Other: Camera and lens testing - need your opinion

Doug Jensen

Doug Jensen

Carbonite Member
I'm doing some camera/lens testing today, looking mostly at DoF comparisons. And if you have a minute, I'd value your opinion. Do you prefer the DoF of A or B?
I've made these ungraded S-LOG frame grabs grayscale to eliminate color differences, but otherwise they are straight from the original footage with no other manipulation. Also, the exposures are slightly different but that is not the focus (pun) of this test. I'm mostly looking at DoF differences and there were certain exposure settings I wanted to use. FYI, it might be a few weeks before I'll reveal what the images are, so don't waste your time replying if you are expecting an immediate answer from me as to what you are looking at. I'm just hoping for the opinions of others in a blind test. Thanks in advance.

If you prefer, you can download 4K files from here: https://vortexmedia.cimediacloud.com/r/CYgeKLG9DFTH


DOF_testing_1B.jpg
DOF_testing_1A.jpg
 
I think I prefer the 2nd shot although they're not that different.

Doesn't it depend on how much we care about the background/chair? It's not an ugly/distracting background and if the setting/environment has some significance to the subject matter, I would choose the first shot as the background seems to be marginally more in focus.
 
I prefer "A", although I also think they are very close. I think I like "A" because the background is a little smoother and is also a little brighter with more contrast. That has nothing to do with DoF of course.
 
Thanks for the comments so far. Very interesting and helpful.
I should have mentioned that I'm kind of using the plant as a stand-in for a human head. My mannequin is in storage and I've got nobody to sit in for me today. So Imagine this is a typical sit-down interview setup, and that is how the "look" should be judged.
Plant = Human.
 
I like A. A bit more detail in background. (on laptop screen)

Strange enough when I download the files I prefer B (more detail).
The files are different in size too, A= 5,7 mb, B= 3,5 mb
 
Doug Jensen said:
Curious to know if you are judging from these small embedded images or the original 4K grabs?
Click to expand...
I was going to say I couldn't see a difference because I was looking at embedded images.
Clearly A1 is the better image, it's significantly sharper with more contrast. Those traits would also make noise/banding more noticeable. The only advantage of 1b is the background is more soft. Some might find that more pleasing but i'ts only because the whole image is soft. I also notice lens flare with the background light in 1B. If it's the same lens then I'd have to assume one of them is a sensor cropped or digital zoom to make it look that soft.

So Doug which one is the S5? :p
 
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Looking at then 4K files - I'm going with A. B seems too out of focus. It's really hard to judge a plant vs a human head, though. A also seems a little oversharp for my taste.
 
Seems like a no brainer to me. "A" because at least some of it is sharp. B just seems soft all over. The plant might be a poor choice as a stand in though because the big problem with B for me is that I don't see any center of interest in the picture that's sharp.The pot seems more important than the plant but its not interesting enough to really dominate a photo. With A everything in the foreground is sharper so I accept the image more. If it was a face the most important thing would be the eyes so if that face popped then I wouldn't care about the rest of it at all. , but even then I want the whole face to be in focus or it feels like mush.
 
I believe I prefer A... but it's interesting how much more noise there is on that left side with the dark bands. B seems to have more of a "tilt-shift" sort of look going on... the Chiquita logo nearly unreadable in B.

Enjoy these blind tests. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. It has been even more helpful that I had anticipated.
I think I'm going to have to make some changes and shoot another comparison that is a little more sophisticated than this one and addresses a couple of issues, so please stand by. I'll explain what you're looking at after that one.
 
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morgan_moore said:
Really no difference IMO

Yes there are differences but not to make one better than the other?
Click to expand...

True, but what if one of those shots was done with a GoPro and the other with a Venice? Then that would make a big difference, right? That's not the case here, but the project I'm working on is sort of along those lines. I can't say more right now, but I will at some point when I've completed my testing and comparisons.
 
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