Forsythia vs 100mm: XR-Heligon, Tele-Xenar, Cinelux, Tevidon

[dickb]

This afternoon the weather was nice and spring has reached the Netherlands, so I made a quick comparison of some of my more unusual 100mm lenses: Forsythia by XR-Heligon, Tele-Xenar, Cinelux Ultra and Tevidon.


Qioptiq XR-Heligon 100/1.5:




Isco Goettingen Cinelux Ultra MC 100/2:




Schneider Kreuznach Tele Xenar 100/2.8 for Robot Royal:


Carl Zeiss Tevidon 100/2.8:

[dickb]

As an indication all but the XR Heligon can be focussed to infinity:

Carl Zeiss Tevidon 100/2.8:


Schneider Tele Xenar 100/2.8 for Robot Royal: at f/4


And a slightly misfocussed or differently focussed Isco Goettingen Cinelux Ultra MC 100/2:

[jamaeolus]

Fun! Telling how different the results are. This would be a great place to send people who ask "why do you need more than 1 lens at x FL?"

[dickb]

All photos were taken with a Sony A7 with a slightly dirty full frame sensor. And a bit about the lenses:

Qioptiq XR-Heligon 100/1.5 (also sold as Rodenstock and Linos, depending on their year of manufacture). This is a large lens intended for use in an optical relay system, facing an Xray scintillation screen on one end and a TV Heligon lens at the other. There are many different variations of this lens, even several XR-Heligon 100/1.5 types. Mine has an M42 mount now and a very short flange distance, so it can only be used as a close focus lens with my camera. It has no aperture so all the photos are taken at f/1.5.

Isco Goettingen Cinelux Ultra MC 100/2, a slightly less ridiculously fast lens is a projection lens designed for use with 35mm or 70mm cinema projectors. Also no aperture so always wide open. its flange distance is long enough to reach infinity focus easily.

Schneider Kreuznach Tele Xenar 100/2.8 for Robot Royal, a more conventional lens intended for use with traffic cameras, with an aperture and focus mechanism. At f/2.8 you get some vignetting on a full frame sensor, but at f/4 the vignetting is just about gone, at f/5.6 completely. The minimum focus distance of the lens itself is 5 meters, so I use mine with a helicoid adapter to allow closer focus.

Carl Zeiss Jena Tevidon 100/2.8. Similar intended use as the Tele Xenar. The C mount restricts its image circle, so on my Sony A7 you get black corners. The optics do have an image circle large enough for full frame, if you search the archives here you will find someone who had converted his Tevidon 100/2.8 to a Canon mount for his 5D mk II. I have a copy of the Tevidon that I intend to convert in a similar way, but that has been on my to do list for several years now...

Anyway, this was just a very quick and dirty little test, I intend to make a better comparison of all my 100mm lenses in the future.

[kds315*]

Well done Dick!

[e6filmuser]

I'm not surprised that the Schneider came out well. I have various Schneiders for macro.

I don't know if you can edit the title of the topic but "vs" was clearly intended to be "via".