The Lenses
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II Scanner Lens
Nikon Scanner Nikkor ED 7 Element Scanner Lens
Canon 35MM f/2.8 Macrophoto Lens
Rodenstock 75mm F/4.5 APO Rodagon D 2X Lens
Optikos Teradyne 106mm f/2 Inspection Lens
Canon-MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo Lens
The target
Full target wafer resized to 1500 pixels with crop areas highlighted. Center, edge and far corner.
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens vs Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II Lens at 2x
Originally I planned to only compare the Minolta 5400 I and 5400 II scanner lenses at 2x. When I saw the first results the quality was so high I just had to compare the minolta against my favorite the Canon 35mm f/2.8 Macro Photo, and eventually a few others.
Thanks to the RAF camera RMS adapter ( link ) which I leave the adapter permanently attached, the installation was very simple. As usual I tried the lens in both directions to find the best performing orientation.
The Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens 1x test is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/
100% Center Crop Comparison; Minolta vs Minolta
The Minolta type I and II lenses are identical in performance. The images with the two lenses are almost impossible to tell apart, so I purposely skipped uploading the edge and comparison crops. The only cosmetic difference I could see in the two lenses was a different color lens coating.
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens vs Nikon Scanner Nikkor ED 7 Element Lens at 2x
The Nikon Scanner Nikkor ED 7 Element Scanner Lens is the smallest of the three Scanner-Nikkor ED types that I have seen so far. My lens has a Thorlabs SM1 threaded sleeve mounted on the lens barrel, so set-up is quick and easy. As part of my usual procedure shooting with a lens, I tried the lens in both directions, and the lens was shot in best orientation. The Scanner-Nikkor 7 element lens is about 1 stop faster than the Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens.
100% Center Crop Comparison Minolta vs Nikon
The Scanner-Nikkor has the very smallest edge in center sharpness at 2x, but you can see the softness already becoming a problem at the edges of the center crop area.
100% Edge Crop Comparison
The Scanner-Nikkor sharpness is fading in the edge crop while the Minolta does an excellent job here.
100% Extreme Corner Crop Comparison
The Scanner-Nikkor sharpness fall off continued towards the far corners, and this is the better performing mount direction.
More info on the Scanner Nikkor lens
To see how the Scanner-Nikkor ED 7 element Scanner Lens performs against the Canon MP-E 65 lens, that test is available here: https://www.closeuphotography.com/scanner-nikkor-ed-7-element-lens/. A test at 1.2x test of the Scanner-Nikkor is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/. More information on the Scanner-Nikkor ED lenses, is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/scanner-nikkor-ed-lens/
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens vs Rodenstock 75mm F/4.5 APO Rodagon D 2X Lens at 2x
The APO-Rodagon 2x is well known in the macro photography field, and I just happened to have one on the shelf, although honestly I don't remember the last time I have used it.
The lens was easy to use in retro or reverse mounted with a Rodenstock reverse adapter ring, with easy to use M39 threads and shot at f/4.5. BTW, this Rodenstock adapter ring is cheaper to buy direct from Qioptiq than it is on Ebay!
100% Center Crop Comparison Minolta Vs Rodenstock APO Rodagon
The center resolution with the APO Rodagon was okay but the high CAs and low contrast crop is pretty ugly at 100% view. I was surprised to see such a high level of CAs with this lens.
100% Edge Crop Comparison
The APO Rodagon looks sharper outside of the center of the frame.
100% Extreme Corner Crop Comparison
Corner sharpness with the APO-Rodagoon is pretty poor but at least the lens is consistent. The high level of CAs with a lens that is APO corrected is a little disappointing. This lens is an old design so the performance here was not much of a surprise, the manufacturer recommends this lens for a low resolution sensor down to a 7 micron pixel pitch. This lens would do be a better match with something like a Canon EOS-1D MK III, or Nikon D4.
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens vs Canon-MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo Lens at 2x
Performance at higher magnifications with the MP-E is known to be weak, so it is interesting to see how this lens does in the middle of its range at 2x. This MP-E was mounted on the Sigma MC-11 EOS to E-mount adapter, this lens does not contain any glass elements by the way. This lens was shot from f/2.8 to f/4.5 for this test and I found that f/3.5 was the sharpest aperture at 2x. Closing down farther than f/3.5 improves CAs and corners but at the same time you would lose fine details.
The MP-E 65 is a popular average performing lens, personally I prefer the older Canon MP-35 macro photo lens over the MP-E 65, I own both. I find the MP-35 to be sharper, more consistent, much easier to use in the field, and a much better value.
100% Center Crop Comparison Minolta vs Canon MP-E 65
Resolution in the MP-E crop is not bad but the contrast is low and I see lateral red fringing creeping into this crop. The performance of the Minolta is sharper in the center with zero CAs.
100% Edge Crop Comparison
Results here are similar to the center.
100% Extreme Corner Crop Comparison
This is disappointing performance from the MP-E 65. The corners on an APS-C are poor, even at f/3.5 and in the middle of its range. To be fair to Canon, this lens was released in 1999 but still, there is no excuse, the Canon MP-35 macro photo lens was released in 1981 and it doesn't have any of the image quality problems that the MP-E has and that is without any UD glass that the MP-E is said to contain.
Note that the corner and edge crops were selected and processed separately than the center crop images.
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens vs Canon 35MM f/2.8 Macrophoto Lens at 2x
The Canon 35MM f/2.8 Macro photo Lens is my favorite lens in the 2-3x range, so much so that I owned 5 copies of this lens at one point! This lens is very easy to use and since it's equipped with RMS threads, it's a breeze to set-up. This lens was shot at f2.8 and f/4 and the performance was better stopped down one stop from maximum.
100% Center Crop Comparison
To my eyes the Canon has a very, very slight edge in sharpness here in the center but has easy to see red fringing, where the Minolta has no CAs. Its hard to believe this lens was made in the 1980s and is one of the top lenses in the test.
100% Edge Crop Comparison
Both lenses perform very well here at 2x, the Minolta has slightly more detail and contrast.
100% Extreme Corner Crop Comparison
The Canon corner performance drops a little against the Minolta, but, in real world use, the Canon MP-35 beats almost all lenses in the corners from 2-3x. I have tested the MP-35 against a ton of lenses over the years from Schneider and Rodenstock, 28mm, 35mm, 40mm, 45mm, 50mm, Componon-S, APO-Rodagons, M-Componons, even APO-Componons, and the MP-35 beats them all in image quality from 2-3x.
Looking closely at these crops the Canon has a slight edge in the center but with CAs, the Minolta is CA free and as better image quality in the edge and corner crops. So the Minolta outperforms my all around favorite at 2-3x, the Canon MP-35, that's a surprise!
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens vs Optikos Teradyne 106mm f/2 Inspection lens at 2x
The Optikos Teradyne 106mm f/2 is a special lens designed for semiconductor inspection. The lens is optimized for 2.82x magnification with a very nice 13 blade iris, fast f/2 aperture, and APO correction. This lens was sold as new old stock on Ebay where I stumbled on it by pure chance. This lens uses proprietary mounting threads so I had to have a custom 52mm adapter made. This lens was shot in thirds stops from f/2 to f/4 with the performance peak at 2x is a the f/2.8 mark.
A detailed report is available for this lens here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/optikos-teradyne-106mm-f2-lens/
100% center Crop Comparison Minolta vs Optikos 106mm
The Optikos 106mm f/2 produces a sharper center crop than any lens in this group. Some details in the Optikos crop are just not there in the Minolta crop above. The slim vertical bars in the far left side, In the middle diagonal band for example, show fine detail and are a gray color in the Optikos crop, but with the Minolta, they are pale green without any detail.
100% Edge Crop Comparison
Both lenses perform at a very high level in the edge crops but one lens seems produce more details in one direction and the other seems to resolve more the other way.
100% Extreme Corner Crop Comparison
In the far corner the Minolta resolves more detail than the Optikos 106mm at 2x.
Chromatic Aberrations at 200%
Almost all lenses suffer from CAs, or chromatic aberrations, which means that light of different wavelengths are magnified by slightly different amounts by the lens. This phenomenon deteriorates the performance and image quality by softening of edges in the an image. Minimizing chromatic aberrations is one of the most important goals of a lens manufacturer. Lens designers correct for CAs by combining different lens elements with different dispersion properties, or different refractive indexes but this is makes a lens more expensive and complex.
When a lens is corrected so well that no residual chromatic aberration can be detected the lens is said to have APO or apochromatic correction, unfortunately these lenses are very sensitive to tolerances so they are very expensive and difficult to produce.
Top row, left to Right; Rodenstock APO 75mm 2x, Canon MP 35mm, Canon MP-E 65mm, bottom row, left to right; Scanner Nikkor ED 7, Minolta 5400, Optikos Teradyne 106mm f/2 Inspection Lens
All 3 lenses on the top row suffer from chromatic aberrations including the APO Rodagon D, which is the worst offender. The scanner and inspection lenses along the bottom row all have excellent chromatic aberration suppression. This is really impressive since they are outside their optimized magnification range at 2x and they are still producing almost zero residual chromatic aberration.
Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens with RAF Camera RMS adapter attached.
The Best
Overall Best: Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens
For a lens that was designed to be used at 1x, the Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 performance at 2x was a surprise. The Minolta has the highest image quality I have found so far in the 2x magnification range. How Minolta designers managed to produce such a tiny lens that can perform like this from 1x to over 2x is an accomplishment. Most lenses that are highly optimized for a narrow magnification range, like 1x, usually see a drop in performance outside the designed range. The Minolta is the cheapest lens in this group and a really good value, considering the fact that is costs a fraction of a new Canon MP-E 65, its a steal. If you can work with an RMS mount lens without an adjustable iris, which is not a big deal at all, the Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens is highly recommended.
A detailed report on the Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/
Sharpest Center: Optikos Teradyne 106mm f/2 Inspection Lens
Not the Best but Still Excellent: Canon 35mm f/2.8 Macro Photo Lens
Excellent performance from a 40 year old design that beats the MP-E 65 at 2x!
The Worst
Disappointing at 2x: Canon-MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo Lens
Poor corners on a APS-C sensor and lateral CAs are disappointing for a $1000+ lens.
Too Far Out of its Range: Nikon Scanner Nikkor ED 7 Element Scanner Lens
Excellent central area sharpness but too far outside its range at this magnification to be useful for anything at 2x.
Worst Overall Performance: Rodenstock 75mm F/4.5 APO Rodagon D 2X Lens
Not a good match for a modern sensor and this APO lens produces more CAs than any of the non-APO lenses here.
THE SET-UP
Camera: Sony α6300, model # ILCE-6300, also known as: A6300
Sensor size: 23.5 × 15.6 mm. APS-C. 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
A series of images was shot with each lens in 10 micron steps, and the sharpest image was chosen for center, edge, and corner Photoshop at 100% actual pixel view. All images were shot as a single RAW files and processed in PS CC 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.
Links for more information
Minolta 5400 Scanner Lens to RMS thread adapter link at RAF camera: https://www.rafcamera.com/adapter-18mm-id-to-rms-male
The Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 Scanner Lens 1x test is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/
More information on the Scanner-Nikkor ED lenses is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/scanner-nikkor-ed-7-element-lens/
Detailed info on the Scanner-Nikkor ED lenses is available here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/scanner-nikkor-ed-lens/
A detailed report on the Optikos 106mm lens here on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/optikos-teradyne-106mm-f2-lens/