.com/pdfs/photo/datasheets/componon-s/componon-s_40_80_1.pdf
Schneider Componon S 4/80 MTF curve PDF from the Scheider Optics US site:
https://www.schneideroptics.com/pdfs/photo/datasheets/componon-s/componon-s_40_80_2.pdf
The Schneider Componon S Makro-Iris mount 4/80 PDF from the european SK site:
https://schneiderkreuznach.com/application/files/4215/1902/8433/2018-02-19_09-20_668.pdf
Details on the M-Componon 4/28 with lots of general M-Componon information:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f4-m-componon/
SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (Model 272E) info on the Tamron site:
http://www.tamron-usa.com/assets/pdfs/272E.pdf
Review of the SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di Macro on the Photozone, now Optical Limits site:
https://www.opticallimits.com/Reviews/282-tamron-af-90mm-f28-di-sp-macro-test-report--review
https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f2-8-componon-lens