pfogle
Well-known
jlw - excellent thread, thanks for posting those pictures. One thing I think is great about forums like this is how our prejudices get blown away by someone's (shared) experiences. Having spent many years learning photography the hard way (by making mistakes!) I find it an invaluable resource to have contact with people like yourself who are willing to put themselves out and share their results.
The big Canon 50's really press home the difference between lab tests and real-world photography - it's easy to write off a lens as a useless because of poor corner definition, whereas, as your pictures demonstrate, having a good crisp centre is often all that's required.
Instead of looking for absolute measures of quality (resolution etc), it's much more important to be able to pick the right tool for a particular job - a decision that really comes down to experience, not theory.
ps - the second shot's a cracker!
The big Canon 50's really press home the difference between lab tests and real-world photography - it's easy to write off a lens as a useless because of poor corner definition, whereas, as your pictures demonstrate, having a good crisp centre is often all that's required.
Instead of looking for absolute measures of quality (resolution etc), it's much more important to be able to pick the right tool for a particular job - a decision that really comes down to experience, not theory.
ps - the second shot's a cracker!