Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5/110 Scanner Lens
The Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/110 (S3110) is an industrial-grade scanner lens, one of a group of four used in the professional high-end Scitex Smart 340 flatbed scanner. The S3110 lens is optimized for a 0.73x magnification and was used to cover a 35mm format area installed in reverse inside the scanner. Due to the slow maximum aperture, the performance of these lenses is limited for macro work, but the S3110 lens is an excellent tube lens, even though its optimized for a close-up distance, not infinity. The image quality of the S3110 is fantastic, very consistent across the frame and better corrected than a consumer market enlarger lens used as a tube lens, although not quite at the level of an true APO lens.
Special thanks to my friend Lou for encouraging me to finish this test!
All of the lenses in this post were purchased without any discount or commission from anyone. Also it’s important to know that this post which does not contain any affiliate links, ads or visitor tracking as there are on commercial for-profit lens review sites.
Updates:
December 22, 2020. Just added a 2500 pixel setup diagram for using the S-3 110mm lens in a stacked configuration. The tricky part is that the S3110 needs to be mounted in reverse for infinity focus and this might be difficult for some since the lens does not have front accessory threads. Using a SM2 lens tube system makes S3110 setup all too easy.
Scitex s-3 110 tube lens test at 3.14x
Click on the image below to view a larger version in a Lightbox viewer. To see 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. The full size image will be 2500px across that number at the end of the image URL. If the image size is anything smaller you can easily change the number to 2500 manually and press enter to bring up the largest image. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save the image.
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5/110 as a tube lens with the Schneider Componon 35mm lens at 3.14x.
The performance of the Componon 4/35 and S-3 110 lens stack is excellent. The uniform level of sharpness across the entire frame is amazing, there is zero drop off in image quality from the center to the extreme corners. The impressive performance here is only matched by a few lenses that I have tested and exceeded by maybe a handful of lenses that I know of.
Be sure to view the above image at the full 2500 pixel width, check the URL, it should have =2500w at end if not change the figure to 2500 and hit enter.
100% view crops at 3.14x
Center crop Scitex S-3 5/110 with Componon 35mm lens at 3.14x.
Off-center crop Scitex S-3 5/110 with Componon 35mm lens at 3.14x.
Far upper left corner crop Scitex S-3 5/110 with Componon 35mm lens at 3.14x.
The cropped images out of the S-3 110 and CPN 4/35 show that the far corners have the same high level of sharpness and contrast as the center area, fantastic consistency!
3.14x Test Setup
Front lens: Schneider Componon 4/35 lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5/110 lens reverse mounted focused at infinity, lens is also reverse mounted inside the scanner.
Stacked lens nominal test aperture: f/2.8
Stacked lens effective test aperture: f/8.8
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
stacked configuration Setup
The performance of this lens in a stacked setup is fantastic but for best results, the S3110 needs to be mounted in reverse. This can be an issue for some since the lens does not feature front accessory threads. Using a lens tube system makes it really easy.
Parts list and links
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/110 lens
Schneider Componon 2.8/35 lens
Thorlabs Stackable SM2 lens tube, SML03 to SM2L30: https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=3383
(note that a pair of SM2 retainer rings are included with an SM2 tube)
Thorlabs SM2A29 - Adapter with External SM2 Threads and Internal M39 x 1.0 Threads: https://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=SM2A29
RafCamera 38mm clamp to SM2 male thread adapter: https://rafcamera.com/adapter-id38mm-to-sm2m
Scitex S-3 5/110 tube lens Quick Review
Like:
Small compact all-metal lens body
Easy to adapt M39 x 26 TPI mount
Excellent image quality and coverage when setup in a stacked configuration
Dont like:
Not easy to find
Resale price fluctuations on eBay
Disappointed with:
Performance as a normal close-up lens (as opposed to a tube lens)
TECH Specs
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/110 lens
Type: High-end flat bed Scanner lens
Focal length: 110mm
Aperture: Pre-set f/5
Chromatic aberration correction: Very well corrected when used as a tube lens but the lens not corrected at the level of a true APO lens.
Lens mount: Standard Leica thread mount, M39 x 26 TPI
Front threads: none
Normal or reverse mounting: Reverse, with the rear pointed away from the sensor and towards the subject.
Cost: These lenses can be found on Ebay from time to time but be patient and don’t overpay.
Mounting tips: This lens doesn’t have filter threads and it performs best in reverse. I would recommend mounting the lenses inside a tube in reverse. My normal SM2 studio setup uses threaded M52 lens tubes designed to mount optics, so the Scitex lenses mount inside the tubes with the proper thread adapter. See more on the SM2 studio setup here: https://www.closeuphotography.com/52mm-setup
The Scitex Smart 340 scanner
The Scitex Smart 340 was a professional high-end scanner that sold for $30,000 in 1996, equal to $50,000 in 2020 dollars! The Smart 340 could scan originals from 35mm format to over 11.8 x 17 inches, using a one-pass 12-bit color scan with 5260dpi resolution using a 4 scanner lens system listed below.
Scitex Smart 340 lens specs (thanks to Surf from Moscow for these figures):
Rodenstock Rogonar-S 5.6/60 for scanning A3, A4, 8x10 in. Optimized for 0.111x.
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 4.9/67 for scanning 4x5 in. Optimized for 0.215x.
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/89 for scanning 6x6cm, 6x7cm, 6x9cm. Optimized for 0.376x.
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 5.0/110 for scanning 35mm. Optimized for 0.726x reverse mounted.
Reports posted on various photography forums say that the S-3 lenses used in the Smart 340 scanner are APO corrected, but this is not correct. The chromatic aberration control out of the 4 lenses varies quite a bit, the S3110 being best, the S-3 67 being the least corrected. The S-3 lenses are well corrected overall but not at the level of a true APO lens.
Rodenstock Scitex S-3 lenses from the Smart 340 scanner
Links for more info
To see how the 67 and 89mm S-3 lenses perform at 2x, see this test on Closeuphotography.com:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/2x-lens-test-2018
The Scitex 340 scanner project, posted here in Closeuphotography.com:
https://www.closeuphotography.com/scitex-smart-340-s3-scanner-lenses/
Scitex S-3 340 Smart Scanner Lens Removal Project thread on Photomacrography.net:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36913
Atlas Moth "Black Hole" scales, Scitex 110mm S-3 thread on Photomacrography.net:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=237337
Scitex S-3 scanner lens tests thread on Photomacrography.net:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37943