All lenses are decentered

rsknapp wrote:

After reading these forums for a while, I am starting to wonder if there is any lens by any maker that isn't decentered. It seems to be a universal complaint. One more "my lens is decentered" thread and I will puke.

It's kind of like dust in a lens. When someone tells me their lens is dust free, I tell them they just don't have a bright enough light. It's not yes-no. It's all gray and you pick a place that you find acceptable or not.

If your lens is perfectly centered, you just don't have a sensitive enough test

I've got half a million dollars worth of optical testing equipment I use all day, but of the 20 personal lenses I've bought over the last 3 years, only one went on the bench and it did indeed have issues just like I'd seen taking pictures. If the other 19 did it never bothered me enough to test them.

When I get a new lens I spend about 10 minutes checking it out -- works good, does AF need microadjustment on my camera, and yep, a couple of quick brick (or whatever) wall shots and infinity shots to make sure the sides are even and the resolution looks decent, then I go take pictures.