Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

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RobertOToole
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Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

Image

Finally I had a chance to test my M-Componon 28 lens once a new v-mount to M42 mount adapter arrived from Raf Camera. Lens performance was good on extension and very good in a stacked setup. Coverage was much better than the Componon 28mm as you would expect.

Quick Notes

-The M-Componon 4/28 is actually f3.5 wide open, 1/3rd stop faster than advertised

-Outperforms the standard Componon 4/28 enlarger lens

-100% all metal body

-Large 80mm diagonal image circle will cover a medium format size sensor

-Excellent CA control

-Very good performance setup in a stacked configuration

Image

M-Componon 4/28 vs Componon 4/28 enlarger lens at 3x on a Nikon D850

FYI. These two lenses are made for different applications and for different formats. The M-Componon covers an 80mm diagonal at 2.5x (Schneider's numbers), the Componon enlarger lens was made to cover the half-frame 35mm format. The two lenses are often confused with some suggesting the two lenses use the same design.

Camera: Nikon D850 DSLR
Sensor size: 45.4 M pixels sensor 35.9 mm x 23.9 mm BSI CMOS 8,256 × 5,504 4.35 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 10 micron steps, 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. None of the images are stacked.

Image

Click on each image below to open a larger version in a new window. You can also right click, or two-finger press, and select Save Image As to save and view the images later in the app of your choice.

Image

2500 pixel center crop image. Both images are very sharp at 3x in the center. The Componon enlarger has a very slight edge.

The M-Componon was used wide open, the Componon was stopped down to f4.5. The M-CPN was set-up in forward mount, the CPN was reversed.

Image

2500 pixel far corner crop image. The M-Componon crop shows a slight drop off in image quality from the center. The Componon image quality drops off quite a bit in the corners, much softer than the M-CNP.

3.2x Stacked Test Set-up

The M-Componon image quality was much better here than on extension alone. The sharpness was nice and consistent from edge to edge. Be sure to open the image below to view the results at the full 2500 pixels.

Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach M-Componon 4/28
Rear lens: Mejiro 90mm f5.6 line scan lens normally mounted and focused at infinity
Front lens aperture at infinity: f/3.5
Stacked pair effective aperture: f/11.2

2500 pixel un-cropped image:

Image

For more details and test images, see the full test on my site: https://www.closeuphotography.com/schne ... -componon/

Questions and comments welcome.

Robert

Fidelio
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by Fidelio »

Looks amazing! How could I use the M-Componon 28 lens with a Pentax 645z system? Other than the adapter, what would I require?

RobertOToole
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

Fidelio wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:37 pm
Looks amazing! How could I use the M-Componon 28 lens with a Pentax 645z system? Other than the adapter, what would I require?
Hi Fidelio,

To use the M-CNP 4/28 you would need some kind of extension, a macro bellows setup would work well. A unit with shift and tilt movements would be ideal. Otherwise you could use extension tubes and a focus mount.

Best,

Robert

JKT
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by JKT »

Yes - I've found the M-Componon 4/28 excellent as well. Unfortunately the M-Componon 4/50 is not in the same class ... or at least my sample is not. It would be interesting to know whether mine is bad. Does anyone have that or M-Componon 4/80 to test?

ray_parkhurst
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by ray_parkhurst »

JKT wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:07 pm
Yes - I've found the M-Componon 4/28 excellent as well. Unfortunately the M-Componon 4/50 is not in the same class ... or at least my sample is not. It would be interesting to know whether mine is bad. Does anyone have that or M-Componon 4/80 to test?
I am not very impressed with my 80/4 M-Componon. Was "middle of the pack" in my 80mm shootout. Never had a 50mm or 28mm to work with.

JKT
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by JKT »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:08 am
JKT wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:07 pm
Yes - I've found the M-Componon 4/28 excellent as well. Unfortunately the M-Componon 4/50 is not in the same class ... or at least my sample is not. It would be interesting to know whether mine is bad. Does anyone have that or M-Componon 4/80 to test?
I am not very impressed with my 80/4 M-Componon. Was "middle of the pack" in my 80mm shootout. Never had a 50mm or 28mm to work with.
Then I probably made a good decision on passing that one. Thanks!

RobertOToole
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

JKT wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:07 pm
Yes - I've found the M-Componon 4/28 excellent as well. Unfortunately the M-Componon 4/50 is not in the same class ... or at least my sample is not. It would be interesting to know whether mine is bad. Does anyone have that or M-Componon 4/80 to test?
Hi JKT,

Thanks for the info, I have always been curious about the 4/50 M-Comp!

I have two M-CNP 80s you can borrow but I'm a little far too away I think (los Angeles).

Best,

Robert

RobertOToole
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:08 am
JKT wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:07 pm
Yes - I've found the M-Componon 4/28 excellent as well. Unfortunately the M-Componon 4/50 is not in the same class ... or at least my sample is not. It would be interesting to know whether mine is bad. Does anyone have that or M-Componon 4/80 to test?
I am not very impressed with my 80/4 M-Componon. Was "middle of the pack" in my 80mm shootout. Never had a 50mm or 28mm to work with.

Ray, thanks for the reminder! I actually tested the CNP-S 80 vs the M-CNP 80 awhile back but the lenses were stacked for 1x!

Schneider Componon 80mm f5.6, stacked at 1x, vs
Schneider Componon S 80mm f4, stacked at 1x, vs
Schneider M-Componon 80mm f4, stacked at 1x, vs
Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 SP Di macro lens focused at 1x

https://www.closeuphotography.com/1x-low-cost-lens-test

The M-Componon had the cleanest and most consistent IQ at 1x but was by far the most expensive. I think I paid $300 for my copy where the SK 5.6/80 was $10 and the Tamron was only $150! (BTW if anyone is looking for a CPN-S 4/80 green stripe, I have a few extra clean copies for sale.)

Best,

Robert

JKT
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by JKT »

RobertOToole wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:17 pm
I have two M-CNP 80s you can borrow but I'm a little far too away I think (los Angeles).
That would indeed be a little too complicated. :D

So 4/28 is known to be good and 4/80 can be good or average. That could indicate that 4/50 might be good as well, but variation may be large. Oh well, I don't need it THAT much. I should likely mention that my testing is with FF, so the 80mm results may not be entirely relevant.

Igor
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by Igor »

RobertOToole wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 8:55 pm

To use the M-CNP 4/28 you would need some kind of extension, a macro bellows setup would work well. A unit with shift and tilt movements would be ideal. Otherwise you could use extension tubes and a focus mount.
Thanks for the review! I have a question: if I install any of the 2 lenses on a 200 mm tube, will I get x7 magnification or will there be a strong loss in quality?

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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

Igor wrote:
Wed Jan 24, 2024 10:31 am
RobertOToole wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 8:55 pm

To use the M-CNP 4/28 you would need some kind of extension, a macro bellows setup would work well. A unit with shift and tilt movements would be ideal. Otherwise you could use extension tubes and a focus mount.
Thanks for the review! I have a question: if I install any of the 2 lenses on a 200 mm tube, will I get x7 magnification or will there be a strong loss in quality?
My guess would be that stacking a 28mm on a 200mm would result in a sharper image than using extension alone. But in the end it depends on the lenses used in combo. Some pairs work better than others.

I've seen some of my best results ever stacking a 28mm on a 90mm, here:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/schne ... ponon-lens

Also here a 28mm on a 120mm:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/makro ... lens-stack

Hope this helps.

Let us know if you find a good 200mm+28m combo.

Best,

Robert

JKT
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by JKT »

The M-Componon 28 works quite well even in front of Raynox DCR-150. A bit soft due to effective aperture, but that can't be avoided. No CA to speak of even in corners. Actually not even with RF 1.4x behind the combination.

FotoChris
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by FotoChris »

RobertOToole wrote:
Wed Jan 24, 2024 1:05 pm
Igor wrote:
Wed Jan 24, 2024 10:31 am
RobertOToole wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 8:55 pm

To use the M-CNP 4/28 you would need some kind of extension, a macro bellows setup would work well. A unit with shift and tilt movements would be ideal. Otherwise you could use extension tubes and a focus mount.
Thanks for the review! I have a question: if I install any of the 2 lenses on a 200 mm tube, will I get x7 magnification or will there be a strong loss in quality?
My guess would be that stacking a 28mm on a 200mm would result in a sharper image than using extension alone. But in the end it depends on the lenses used in combo. Some pairs work better than others.

I've seen some of my best results ever stacking a 28mm on a 90mm, here:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/schne ... ponon-lens

Also here a 28mm on a 120mm:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/makro ... lens-stack

Hope this helps.

Let us know if you find a good 200mm+28m combo.

Best,

Robert
I wonder - what you ever used the Macro Varon at various float-adjustments in a stacked configuration? Or the Mejiro FL0530?
Or perhaps a Mitutoyo? I'd love to try it myself but currently I don't have any spare adapter ring at the moment, but it sure would be interesting to see whether and how the performance would change.

RobertOToole
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

FotoChris wrote:
Wed Jan 24, 2024 3:41 pm

I wonder - what you ever used the Macro Varon at various float-adjustments in a stacked configuration? Or the Mejiro FL0530?
Or perhaps a Mitutoyo? I'd love to try it myself but currently I don't have any spare adapter ring at the moment, but it sure would be interesting to see whether and how the performance would change.
Tried them. :(

In my experience, very highly corrected, high res lenses, like scanner lenses, work terrible stacked. I still try though!

One of my best tube lenses of all time, it doesn't make any sense!?!? Printing-Nikkor 105. Perfect but it had hard vignetting, hard clipped corners. I should try it again !

Best,

Robert

RobertOToole
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Re: Schneider M-Componon 4/28 Test on Nikon D850

Post by RobertOToole »

So far some of the best combos are on my site:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/stacked-lenses

Makro-Symmar 120 + Lomo 3,7x.
Makro-Symmar 120 + SK 4/28 or 2.8/28 Componon
Makro-Symmar 120 + SK 2/28 Xenon
Sigma 150 + 2/28 SK Xenon

For some reason the Makro-Symmar 180 is truly amazing lens at 1x, but not as a tube lens, tried it twice! Also Makro-symmar 5.6/80 was disappointing.

Not on the stacked lens page but on the SK 2.8/28 page, the Mejiro 90 + 2.8/28 Componon really nice IQ.

Best,

Robert

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