Lens resolution testing

J

jonathanrichards

Active member
I've got a set of Nikon fit glass for my AF101 and I've recently been testing the resolution of each one for a feature on my web site.

It was really simple. Photo inkjet a target and shoot it with all my lenses under the same lighting conditions. Interesting results.

My question is this:

Is this a really rubbish way of testing lenses and should I just leave it to the experts?

The test was just to try and find out more about my lenses. Get to know them more to see where the failings are.

Has anyone ever done this with their kit before?

The test is here on my site http://www.jonathan-richards.tv/the-big-lens-resolution-test-on-the-af101/


 
Great way to test and also familarise your self with your kit.

I really like hearing from guys who test ..and dont just ask.

I tested all my lenses with charts and skin tone etc and learnt a lot about them in the process.

The detail in the frames was enough to give the "eyeometer" enough rez info to go on.

I did the same control tests with scene settings etc.

Great site btw Jonathan . Impressive info and well done.
 
Thanks for the compliments!

I presume from your answer you think it is OK as a basic lens test?

A colour test would probably be the next step. Guess I could gather together a series of objects, shoot them against a black background and see what differences come across.

Might be an interesting exercise!
 
Damn Shooter. Your work is so clean! Thanks for sharing. All you do it turn on the camera and shoot with Cine-V eh? Awesome!
 
Thats about it usually

..but this coming weeks shoot...we have decided to shoot 'Spark' (SC#3 I think) because it suits the subject and the feel we want for the look. ( We tested)
 
I find that the chart tells some of the story but not the whole story. The overall picture in video seems to me to be more affected by contrast, color balance and sharpness together, rather than just a good chart image. And a legacy lens with somewhat low contrast but with good color and sharpness can even give you a little more latitude in post. So maybe try the test on a complex flower or something similar and see if those issues are important as far as the final result. The chart is sometimes great at showing aliasing or other issues, and then you can test stairs or lines and see if crosses into the "it bugs me" category.
But when I get a new lens, out come the charts, and it is nice to have a reference. After a while, I find when looking through the monitor at the test chart, i can just see if it has that little bit extra, and I don't even bother hitting the record button. Color is another matter, i have to try it out on people, things, wood, fabric, etc.
 
if you are testing lenses and want a better idea of what the lenses really see, get a gf 1 or GH1 1 or 2 and shoot stills of your rez charts at 60x focal length in MM with the test lens mounted on the still camera. So a 50 mm lens would shoot the chart at 3 meters.....

I've been checking out some of my vintage zeiss primes against new photo stills glass and what I see is both sets of lenses see far more resolution that the AF one can see. So if you really want to know what your lenses can resolve shoot some stills. Then go back to the AF and mount the lenses and reshoot your tests. Chance are you will see more colorimetry differences than resolution differences, unless you have some really terrible lenses.
 
Good tips. Thank you.

I'm fairly happy with the test I've done as it gives me some information about the corners of my lenses abilities that I should avoid. Which in itself is really helpful.

As for colour rendition, the films I make have yet to test the colour abilities of my collection. In that Im not shooting food, or colour accurate fabrics or car colours. Maybe that's the next step for me!

Thanks anyway guys.
 
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