Field Testing Lenses: Tell me which ones!

[raid]

Lawrence,
Almost all lenses I have tested did very well at f 4.0 and at smaller apertures. The lenses with a more modern design often have the edge at wide open images.

Here is the link to some results that Roland posted on his website a few months ago:
http://ferider.smugmug.com/gallery/2940230#158701273-A-LB

The portraits taken with the two 35mm Summicrons at 2.0 is not bad at all. Do you see vignetting?

 

[lawrence]

Raid

Thanks for the link but I can't really distinguish between the lenses on test because the images are far too small. Also, I don't think the subject matter is very suitable either -- with tests like this you need something with crisp outlines to be able to assess sharpness. So in answer to your question, no I can't see any vignetting but I can't see much else either!

I'll publish the results of my own tests so you can see what I mean, once I've tested the Nokton 35.

Lawrence

 

[raid]

Raid

Thanks for the link but I can't really distinguish between the lenses on test because the images are far too small. Also, I don't think the subject matter is very suitable either -- with tests like this you need something with crisp outlines to be able to assess sharpness. So in answer to your question, no I can't see any vignetting but I can't see much else either!

I'll publish the results of my own tests so you can see what I mean, once I've tested the Nokton 35.

Lawrence

Lawrence,
The posted results were not sharpness test images but portrait images to illustrate how a lens renders a human face. There were other tests for sharpness and flare control.

 

[ferider]

He's got a point though, Raid: I think we agreed back then
that differences between the lenses are very small,
in particular when compared to your classic 50 and short tele tests.

Best,

Roland.

 

[raid]

He's got a point though, Raid: I think we agreed back then
that differences between the lenses are very small,
in particular when compared to your classic 50 and short tele tests.

Best,

Roland.

Hi Roland,
Yes, the differences were small. The bare bulb flare test did reveal differences though. If we would blow up 11x14 prints and also inspect the individual negatives with a Lupe, then we may see more differences.

One of the problems in large scale lens comparisons is the time factor. It takes a lot of time to go through all needed lens settings for all lenses. It takes also a large amount of time to set up the comparison results, as you have done on your website.

Comparing [only] three lenses allows you to do a better comparison for these three lenses involved. If you have 12 or 26 lenses, as I had, things become more difficult to handle.

We always said from the beginning that others should contribute their comparisons to make the lens comparisons better and more complete.

I started out doing my lens comparisons with a very specific goal that was not about sharpness alone. I stated that I wanted to see how a lens renders a human face in a portrait. This goal is different from an optics test for resolution and sharpness and contrast.





Greetings,