Lens Sharpness Test

[George Vardas]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

 

[Peter Leyenaar]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

You don't need to test it, it is generally recognized as one of the sharpest nikkor lenses, various websites have already tested it for you.
Cheers Peter
--
Peter Leyenaar
Decisive Moment Photography

 

[Teski]

I think he means that he suspects that his specific one may not be producing sharp photos and is therefore defective. No one disputes that this lens is sharp.

Teski

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

You don't need to test it, it is generally recognized as one of the
sharpest nikkor lenses, various websites have already tested it for
you.
Cheers Peter
--
Peter Leyenaar
Decisive Moment Photography

 

[50mm]

With only one lens, how can you do it? What is sharp or not sharp? You can only compare two lens at same condition, then tell which one is sharper.

xin

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

 

[J.Richardson]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

TRY this site it will not give you lens deffinition but will give you resolution line / mm http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html#download
if you need more info e-mail me pictureman @thaxted022.freeserve.co.uk
All the best Jonathan Richardson

 

[Leon Obers]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?

Several methods. Taking picture of a spread newspaper is a good one.

Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?

Using a flat object it should not be a difference. But if there is a shift in focus of your equipement, also make a manual focusing.

Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?

RAW or TIF

What aperture?

All of them ( 2.8 to 22) if you want to see the charakteristics when used at several apertures.

What Shutter speed

Depends to light, but certainly do use a tripod.

The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

--
Leon Obers

 

[Jonathan Kardell]

I can understand the desire to verify the sharpness of a particular instance of a lens. Physical damage can affect sharpness as well as manufacturing variance.
If you do not have a second lens to compare against, I would:

1) Set up on a tripod (a big heavy tripod, or one that you know has no vibration issues) do not extend the legs, even cheap tripods work fairly well when collapsed down to their shortest length.

2) Ue a wall or other perpendicular surface (bricks are good) as a target.

3) Tape some things to it as reference (printed items with sharp text etc.)

4) Stop the lens down to at least f5.6 which I think is the beginning of the critical sharpness range for the 17-35. f8 may be preferred, especially if you are not sure that you are shooting square with the wall (at exactly 90 degrees to the plane of the wall).

5) Use the self timer to activate the shutter, or a cable release. This avoids the extra forces exerted by fingers.

6) Take a series of exposures at different zoom settings. This will tell you if you have an issue with the cams and gears.

7) I don't think the auto focus settings are important here, since we are dealing with a flat surface and reasonable depth of field.

This at least will give you something that you can use to see if you are happy with the sharpness. It won't be helpful in judging against other lenses unless you rent or borrow one from a dealer or friend.

Best regards,
Jonathan Kardell
--
It's all good, but some stuff is better.

 

[Rinus Borgsteede]

If you are living in a town with some large buildings, it is best to test the wider lenses at a greater distance than in the studio. At infinity, the lens should focus on far away buildings and it would be very easy to see in the viewfinder if it is indeed sharp on the ground glass. At close distances the larger detail in the subject is hard to use for actual focus tests and any error is minor. At far distance, infinity focus is immediately compromised. The focus confirmation in the camera (the black dot at the left bottom) should be black at the same time. When you take the picture, use RAW and no sharpening. Use the sharpening later in Photoshop. If the lens with the autofocus does not focus in the same place, the lens may be fine but the viewfinder may not be. Either way, the manual and auto focus should be the same. Take pictures of both manual and auto and try to use the lens at max. aperture.
Rinus of Calgary

 

[David Bilodeau]

Hi Georges.

Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?

I personally never use closest priority. It is always better to focus on the eyes than on the tip of the nose ..

Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?

Not really important. As long as the format is sharp .. Use either Jpeg Fine or RAW but always use the same format. Since your are testing the lens and not the S2, use Color Org Tone Org Sharpness Off to get what the CCD sees. Also, since Jpeg 6mp pics are downsized of 12mp, use 12mp Jpeg Fine if going Jpeg.

What aperture?

Largest perture (f2.8) and stopped down (f8)

What Shutter speed

Aperture priority .. Use a tripod.

Also :

For Focal Length, use short (17mm), mid (24mm) and long (35mm).

For Focussing Distance, use shortest (1"), normal (8"-15"), far (35"-50") and infinity ..

Always use the same subjects, highly detailed and sharp for the sets of sample . A flat (ex. wall), a 3D object (ex. shiny car) and a human (babe). To test for color aberrations, also use a highly contrasty scene (a dark building with the sky in the backgroung during a sunny day).

Take a serie of shoots for each of these subjects by only modifying one of the parameters at a time (Aperture, Focal Distance and Focus Distance).

Compare the picture by looking at 1) the overall rendition and 2) the details.

This should be quite enough ..

Regards,

David

 

[George Vardas]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

You don't need to test it, it is generally recognized as one of the
sharpest nikkor lenses, various websites have already tested it for
you.
Cheers Peter
--
Peter Leyenaar
Decisive Moment Photography

Thanx for the advice - I asked this question to verify that my lens is working properly!

 

[George Vardas]

I think he means that he suspects that his specific one may not be
producing sharp photos and is therefore defective. No one disputes
that this lens is sharp.

Teski

Thanx teski - You hit the nail on the head !

I seem to be getting soft pictures and just want to know if maybe I'm using incorrect settings!

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

You don't need to test it, it is generally recognized as one of the
sharpest nikkor lenses, various websites have already tested it for
you.
Cheers Peter
--
Peter Leyenaar
Decisive Moment Photography

 

[George Vardas]

Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?

I personally never use closest priority. It is always better to
focus on the eyes than on the tip of the nose ..

Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?

Not really important. As long as the format is sharp .. Use either
Jpeg Fine or RAW but always use the same format. Since your are
testing the lens and not the S2, use Color Org Tone Org Sharpness
Off to get what the CCD sees. Also, since Jpeg 6mp pics are
downsized of 12mp, use 12mp Jpeg Fine if going Jpeg.

What aperture?

Largest perture (f2.8) and stopped down (f8)

What Shutter speed

Aperture priority .. Use a tripod.

Also :

For Focal Length, use short (17mm), mid (24mm) and long (35mm).

For Focussing Distance, use shortest (1"), normal (8"-15"), far
(35"-50") and infinity ..

Always use the same subjects, highly detailed and sharp for the
sets of sample . A flat (ex. wall), a 3D object (ex. shiny car) and
a human (babe). To test for color aberrations, also use a highly
contrasty scene (a dark building with the sky in the backgroung
during a sunny day).

Take a serie of shoots for each of these subjects by only modifying
one of the parameters at a time (Aperture, Focal Distance and Focus
Distance).

Compare the picture by looking at 1) the overall rendition and 2)
the details.

This should be quite enough ..

Regards,

David

Thanx to all for the help !

My lens is probably ok but I just want to verify that all my equiptment is workin fine!

 

[ajs2107922]

Jonathans method looked good. Might use manual focus to compare with Auto. I would go for RAW as you can control the conversion or TIFF with then sharpening off.

You will really need a lens to compare against thu. Most people seam to use a newpaper as a target.
Alex

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

 

[Mike Nicholls]

Hi

My S2 has what appears to be a backfocus problem. I built a test jig to find out how come everything looked soft compared with the S1 I have. I used three of my "pro" quality lenses (including Nikon 50mm 1.8AF) for the tests.

The S1 CCD saw focus 1mm behind the target but the S2 was around 20-30mm back from the place that the reflex mirror system (and autofocus module) saw it. I used a graduated extension bellows fixed on a lighting stand with a target attached to the front of the bellows, set the S2 on a sturdy tripod, parallel with the target and got autofocus on the target. I recorded the image. Selected manual focus (front of camera selector), recorded again (both images were similarly out of focus). Then started racking the bellows back 1mm at a time recording an image at each point. I montaged all the images in Photoshop sequentially and determined at what distance focus actually became sharp. On mine it is 20-30mm behind where the system thinks it should be. Focus on the eyes and the ears are sharp as a tack.

Perhaps that's why people are questioning their lenses and focussing abilities. Maybe it's not always a wrong "close focus priority setting" or some such, but a quality control issue?. Where the image is in focus, it has great acuity. Unfortunately it is in the wrong place. BTW, all relevant settings were double checked.

If I get time and can figure the graphic upload procedure I could post my "kludge/home brand" test bench details and selected resulting images.

The camera is back at the Aussie Hanimex repair facility undergoing bench tests with Fuji charts at the moment. I will be very interested in the feedback from the Fuji service techs, (hopefully any day soon).
Regards
Mike

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

 

[J.Richardson]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

George, I know a optical lens design engineer who was once in charge of the radar systems for the uk airports so he knows his stuff. he now lectures on computer ,digital for open university .

I had a E-10 Olympus which was great until i sent it away to have dust taken of the back of the fixed lens and olympus f d it up and gave me a new replacement but it was not any where near as sharp images on this replacment so i sent it back only to be told that their was no different in the sharpness of images on the new replacement camera as compared to the original E-10 so i had to get into some real lens / camera testing.If you look at a book call advanced photography by M.J. Langford published by focal press and focal press encyclopedia of photography they out-line several test for lens quality etc . You need to take a good look at the website i gave you in my last posting its real good. Use a copy stand to do your test on in a darken room so your can get good repititon of results .

Lens testing is a real pasion of mine so the offer still stand to Email me if you want more info + i test all my gear with 3 simple test when i buy it so if i get a problem i can just repeat the test and compare the resuls so you KNOW not just think the Lens is not as good as it once was and it can help a lot if you have to send away your lenses or Camera to be checked out .

All the best i wish i had brought a Fuji S-pro 2 . Iam looking for a second hand one .Jonathan Richardson

 

[J.Richardson]

The S1 CCD saw focus 1mm behind the target but the S2 was around
20-30mm back from the place that the reflex mirror system (and
autofocus module) saw it. I used a graduated extension bellows
fixed on a lighting stand with a target attached to the front of
the bellows, set the S2 on a sturdy tripod, parallel with the
target and got autofocus on the target. I recorded the image.
Selected manual focus (front of camera selector), recorded again
(both images were similarly out of focus). Then started racking the
bellows back 1mm at a time recording an image at each point. I
montaged all the images in Photoshop sequentially and determined at
what distance focus actually became sharp. On mine it is 20-30mm
behind where the system thinks it should be. Focus on the eyes and
the ears are sharp as a tack.

Perhaps that's why people are questioning their lenses and
focussing abilities. Maybe it's not always a wrong "close focus
priority setting" or some such, but a quality control issue?. Where
the image is in focus, it has great acuity. Unfortunately it is in
the wrong place. BTW, all relevant settings were double checked.

If I get time and can figure the graphic upload procedure I could
post my "kludge/home brand" test bench details and selected
resulting images.

The camera is back at the Aussie Hanimex repair facility undergoing
bench tests with Fuji charts at the moment. I will be very
interested in the feedback from the Fuji service techs, (hopefully
any day soon).
Regards
Mike

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

I hope you get a better service from fuji than i did for the same problem with my Olympus E-10 ,they mucked my camera up so bad they gave me a new one and this seems to take blured images and now i think i will be in a legal battle with them because they do not seem to be able to give me a camera that takes a pic as sharp as my old E-10 . this battle has been going on since Feb and they ve had my camera since. i will not be going back to up grade to Olympus iam looking at a S-pro-2

 

[David Bilodeau]

Hi J.,

This site is very intersting .. Thanks !

Regards,

David

http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html#download

 

[George Vardas]

What is the best way to test lens sharpness?
Should I turn closest subject priority on or off?
Should I shoot raw or Jpeg?
What aperture?
What Shutter speed
The lens in question is a 17-35 nikkor AF-S

George, I know a optical lens design engineer who was once in
charge of the radar systems for the uk airports so he knows his
stuff. he now lectures on computer ,digital for open university .
I had a E-10 Olympus which was great until i sent it away to have
dust taken of the back of the fixed lens and olympus f d it up and
gave me a new replacement but it was not any where near as sharp
images on this replacment so i sent it back only to be told that
their was no different in the sharpness of images on the new
replacement camera as compared to the original E-10 so i had to get
into some real lens / camera testing.If you look at a book call
advanced photography by M.J. Langford published by focal press and
focal press encyclopedia of photography they out-line several test
for lens quality etc . You need to take a good look at the website
i gave you in my last posting its real good. Use a copy stand to do
your test on in a darken room so your can get good repititon of
results .
Lens testing is a real pasion of mine so the offer still stand to
Email me if you want more info + i test all my gear with 3 simple
test when i buy it so if i get a problem i can just repeat the test
and compare the resuls so you KNOW not just think the Lens is not
as good as it once was and it can help a lot if you have to send
away your lenses or Camera to be checked out .
All the best i wish i had brought a Fuji S-pro 2 . Iam looking for
a second hand one .Jonathan Richardson

Before you rush out and buy an S2 Pro - Be very careful about what you actually land up with.

The first S2 Pro I bought had a broken Focus motor( Coupler) out of the factory( Bad quality control)
I waited 6 weeks after paying my money to get the replacement.

Now my replacement camera has 2 hot pixels at ISO 100 close to the centre of the image!
I sent it in 3 weeks ago and am still waiting for an answer!

This is a fantasitc camera but I'm almost certain that I will never get another Fuji because it seems to me that for maybe a bit more money I could have bought something more reliable and better built -

I know that lots of people here on the forum are immediately going to go on a rampage about what camera I could have bought for a bit more(or less) money but I honestly feel that the Fuji S2 Pro has quality control problems - BE VERY CAREFUL BEFORE BUYING-
Rather get something not quite as good but something that you can count on!!!
On top of all this most of the pictures I've taken are soft( Not sharp)

I've Got a 17-35mm Nikkor AF-S IF ED Lens and was told it is one of the best lenses nikon make but in all fairness - If I don't use ultrasharpen from photoshop - There is no difference in sharpness(Not resolution) between the S2 Pro with 17-35 AF-S and my previos Cheap fuji instamatic!

I live in South Africa and am very dissapointed with my S2 Pro from the point of view that For the amount of money it costs - The first camera that I bought should still be with me and working perfectly instead of me being without the camera I originally purchased having to be repaired 2 weeks after being purchased and the replacement having hot pixels in the centre of the CCD.
Final Note - Don't go for Fancy extras (Honeycomb CCD - Iso 100 etc...)

What's the use of all those fancy functions if your camera is sitting on the workbench thousands of miles away and you bank account is $2300 poorer.

Anyway thans for the advice on the lens issue- I'll check it out