Resolution of Jena pentacon six lenses with S16 crop.

Gregg MacPherson · May 30, 2013

How sharp will the results be from Zeiss Jena Pentacon 6 medium format lenses if we are cropping to S16 format? How would they look if we intercut them with Zeiss S16 super speeds?

I was looking at 120 and 180mm/2.8 aus Biometer. My thought is, when the lens is cropped this much, the resolution may not be up to that of the super speeds. I have seen them (SSs) on the projector resolving a very crisp 200lp/mm. For bigger formats, the lenses don’t need this in order to look good. A 35mm format cine lens that can resolve 100lp/mm will look as good with 35mm film on screen as the 16mm SSs blown up and projected to the same screen size.

I think the zebra (black and aluminum striped focus ring) that some say are best are only single coated. Some interesting chat and pictures here.
http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/vintage-zeiss-glass-on-modern-cameras/
http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/zeiss-buttersharp-primes/#comment-2417

Any thoughts? The Jenas are cheap enough to just buy and try. Perhaps if this cropping affecting screen resolution issue is real, then the M42 Jena lenses are better?

Cheers,

Gregg.

PS: I think the zebra Biometers are single coated.

Edited May 30, 2013 by Gregg MacPherson

Gregg MacPherson · May 31, 2013

OK, I gues scratch the M42 idea, that mount doesn't have a suitable FFD.

Giray Izcan · May 31, 2013

Gregg,

Technically, yes you are right about s16 glass having higher MFT curve than 35mm format lenses. But, if you pay attention movies like Vera Drake - shot with Cooke s4s; also, the Rum Diary, shot on Zeiss ultra primes. Those both looked pretty sharp to me. My point is, can you really tell the difference between s16 and larger format lenses in terms of one having higher resolution than the other?

Gregg MacPherson · May 31, 2013

I'm looking at a particular family of medium format lenses. They are often sold remounted to PL, have a good sized focus barrel, looks like a generous throw and good markings. Sample images on Frank's pages, shot on S35 or 5D sensors look great, good enough to explore the possibility. But I have to wonder if the resolution on screen will be OK for S16. They are cheap enough that one could just try it.

These lenses were made 1963 - 67, for medium format and I don't know what their resolution actually is, whether it is consistent from lens to lens at point of manufacture, whether there are some other issues that help in selecting the best in this family. How they compare in resolution, apparent sharpness to the 16mm SSs or to modern S35 format glass I just don't know.

So I'm not sure how fair it is to compare S4s or Ultraprimes to these old lenses. But yea I get that a S35 S4 or Ultraprime should have good resolution for closeups intercut with the S16 SSs

Edit: spelling

Edited May 31, 2013 by Gregg MacPherson

Giray Izcan · May 31, 2013

Gregg,

I personally own a Zeiss Jena 50mm glass (35mm format), and used it on my s16 camera. The results were incredibly sharp. Medium format, I don't know, haven't tried it.

Gregg MacPherson · May 31, 2013

Gregg,

I personally own a Zeiss Jena 50mm glass (35mm format), and used it on my s16 camera. The results were incredibly sharp. Medium format, I don't know, haven't tried it.

Hey Giray,

I don't want to be missinyerpreted in my post. I see some really interesting possibilities in the old Jena lenses for S16, I just don't know enough yet, and don't have a lot of spare cash to just buy a few on spec. I'm really curious about exactly which 50mm Jena you have. Do you have much info? Any ECU photos showing the front, the barrel and the mount? If you have some and don't want to use up your upload allowance here you can email me direct.

Cheers,

Gregg.

viz(at)xtra.co.nz

Edited May 31, 2013 by Gregg MacPherson

Giray Izcan · May 31, 2013

It's Zeiss Jena 50mm f/1.8

Giray Izcan · May 31, 2013

I'll take a couple of pics and upload or email those to you asap.

Gregg MacPherson · May 31, 2013

What is the mount? Are you using an adapter on the c mount of your NPR?

Giray Izcan · June 1, 2013

Canon ef and yes I have a c to ef adapter. I am sending my NPR to Les soon to get it converted to s16 from u16 and get the cameflex mount replaced with permanent pl. So it will be c/canon ef and pl mount.

Giray Izcan · June 1, 2013

With this conversion, I will be able to use my Rokinon lenses and rent pl glass for more serious projects.

Gregg MacPherson · June 2, 2013

Actually Giray you probably don't need to send pictures. I've just been looking at pictures of similar lenses, perhaps a bit older, I can't tell from the info you gave. There is a problem using lenses that were originally in mounts with shorter than 52mm FFD. Can't easily remount them to PL. And the barrels are commonly smaller. I'm looking to eventually add some longer lenses to a set of 16mm SSs which will be remounted to PL.