Schneider Componon 28mm f4 and the Mitutoyo M Plan APO Objective head to head
Really, a $50 enlarging lens against a Mitutoyo 5x?
In the world of macro photography its a generally accepted rule that at 4x and higher magnification, microscope objectives are unbeatable when it comes to image quality. This is mostly due to a faster maximum aperture since a wider aperture = higher potential resolution. So microscope objectives usually have a maximum aperture advantage over a photography lens but they are usually more expensive, the Mitutoyo M Plan APO 5x in this test is about $700 new, $300-500 used. What if you could find a lens for less than $100 that could produce image quality as good as a microscope objective like the Mitutoyo 5x, that would be something wouldn’t it? What if there was a lens out there that costs about $50 that could offer image quality even better than a Mitutoyo M Plan, one of the very best 5x objectives on the market today?
STACKing VS EXTENDing
Stacking lenses, also called coupling lenses, is a technique where you mount a lens in reverse, or face-to-face, on a second lens, usually a telephoto lens. With the rear lens set to infinity focus, and the front lens reverse mounted, then effectively the front lens is still focused at infinity also, without the without any loss of light due to extension. Together the combination has the potential to resolve more than either of the lenses setup for close-focus with extension. You can predict the maximum possible resolution from a certain lens by using the simple fact that a wider aperture = higher potential resolution. An f/4 lens focused at 2x magnification by extension only would have an effective aperture of f/12 using the simple formula, effective aperture = nominal aperture * ( Magnification + 1 ). With the same lens but this time using the stacked lens technique the effective aperture would be only f/8 using the formula effective aperture = nominal aperture * Magnification.
The Componon 4/28 stacked
After testing more than two dozen lens combinations at 4x to 5x, I finally found a special pair of lenses. The front lens, a Schneider Componon 4/28, is in a cylinder mount. This is an industrial mount without an iris that consists of two lens cells mounted to a center barrel section with an aperture disk. The key to the performance of this lens is that center section. It can be removed or changed to one with a faster aperture. I was able to remove the f/4 disk and replace it with a larger disk for a nominal f/2.3. (2019 update: later I was able to go even larger to an f/2.2 disk for even better sharpness). The rear lens for this test was a excellent lens and one of my all-time favorites, the Makro-Symmar 5.6/120. (for more on this here on Closeuphotography.com, see this link: https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-makro-symmar-sr-120)
With this combination of Schneider Componon 4/28 and Makro-Symmar 5.6/120 is very sharp and with great chromatic aberration control. This stacked lenses are actually faster than the Mitutoyo M Plan APO 5x, f/2.3 vs f/2.9. Can the Componon possibly outperform the Mitutoyo?
Update Dec 2018:
After this comparison I tested the 2.8/28 Componon line scan lens against the Mitutoyo M Plan APO 5x and although its close, the f2.8 Componon beats the objective. To see the full test on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f2-8-componon-lens
Componon setup information
Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach 28mm f/4 Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach 120mm f/5.6 Makro-Symmar Line Scan Lens set to f.5.6 and normally mounted focused at infinity
Stacked lens NA: 0.217
Stacked lens nominal aperture: f/2.3 via a 8mm aperture disk placed between the two lenses.
Stacked lens effective aperture: f/9.89
Mitutoyo 5x M Plan APO setup information
Objective: Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 5X/0.14 ∞/- Objective
Tube Lens: Thorlabs ITL200 reverse mounted and beyond infinity using 144 mm extension from sensor to lens with 75mm from tube lens to objective
NA: 0.14
Nominal aperture: f/2.9
Effective aperture: f/15.4
Silicon wafer test target with crop areas outlined in white.
COMPARING IMAGES AT 100% VIEW
Click on any image below to view a 1500 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.
4.3X TEST: 100% CENTER CROPS
Output from both lenses is excellent with great sharpness even when at 100% view. The Mitutoyo has slightly better contrast though but do a great job.
Schneider Makro-Symmar 120mm f5.6 + Componon 28mm f4 lens: The amount of details and the level of sharpness is just amazing for the Componon. If this lens was focused with extension, instead of stacking, some sharpness would be lost to diffraction since the effective aperture at 4.3x would be f/12.2. On an APS-C sensor camera like this with a 3.98 μm pixel pitch diffraction kicks in at about f/8. In this stacked configuration the effective aperture is something like f/9.8.
It’s important to note that the lack of chromatic aberration, there is some CA cancelling resulting from the the stacking of the two lenses.
Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 5X/0.14 ∞/- Objective: Typical performance from a Mitutoyo M Plan APO objective, excellent sharpness and contrast with nice neutral colors. .
4.3X TEST: 100% below CENTER CROPS
Below center at 100% the results are similar here, amazing performance from both with slightly more contrast and better CA control from the Mitutoyo.
Schneider Makro-Symmar 120mm f5.6 + Componon 28mm f4 lens: Away from the center the differences in the two optics are a lot harder to see. In some areas the enlarging lens looks a bit sharper.
The Makro-Componon stack has a touch more CAs but it is beyond amazing for an enlarging lens to produce such clean results especially away from the center of the frame.
Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 5X/0.14 ∞/- Objective: Still better contrast and better neutral colors but the sharpness advantage is just about gone.
4.3x TEST: 100% EDGE CROPS
Schneider Makro-Symmar 120mm f5.6 + Componon 28mm f4 lens: Although there are some pink CAs in this crop, the detail is excellent compared to the Mitutoyo. In my experience having owned at least a dozen Componon 4/28 lenses over the years, this type of image quality near the edge of the frame on a APS-C is impossible using extension only.
Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 5X/0.14 ∞/- Objective: The drop in sharpness here is due to the smaller diameter image circle caused by pushing the lens down to 4.3x. Normally the 5x M Plan is sharp all the way to the very edge of the frame.
4.3X TEST: 100% CORNER CROPS
Schneider Makro-Symmar 120mm f5.6 + Componon 28mm f4 lens: Fantastic image quality with better sharpness, details and contrast than the Mitutoyo.
Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 5X/0.14 ∞/- Objective: Good performance here considering the objective has been pushed down to 4.3x for the test.
Test Results
Best image quality overall: Schneider Componon 28mm f4 lens + Makro-Symmar 120mm f5.6
This sounds almost unbelievable but the stacked lens combination outperforms the objective at 4.3x. The performance was very close in the center but the stacked lens definitely pulls out ahead in the edge and corners. When you consider that I paid only $50 for the Componon this level of performance sounds too good to be true. This test shows that it is possible with a stacked lens combination, with a telephoto lens that you might already own, to match or even beat a top shelf objective like the Mitutoyo for a fraction of the cost.
What amazing time we live in, a common consumer budget-priced enlarging lens like the 28mm nComponon, when properly setup, can outperform a high-end objective like the Mitutoyo M Plan APO 5x.
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, edge, 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.
The Schneider Componon
Componon lenses are marketed as a higher performance line of lenses but they suffer from the same issues as most enlarging lenses and that is limited resolution due to conservative maximum apertures and only average chromatic correction but they are really easy to find and you can easily find a good sample for less than $50 on Ebay.
Schneider has sold the same Componon lenses in at least 6 different mounts. The Componon you see here is mounted in an industrial cylinder body and are harder to find than the plastic consumer mount Componons but all of the versions have very similar performance. The center section of the industrial mount lenses incorporate an aperture disk without any iris.
other stacked lens combinations
Schneider Makro-symmar 120mm F5.6 And Xenon 28mm F2 Line Scan Lens Stack:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/makro-symmar-xenon/
Sigma 150mm f2.8 os macro + xenon 28mm f2 line scan lens Stack:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/sigma-150-os-xenon/
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Makro-symmar
$50 SCHNEIDER ENLARGING LENS VS MITUTOYO M PLAN APO 5X OBJECTIVE TEST:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/50-dollar-componon-vs-mitutoyo-objective
SCHNEIDER MAKRO-SYMMAR 120MM F5.6 AND XENON 28MM F2 LINE SCAN LENS STACK:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/makro-symmar-xenon
LOMO 3.7X AND SCHNEIDER MAKRO-SYMMAR 5.6/120 STACKED LENS TEST:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/lomo-3-7x-and-sr120
SCHNEIDER MAKRO SYMMAR 5.6/120 AND COMPONON 2.8/28 LENS STACK TEST:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/makro-symmar-120-and-componon-28-lens-stack
Another page here on Closeuphotography.com with the MS120 stacked with the Componon 2.8/28:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-28mm-f2-8-componon-lens
The Makro-Symmar 120/5.9 Industrial 12K lens lineup on the Schneider Optics website (USA):
https://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecommerce/CatalogSubCategoryDisplay.aspx?CID=1353
The Makro-Symmar 5.9/120MM-0059 model used here on the Schneider Optics website (USA) website:
https://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecommerce/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?CID=1353&IID=6000
Schneider’s V38-line Scan Lens lineup including the 120/5.9 lens:
https://schneiderkreuznach.com/en/industrial-optics/lenses-v38-line-scan-macro-system
Makro-Symmar 5.9/120MM Data Sheet PDF:
https://schneiderkreuznach.com/application/files/8115/2845/3944/Makro-Symmar-5.9-120-0.75x.pdf
Makro-Symmar 5.9/120MM talk on Photomacrography.net:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=221728&sid=ce04e6ee77464c9e027cb52f2e04cb28
Makro-Symmar HM 120 5.9 lens
A detailed test report on the Makro-Symmar 120 lens in the B-0 mount called the 120 Makro-Symmar HM including comparison images is available here on Closeuphotography.com:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-makro-symmar-120mm/
More information on the Xenon Lens
A review of the Xenon is available here on Closeuphotography.com:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/schneider-kreuznach-xenon-28mm-f2-lens/
Xenon f/2 lens discussion on Photomacrography.net:
This is an older discussion but there is still lots of interesting info:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7354&