Other than the f stop and the weight, what if any, is the difference bweteen the Schneider-Kreuznach 90 mm Angulon and the Schneider-Kreuznach 90mm Super-Angulon? coverage? resolution? contrast?

-- rebecca (rebecca@antart.com.au), February 08, 2002

Answers

The primary difference is coverage. The Angulon is an earlier design, introduced in 1930. It has an 85 degree angle of coverage. The maximum aperture is not well-corrected at stops larger than F/16. Maximum aperture is useful only for focusing.

The Super Angulon was introduced in 1957 as an F/8 lens. It's coverage is 100 degrees.

-- Ted Brownlee (omfbh@aol.com), February 08, 2002.

I've had both a 120mm Angulon and the 121mm Super Angulon. You get a much sharper image with the latter, and huge coverage. The 121mm will just cover 8x10 on axis.

There's also a difference in age. Even though my Angulon appeared to be in about the same condition, fungus was just beginning to appear in the lens when I sold it. (Note that I pointed this out to the photography store that sold it on consignment for me so that they could inform potential buyers.)

-- neil poulsen (neil.fg@att.net), February 08, 2002.

I have both 90mm lenses. The angulon, as said previously, has less coverage than the super angulon (focus across the frame is not as even as the super) and the angulon has more light fall of on the edges (i did use mine for 6x17). The angulon is also uncoated (prone to more flare). However, the angulon, i found, was an exceptional lens even at 6x17 for sharpness when stopped down (of course i still had unacceptable light fall off). I purchased a super angulon as i could use larger apetures (if i really needed), have less fall off and less flare effect from internal reflections. In my opinion if you shoot 4x5 or less and are not worried about the uncoated lens use an angulon if you find a good one.

-- Phil Brammer (filsta@goconnect.net), February 08, 2002.

Even some fairly early Angulons are coated, based on the ones I have seen. Serial numbers from the early 50's are coated. Quality on these seems highly variable from sample to sample, especially early in the production. Some are reasonably sharp when stopped down, edge to edge. Some are very sharp in the middle, not very on the edges, you get what you get and if buying used, it is worth getting the chance to try it out.

-- Kevin Crisp (KRCrisp@aol.com), February 08, 2002.

Just a mention, although not necessairly pertinent to this thread, is the additional info concerning filter sizes and rear element diameters. Many of us shoot older cameras of the Graphic make, and some of the rear elements won't go thru the front standards. Also, filter sizes on lenses of larger maximum diameters can approach 100mm, possibly causing an additional outlay not expected.

-- Wayne Crider (waynecrider@hotmail.com), February 08, 2002.

There rae major optical differences betweent he two lenses. The following response authroed by Richard Knoppow in response to a similar query in another forum sums them up nicely:

"The Angulon and Super-Angulon are different designs. The Angulon, which was patented in 1930, is a variation of the Dagor type. It consists of three cemented elements in both front and back cells. The outside elements are made extra large to reduce vignetting which is the cutting off of light by the body of the lens. The front is slightly stronger than the back cell to give better correction for objects at distant focus. Angulons were made until about the 1970's. post WWII ones are coated, pre-war ones are not. Angulons seem to be highly variable in quality. A good one will hvae about 90deg coverage when stopped down to about f/22 or smaller. The Super Angulon is a much newer design featuring some air-spaced elements. The number of elements varies depending on the speed and coverage. In general, the coverage is larger than the Angulon (more than 100deg) and the quality is much better. Super-Angulons have been made since the early 1950's and _all_ are coated. The early ones have single coatings, later ones have multiple coatings. The coating affects contrast by reducing flare. It does not affect the corrections or resolution in any way except indirectly by allowing lens designs that would be too flary without them. The higher contrast may also give the perception of greater sharpness. Super-Angulons (and the similar Rodenstock Grandagon) have the disadvantage of being large and heavy."

Contact me privately if you want more info.

Ted

-- Ted Harris (slberfuchs@aol.com), February 09, 2002.