Working With Resolution Charts

Very good article.

The problem is that the people who need this information, and will believe it, already understand it. The people who will not believe this chart could care less what you write and won't bother to try understanding it.

(sorry... just fed up this week)
 
I must admit, that I found that article very enlightening and full of very helpful points. I am currently setting up a 35mm adapter and will use your article to great advantage. Thanks!
 
Barry, great article. I'd agree that charts are often overlooked in terms of their importance. DSC labs have been great to deal with, ending up becoming friends of ours in the process of dealing with them. We have a setup video for their AMBI2 rear illuminated system in Cinevate's Video University section. (Last link on the page)

Just a quick tip that one of our guys (Hubert) who has worked in animation for a long time came up with. In terms of getting the chart perfectly square in all aspects to the camera. This is critical if you're evaluating edge to edge sharpness.

1. Source a small mirror, preferably front surface, and glue a large flat fridge magnet to the back side of the mirror.

2. Using a second large flat fridge magnet behind the chart, "stick" the mirror to the front of the chart. The magnets will hold the mirror in place without damaging the chart.

3. Zoom in on the mirror with your camera. When you're perfectly aligned, the mirror will show the center of the camera lens (you'd see this in the viewfinder). This ensures that the camera is exaclty and precisely true edge to edge, as well as the XY axis. Takes a bit of fiddling but it sure makes the process quick and exact. There's a video clip floating around somewhere of the tip which Mike from DSC can provide.

Cheers,
Dennis.
 
hey, thanks for the info. I was looking all over the place and this is very helpful. I'd also like to see this as a color chart!!

thank you,

nina
 
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These charts are somewhat like those used for medical imaging equipment calibration. I'm an MRI tech and they remind me of the imaging of diagnostic phantoms required for certification with the American College of Radiology.
 
Just curious. Can anyone who has experience testing lenses tell me, is there much variation between individual copies of the same lens vs the same focal length fstop but different brands?

If so, wouldn't it make the various online lens comparison sites worthless?
 
A few of the cheaper brands, older lenses, certain models and hand made lenses have significant variation. However, modern mostly machine made lenses with good quality control are very consistent. Think of it like a car. Fiats seem to have wide variation while most Lexis are pretty consistent. A 1960's Toyota is a tin can, the 1990's Toyotas are far superior.
 
That's $200 I think if I read the web page right. Makes it a harder choice. How about a lending library?
 
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'If you want to be more complex, I recommend the simple Resolving Power chart from Edmund Optics that you can buy for less than $20'
 
I believe 8string was referring to the ISO 12233 resolution chart I linked, not the chart mentioned in your link.
 
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