Lens: Schneider Componon 135mm f/5.6
Vintage: Still made although in a slightly different form.
Lens Mount: 49mm x 0.75
Needed Adapters: The 50 mm mount is fairly easy to adapt to a bellows although it does take a
couple different rings. I first start with a 52-50 mm step-down ring. That screws onto the lens mount.
Now I have a 52 mm male thread. The problem is that the thread on my reversing ring is also male.
That problem can be easily bypassed by using a 55 - 52 mm step-down ring. These will have an
internal 52mm thread that generally goes for the entire length of the ring. This allows you to use the
ring as a 52-52 mm male to male adapter. The reversing ring fits onto the other side of this ring and
you are in business.
couple different rings. I first start with a 52-50 mm step-down ring. That screws onto the lens mount.
Now I have a 52 mm male thread. The problem is that the thread on my reversing ring is also male.
That problem can be easily bypassed by using a 55 - 52 mm step-down ring. These will have an
internal 52mm thread that generally goes for the entire length of the ring. This allows you to use the
ring as a 52-52 mm male to male adapter. The reversing ring fits onto the other side of this ring and
you are in business.
Preferred Mounting: Normal.
Filter Thread: 50 mm on the lens. Watch out putting a typical lens cap on this as the front element
extends fairly far forward.
extends fairly far forward.
Controls: This lens has an aperture control and a slider that allows you to have the aperture turn
smoothly or with the click stops..
smoothly or with the click stops..
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Resolution vs Aperture:
The sharpest aperture is f/9.4, although
apertures from f/5.6 - f/11 all have similar
sharpness.
The highest resolution aperture is f/6.7.
I chose to use f/9.4 for all of my magnification
testing in the next two sections since I always pick
the sharpest aperture.
For general shooting f/6.7 or f/8 as these
aperture have slightly higher resolution than
f/9.4. You will pay for this increase in resolution
with a loss in depth of field.
The sharpest aperture is f/9.4, although
apertures from f/5.6 - f/11 all have similar
sharpness.
The highest resolution aperture is f/6.7.
I chose to use f/9.4 for all of my magnification
testing in the next two sections since I always pick
the sharpest aperture.
For general shooting f/6.7 or f/8 as these
aperture have slightly higher resolution than
f/9.4. You will pay for this increase in resolution
with a loss in depth of field.
Corner Sharpness vs Aperture:
The corner performance of this lens is the best
that I have measured (slightly better than the
Minolta 50mm bellows lens that I recently
posted). There is virtually no difference between
the image in the center of the field and on the
extreme corners at all apertures.
Nothing more need be said.
The corner performance of this lens is the best
that I have measured (slightly better than the
Minolta 50mm bellows lens that I recently
posted). There is virtually no difference between
the image in the center of the field and on the
extreme corners at all apertures.
Nothing more need be said.
Sharpness and Resolution vs Magnification:
With my bellows this lens has a usable
magnification range from about 0.3:1 (limited by
the height of my copystand) to about 0.9:1. This
range makes it useful as a general purpose
macro lens.
The lens shows good sharpness and resolution
across the range, although not as good as a
typical macro lens. The sharpness and resolution
is more than enough for most purposes since
most images will be resized to something a little
smaller.
The advantage of using a lens of this long focal
length is a large working distance (similar to a
Nikon 200/4 macro). This can be a problem with
copystand work as you will need a large one to
accommodate this lens.
As before, this lens has superior corner
sharpness across the magnification range.
With my bellows this lens has a usable
magnification range from about 0.3:1 (limited by
the height of my copystand) to about 0.9:1. This
range makes it useful as a general purpose
macro lens.
The lens shows good sharpness and resolution
across the range, although not as good as a
typical macro lens. The sharpness and resolution
is more than enough for most purposes since
most images will be resized to something a little
smaller.
The advantage of using a lens of this long focal
length is a large working distance (similar to a
Nikon 200/4 macro). This can be a problem with
copystand work as you will need a large one to
accommodate this lens.
As before, this lens has superior corner
sharpness across the magnification range.
Street Price: ~$75 - $150 in good used condition.
Chromatic Aberration: This lens show minimal color fringing in the center
(about 0.05 - 0.15 pixel) and minimal on the periphery (about 0.2 pixels).
Anything below 1.0 pixel is good.
(about 0.05 - 0.15 pixel) and minimal on the periphery (about 0.2 pixels).
Anything below 1.0 pixel is good.
Image Contrast: Image contrast is good across the magnification range.
Flare: No significant flare is evident during lens testing
Conclusion:
This is a very good enlarging lens that can be used quite successfully as a general purpose macro
lens. They are inexpensive and are fairly easily found at used camera stores and on eBay. You will
need a bellows to use this lens and it is fairly easy to adapt to such.
It has good resolution and sharpness although not quite that of a good modern macro lens. The
difference is pretty small and unless you are addicted to pixel-peeping you won't see much
difference on your images. This lens does outperform most macro lens with its superior corner
sharpness. Combined with its lack of distortion makes it a good candidate for image stitching
(panoramas).
The biggest advantage of using this lens is that it has a large working distance. For coins, this extra
working distance allows for great high-angled lighting that shorter focal lenses just can't replicate.
You will need a large copystand to use this lens.
This is a very good enlarging lens that can be used quite successfully as a general purpose macro
lens. They are inexpensive and are fairly easily found at used camera stores and on eBay. You will
need a bellows to use this lens and it is fairly easy to adapt to such.
It has good resolution and sharpness although not quite that of a good modern macro lens. The
difference is pretty small and unless you are addicted to pixel-peeping you won't see much
difference on your images. This lens does outperform most macro lens with its superior corner
sharpness. Combined with its lack of distortion makes it a good candidate for image stitching
(panoramas).
The biggest advantage of using this lens is that it has a large working distance. For coins, this extra
working distance allows for great high-angled lighting that shorter focal lenses just can't replicate.
You will need a large copystand to use this lens.
Basic Function: Requires extension tube or bellows to focus.
Appearance:
Aperture: 5 blades.
Image Samples:
About 0.4:1 magnification, f/9.4, cropped slightly and resized:
About 0.4:1 magnification, f/9.4, 1 to 1 crop:
Good pixel level detail although maybe not quite the
detail of a good macro lens.
Good pixel level detail although maybe not quite the
detail of a good macro lens.
About 0.9:1, f/9.4, resized:
About 0.9:1 magnification, f/9.4, 1 to 1 crop:
Again, good detail, but probably slightly less than a
good macro lens would have.
Again, good detail, but probably slightly less than a
good macro lens would have.
Distortion: There is virtually no distortion with this lens. Straight lines on the
edge of the frame are straight on the image.
edge of the frame are straight on the image.
Performance: Sharpness vs Magnification:
This is a new graph that I recently constructed. I
have 4 lines that represent levels of performance
from outstanding (top) to fair (bottom). This
shows where this lens fit into the hierarchy that I
have created.
The Schneider 135mm shows sharpness the
varies from good at 1:3 to fair at the top end of
its range, about 0.9:1. This sharpness suffers a
little from its rather large working distance.
This is a new graph that I recently constructed. I
have 4 lines that represent levels of performance
from outstanding (top) to fair (bottom). This
shows where this lens fit into the hierarchy that I
have created.
The Schneider 135mm shows sharpness the
varies from good at 1:3 to fair at the top end of
its range, about 0.9:1. This sharpness suffers a
little from its rather large working distance.
Performance: Resolution vs Magnification:
This is a new graph that I recently constructed. I
have 4 lines that represent levels of performance
from outstanding (top) to fair (bottom). This
shows where this lens fit into the hierarchy that I
have created.
The Schneider 135mm shows resolution that
varies from very good at 1:3 to good at the top
end. Again, you use this lens is you want good
lighting and a long working distance.
This is a new graph that I recently constructed. I
have 4 lines that represent levels of performance
from outstanding (top) to fair (bottom). This
shows where this lens fit into the hierarchy that I
have created.
The Schneider 135mm shows resolution that
varies from very good at 1:3 to good at the top
end. Again, you use this lens is you want good
lighting and a long working distance.