Best way to test lens sharpness at home?

[enyceckk]

I got 3 prime lens. I would like to test each len's sharpness. What household item should I use?

 

[480sparky]

Household items? Maybe shoot a newspaper or magazine or book.

No matter the subject, use a sturdy tripod, low ISO and use a remote release or self-timer.

 

[W.Fovall]

black print on white paper... @f/8

 

[photoguy99]

Bar codes.

But don't. You typically don't get anything useful or very interesting out of it.

Been there. Done that.

 

[gsgary]

Just go out and shoot

 

[Designer]

I got 3 prime lens. I would like to test each len's sharpness. What household item should I use?

IMO you'll get some images to do relative comparisons between the tested lens and some other images which may be from some unknown source, but just using what is available in the average household you're not really using scientific method.

One thing that you can do an actual test for is fore and aft accuracy of the focal plane, and the DOF as observed.

 

[Designer]

You can download a "test target" to shoot at. These help you to judge the sharpness over the extents of the frame, and compare different areas of the image.

 

[mcap1972]

There are some commercial apps that can measure sharpens of your lens. I use FoCal by Reikan.

 

[qleak]

If your knife slices through paper easily it's sharp enough. ..

 

[waday]

What do you plan to do with the results?

If they aren't sharp enough for you, you can donate them... to me...

 

[480sparky]

What do you plan to do with the results?

If they aren't sharp enough for you, you can donate them... to me...

What do YOU plan to do with those sub-standard, donated results?

 

[waday]

What do you plan to do with the results?

If they aren't sharp enough for you, you can donate them... to me...

What do YOU plan to do with those sub-standard, donated results?

Make sub-standard photographs.

 

[tirediron]

Bar codes.

But don't. You typically don't get anything useful or very interesting out of it.

Been there. Done that.

Useful to whom? I do home-brew lens resolution tests with all my lenses. My method: Cover a letter-size sheet of paper with 12pt, upper-case 'X's (preferably 'Arial' or a similar sans-serif font). Make sure it's edge to edge. Then, tape that piece of paper to a wall, and set up your camera so that it is perfectly level and the plane of focus is parallel the sheet of paper, and that it is close, but not at the minimum focusing distance. In other words, if the mnimum focusing distance for the lens is is 12", have the camera 14" away. Once everythings set up, tripod solid, release ready, exposure correct (aperture priority/Tv) shoot a frame of the paper wide open, and at whatever other apertures you're interested in. I find this an excellent way to show me approximate sharpness corner to corner, and most importantly where my aperture needs to be for maximum sharpness, where difractions starts to occur, etc... It may not be useful to you, but I consider it good infomration to have.

 

[480sparky]

What do you plan to do with the results?

If they aren't sharp enough for you, you can donate them... to me...

What do YOU plan to do with those sub-standard, donated results?

Make sub-standard photographs.

How do you make sub-standard photographs with photographs that were given to you because they weren't sharp?

 

[waday]

What do you plan to do with the results?

If they aren't sharp enough for you, you can donate them... to me...

What do YOU plan to do with those sub-standard, donated results?

Make sub-standard photographs.

How do you make sub-standard photographs with photographs that were given to you because they weren't sharp?

I was hoping to get the lenses, not the photographs.

If I get the photographs instead of the lenses, I can use them to level that darn desk.