Nikon Rayfact VF Float Lens Test Results Online Now

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RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
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Nikon Rayfact VF Float Lens Test Results Online Now

Post by RobertOToole »

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Rayfact VF Lens Test

Rayfact Part Number: L-OVM30093MN

Full test report: https://www.closeuphotography.com/nikon ... -lens-test

Camera: Nikon D850
Sensor size: 35.9 mm x 23.9 mm full frame BSI CMOS sensor. 43.3 mm diagonal. 4.35 μm 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.

A series of images was shot with each lens in 3 micron steps, and the sharpest image was chosen at Photoshop at 100% view. The single RAW file was processed in PS CC 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 test image crops are taken from single images that have been processed identically, with similar sharpening, unless noted.

Special thanks to the owners of the VF and Mejiro for making this comparison possible!

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Asian ladybeetle on Verbena at 1.5x Rayfact VF Float lens with Nikon D850 at 1/80th sec at f/5.6 manual mode at ISO 64 with Godox TT350 flash and diffuser.

Lenses compared at 0.5x:

Mejiro Etendue M-Zoom line scan lens at f/4
Rayfact VF line scan lens at f/4
Schneider Macro Varon CAS line scan lens at f/4.5

0.5x 100% crops, click on each image below to open a larger size file. See the full report on my site for individual crop images.

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Each crop section is just a small section of the wafer and the details resolved by all three lenses was amazing. The biggest difference other than sharpness, where the Mejiro seems to be a little behind the MV and VF lenses, is the contrast. The MV seems to be behind the VF and Mejiro. All 3 lenses were fully flocked and tested with a lens hood.

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Lenses compared at 2x:

Mejiro Etendue M-Zoom line scan lens at f/4, effective aperture: f/12
Rayfact VF line scan lens at f/4, effective aperture: f/12
Schneider Macro Varon CAS line scan lens at f/4.5, effective aperture: f/13.5
Schneider Componon stack at f/4, effective aperture: f/8

Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach 4/60 APO-Componon lens reverse mounted
Rear lens: Schneider Kreuznach 5.6/120 Makro-Symmar lens mounted normally and focused at infinity

See the full test report on my site for crop samples at 2x and also for LoCA test images at 2x.

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Lenses compared at 3x:

Mejiro M-Zoom line scan lens at f/4 (effective aperture: f/16)
Rayfact VF line scan lens at f/4 (effective aperture: f/16)
Schneider Componon 2.8/35 lens stack at f/2.8 (effective aperture: f/8.4)

Front lens: Schneider Kreuznach 2.8/35 Componon lens reverse mounted infinity focus
Rear lens: Scitex S-3 5/110 scanner lens reverse mounted infinity focus

3x 100% crops, click on each image below to open a larger 2500 pixel size file. See the full report on my site for individual crop images.


Image

The Mejiro center crop shows a bit less sharpness compared to the Rayfact. The Rayfact file, 3rd from the right, looks sharp, clean, and contrasty, very good overall and no performance drop from 0.5x to 3x, an excellent performance overall. Now compare the Rayfact to the image second from the left, the Componon 2.8/35, it’s a little sharper naturally since it was shot at f/2.8. Note that the Componon file has not been sharpened after being converted from RAW, while the Rayfact and Mejiro have had two additional light sharpening passes! To be fair I added an example from the Componon with the same sharpening as the Mejiro and VF lenses.


Image

In the far corner on the D850 the Mejiro now looks very slightly better in some areas than the Rayfact, but its almost too close to call. Both are excellent, zero CAs, sharp, with lots of details in the corner on the Nikon D850. The Mejiro might be sharper here than the center! The Componon 2.8/35 crop without any sharpening is close to the Mejiro and Rayfact with a very slight touch of blue/purple lateral CAs. Be sure to click on the image above to open a larger 2500 pixel file.

3X TEST: FINAL RESULTS
It’s great to see the Mejiro and Rayfact easily cover the Nikon D850 sensor with sharp, detailed and CA free images. The level of CA suppression is really impressive. I did get a chance to see the Rayfact on a friend's PhaseOne IQ3 and the live view output at 2 and 3x was really stunning!

The sharpness out of the Componon + Scitex lens stack shouldn’t have been a surprise, after all the 2.8/35 Componon and S-3 110 are two of my best stacking lenses, seeing the performance on a full frame DSLR compared to the two high-end lenses was still nice to see.

Please let me know if you find any errors in the above, for more details follow the link at the top of the post for the full test.

Any comments or questions please post them below.

Thanks for the interest.

Best,

Robert

dmillard
Posts: 636
Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:37 pm
Location: Austin, Texas

Post by dmillard »

Hello Robert,

Thank you for yet another well designed and clearly presented test!

Best regards, and happy birthday :) ,
David

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Post by RobertOToole »

Thanks David!

5 lenses at 3 magnification levels really was a l-o-n-g process. It took a lot more time and energy then I expected. The final results were rewarding since they all really did a spectacular job, especially with CAs and LoCAs!

Once I spent hours and hours slogging away through a pile of 50mm EL lenses to find just one single lens, in this case the Tominon E36 48mm lens, was the only lens that produced results that worth posting. The rest, Rodenstocks, SKs, and even Leica Photar were a mess! That reminds me that I need to post a hall of fame on my site, but just as important a hall of shame with a long list of 50mm lenses! :roll:

typestar
Posts: 199
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:45 am
Location: Austria

Re: Nikon Rayfact VF Float Lens Test Results Online Now

Post by typestar »

Dear Robert,

I am a little late, but: Happy Birthday!

THANKYOU very much for this great detailed testing, again!
RobertOToole wrote: The sharpness out of the Componon + Scitex lens stack shouldn’t have been a surprise, after all the 2.8/35 Componon and S-3 110 are two of my best stacking lenses, seeing the performance on a full frame DSLR compared to the two high-end lenses was still nice to see.
So, good to know finally, that we can achieve high-end results with more affordable lens-combinations, that are out there.

All the best,

Christian

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