Rodenstock APO Ronar 150mm f/9

[Michael Erlewine]

Here is my first subject (Datura inoxia), a poisonous plant from the southwest. from a new large-format lens, the Rodenstock APO Ronar 150mm f/9. This is taken with the Nikon Z7 on the Cambo Actus Mini-B View-Camera.

The APO Ronar is a “Process Lens,” meaning it is a lens without a shutter which give a flat field of focus and is often used for copy work or macro photography. I would be using it for the later.

I find this a wickedly sharp lens and they are going for just a couple or a few hundred dollars, which is amazing to me. I am still looking for what’s wrong with it, but so far have not found anything.

Datura inoxia (Jimson weed) is a very poisonous plant (all parts of it) and is a powerful hallucinogen. Here one of its seed pods, having broken open, sheds seeds, only a few of which ingested would act as a powerful psychedelic.

My trip days are over, so I grow it for the beauty of the flowers (Moonflower) and the exquisite scent, reminding of the classic Night-Blooming Cereus from the Middle East, which I have been growing for maybe 40 years.

[PeterAit]

Marvelous photo! I particularly like your processing with natural looking colors that are not "pumped up." And the sharpness is indeed excellent!

I don't understand your setup. A view camera on a Z7 -- what is that? If you could explain and perhaps post a photo I would appreciate it.

[Michael Erlewine]

Marvelous photo! I particularly like your processing with natural looking colors that are not "pumped up." And the sharpness is indeed excellent!

I don't understand your setup. A view camera on a Z7 -- what is that? If you could explain and perhaps post a photo I would appreciate it.

I don't have a photo (or time) this moment...but there is the Cambo Mini-ActuaB, on the rear standard is the Nikon Z7...and on the front standard the Ronar lens. Simple. Just go to Cambo's site and you will get the idea. I will try to post another photo with that lens in a while. Stacked image.

[Michael Erlewine]

A couple more with the Z7 and the Rodenstock APO Ronar 150mm f/9

[Paul_Roark]

For a few years I used a Rodenstock APO process lens to go from an 8x10 digital negative to a 16 x 20 silver print.  Made for 1:1 to 1:2 reproduction, it was an outstanding substitute for the extremely expensive 8x10 enlarging lenses of the time. 

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Michael Erlewine]

Here are a couple more,using the Ronar. The nasturtium flower (red-orange) is a very difficult flower to photograph, mostly because red is hard to get right. The Ronar did a good job of it.

[Cornfield]

I used this lens virtually every day when shooting 5x4 on a Sinar P many years ago. It is an excellent lens with a very flat field.

[Michael Erlewine]

Here is another with the Nikon Z7 and the Ronar.

[Michael Erlewine]

Here is one for you experts:

The literature on this lens says it is sharpest 1:1 at f/22. Well, I did not shoot at 1:1 and seldom do. I shot the following three images.

I shot stacked images at:

f/16 (4 images Stacked)
f/22 (4images Stacked)
f/9 (106 images Stacked)

F/16 was sharper than f/22…and f/9 (stacked was much sharper than either f/16 and f/22.

All stacked. The f/16 and f/22 were what I call a short stack, an image taken of each of the four main flowers. The image marked “Stacked” was 106 images stacked.

There is nowill hav question that the stacked image (106 layers) at f/9 is sharper that the 4-stacked images and f/16 and f/22.

And so, my question is that if I am not going to shoot at 1:1, there is no point in not using the lens wide open (or nearly so), correct?


Images as from camera, not adjustments mace Nikon Z7

You will have to read the label under each image.

[Michael Erlewine]

Another shot with the Ronar, using the Nikon Z7

[Alistair]

The colour and rendering of these is simply gorgeous.