Lens testing

Dear Bill,
On the mighty D3, I still use a 105/2.5 I only use it for "lovely women" and, yes, lovely men also.

Affettuosamente tuo,
Mme. O
 
Only an amateur here, usually I just take pictures which include some go-to places/subjects but sometimes get a decent tripod out and start photographing something with differing sizes of text such as a book or instruction manual, in the center or corner (don't have a suitable wall at home).

PKR,

Out of curiosity, what enlarger lens won?

Jonathan
 
I think both points of view have merit.

A decentered lens will do less well, even if when fixed it has a nice "glow." Find LensRentals page for testing decentering; it's helpful.

I want sharp images (e.g. birds). When considering a switch from the well regarded Nikkor 300 f/4 to the newer 200-500 f/5.6 zoom, I did comparative tests shooting a painted decoy in consistent lighting to assure myself that the zoom was sharp enough (it was).

Then I go out and shoot real subjects.
 
I loaned my Nikkor 55-200 consumer zoom to my son in law. When I got it back, a couple of images looked suspicious. Harder to tell on uncontrolled shots, but comparative test made it very clear instantly: lens now was bad. (Hard knock? Who knows? What to do with the lens? Not worth fixing, didn't want to pass it on to anyone else, I just destroyed it.)
 
jgrainger said:
Only an amateur here, usually I just take pictures which include some go-to places/subjects but sometimes get a decent tripod out and start photographing something with differing sizes of text such as a book or instruction manual, in the center or corner (don't have a suitable wall at home).

PKR,

Out of curiosity, what enlarger lens won?

Jonathan
Click to expand...

Fuji EX 50 f2.8, by a good margin. I tested Leica Focotars, Nikon EL, Schneider variants and Fuji ES and EX.

They aren't easy to find. I got lucky, after a lot of looking.
http://www.photocornucopia.com/1056.html
 
PKR said:
Fuji EX 50 f2.8, by a good margin. I tested Leica Focotars, Nikon EL, Schneider variants and Fuji ES and EX.

They aren't easy to find. I got lucky, after a lot of looking.
http://www.photocornucopia.com/1056.html
Click to expand...




Thank you PKR, I've nearly bought those a few times but keep chickening out due to chasing taking lenses and lack of forum exposure compared to the regular lens suggestions.. may have to commit .


Jonathan
 
ptpdprinter said:
Let's say you own a Nikon film camera and want a 28mm focal length lens. How many different ones would you "test" before you can be sure you have found the one that is best? It seems like there could easily be dozens. And if you want to be sure, do you shift to Leica, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, Olympus... and try dozens more. And then there is lens to lens variation to consider. Or do you just punt, and say of the four I tried, I liked this one the best? Actual experiences, anyone?
Click to expand...

My method is to only purchase the lenses that fulfill my professional requirements and so far, over the past 30-odd years, that number is very, very low. As a result, it's kind of like "don't test, don't tell" meaning that unless something is really out of whack I just use what I have which enables me to acquire working knowledge of my particular tools. Particularly with the 85mm PC it's way more important to learn HOW to use the lens rather than hunt for various units for some elusive sliver of optical gain.
 
jgrainger said:
Thank you PKR, I've nearly bought those a few times but keep chickening out due to chasing taking lenses and lack of forum exposure compared to the regular lens suggestions.. may have to commit .


Jonathan
Click to expand...

I guess, I should point out that, the difference between the best few lenses wasn't vast, but was clearly visible and worth the testing. The thing that was staggering, was the vast difference between the really good ones and the poorest. It was really serious. The price difference (new price), wasn't a big factor. The Nikkor ELs did very well. The newest Focotar finished in the top 3, as I recall. But cost much more than the Fuji EX. I had some very good Schneider lenses for my 4x5. I was seriously disappointed in the performance of the Schneider enlarging lenses I tested.
 
Bill Pierce said:
"I just go out and photograph." is also testing. It takes longer, but isn't as boring.
Click to expand...

In visual work - painting, sketching, photography, a lot of what is made are called "studies". Not necessary to be viewed by anyone except the visual work maker.

If you make a lot of work, and a photographer should, most of it will be "studies". Sometimes a study will be good enough for portfolio. But mostly they are method to take the maker out of the subjective moment and give them an opportunity to see objectively. This is testing of the eye and mind as well as the tools. Unconsciously or consciously the maker will select tools that they wish for certain results or pathway to getting results.

You have the expression about "skinning a cat". I think it is a good one here.

Your American, Mr. Winogrand often spoke of the contest between content and form. Content is above form but as makers using the form we want to see the content in certain ways.

I think that makes us testers, if even sub-consciously.

Ciao,
Mme. O.
 
Something that always amuses me is when a person will post a question along the lines of,
“I just bought this (fill in name) lens, is this a good lens?”
 
zuiko85 said:
Something that always amuses me is when a person will post a question along the lines of,
“I just bought this (fill in name) lens, is this a good lens?”
Click to expand...

I've heard a few reasons for this...

First, they are so new to photography, they really do not know. Two, they kind of know it's good and just want to talk about it online. Three, the lens is rare.
 
Thanks for resurrecting this thread. Just finished a test of a group of LTM lenses using a Nikon Z6. One of the things I found really enjoyable is that it was quick and easy to find the sweet spot for each lens using a mirrorless camera, cause what you see in the viewfinder is what the lens is projecting on the sensor. You see what the lens is doing in real time. So much faster than shooting film, processing, scanning, etc. Once I find the sweet spot of each lens on the Z6, then I proceeded to test that sweet spot of each lens on film.

Best,
-Tim
 
Since my original response, I've returned to using DSLRs for at least a portion of my photography. With them, I do actually do simple lens testing by checking the AF and fine tuning it. Many of my best lenses needed to be adjusted slightly and the adjustment varies from camera to camera. The time involved is worthwhile for someone using the flapping mirror AF cameras.
 
Lens is properly shimmed for close-up/wide-open.

Nokton-M V2 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Distance shot, focal length is correct:

J12_Distance by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Reflections.

Nokton-M V2 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Flare.

Nokton 50/1.5 M v2 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Coma:

G1020146 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Astigmatism:

Nikkor 105/2.5 Hacked, Wide-Open by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Focus Shift, F1.5 to F4:




Color Rendition:



Centering of elements:

Konica 50/1.7 Test by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Do I like the lens.

Warm November day by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr
 
I guess my testing happens in the darkroom when I'm looking at the image through my grain focuser...
I remember shooting a roll with my TLR and while printing I came across an image I KNEW was sharp and in focus when I tripped the shutter...now, looking at the neg being projected the subject was soft...upon further investigation it turned out that the last time I cleaned the camera I installed the ground glass upside down...
I will most likely fall in love with a lens in the darkroom...
 
back alley said:
what would a standard testing at home look like?
Click to expand...

For me, adapt it to my Fujifilm XT2 and take some standard shots that are in my yard or close by exploring various aspects (sharpness, contrast, bokeh, flare, defects, etc.). Then if that looks good put it on a film camera and shoot a roll. By this time I either think its ok, like it, love it, or dislike it. Few have been so bad as to hate yet. In a couple cases, I cannot adapt to the Fuji, so go straight to film.
 
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