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Tim, I have one that works pretty well on the D3x - all corners are equally sharp and (while minimally less sharp than the center WA) they certainly aren't mushy; one I'll be able to put my hands on a D800 - which will unfortunately be a couple of months, I am afraid, unless some jobs will pop up in Italy before that - I will surely check it out and share my impressions.So, here we are: either my 24 PC-E is a bad copy or this lens is just not suited to the D800/E, even at 50% view.
People say the Schneider isn't any better as far as I can gather... The Canons are good but they don't fit the Nikon cameras. Hartblei's widest is a 40mm.
Any other options (other than shooting much wider and cropping?)
. Vieri, I would find that extremely interesting and useful. The optimal centre resolution is at f5.6 according to reviews, and mine is visibly a little diffracted at f8 on centre, though still very sharp. So if you had a chance to do a brick wall test at around 30-40 feet away at f 5.6 and at centred, 5 and ten rise that'd be wonderful. And if in your archive you have anything like a cityscape at f5.6 where I can see how sharp buildings are at the edges, I'd owe you a large testing favour!Tim, I have one that works pretty well on the D3x - all corners are equally sharp and (while minimally less sharp than the center WA) they certainly aren't mushy; one I'll be able to put my hands on a D800 - which will unfortunately be a couple of months, I am afraid, unless some jobs will pop up in Italy before that - I will surely check it out and share my impressions.
I think it might come down to QC, in your case it's pretty evidently mis-aligned; however, both the 45 and 85 PC-E (which I also own) are MUCH better as far as sharpening goes, with the 85 the best of the bunch.
If you are interested, I can see if I can conjure up a sharpness test for you on the D3x, let me know if eventual results on a 24Mp sensor would be of interest
Sure thing Tim, will go out and try to find a suitable brick wall then No cityscapes in my archives, unfortunately, so far I mostly used the lens for non-share-allowed interior work (even if I could share it, I don't have images in the rise, shooting distance & f number range that you indicate). Will see if I can shoot a couple of far-distance cityscapes while I am at it, and get back to you in a couple of days (I hope). AFA the testing favor, I am sure I am not the only one here thinking that we all already have a huge testing-debt with you for all you are doing in letting the D800 known to us, so we are definitely square already, no worries!. Vieri, I would find that extremely interesting and useful. The optimal centre resolution is at f5.6 according to reviews, and mine is visibly a little diffracted at f8 on centre, though still very sharp. So if you had a chance to do a brick wall test at around 30-40 feet away at f 5.6 and at centred, 5 and ten rise that'd be wonderful. And if in your archive you have anything like a cityscape at f5.6 where I can see how sharp buildings are at the edges, I'd owe you a large testing favour!
Mamiya 28/4.5 and a Mirex adapter?Any other options (other than shooting much wider and cropping?)
You really must use f/8, possibly even f/9-f/10 if you want reasonably equal sharpness corner-to-corner. One have to live with diffraction and use sharpen with deconvolution to restore most sharpness. At f/5.6 no wide angle lens for Canon/Nikon I know of is sharp corner-to-corner, I guess the required retrofocus design is just too complex.
Also note that the max 11mm shift corresponds to 15-17mm for digital medium format, that is an amount that even schneiders and rodenstocks is struggling with. Keeping within say 6mm shift is more reasonable.
It can be said though that Canon's TS-E 24mm is a better performer than Nikon's, it still needs f/8-f/10 for good corner-to-corner performance and Canon doesn't have a 36 megapixel sony exmor sensor...
Ok, I guess that's right then, the f/8 recommendation as a corner-to-corner tradeoff is more a general advice that fit most lenses, but I guess the PC-E 24 is a bit special then.I can't answer that because my copy is clearly f*kd but several reviews I have read imply that the lens is sharpest across the frame at F5.6 and does not improve on stopping down - including edge and corner performance.