What is the sharpest lens?

Zoom lenses are automatically disqualified.
 
Obviously a prime will have less artifacts than a zoom but a zoom lens can still be sharp. Sharpness and distortion are two completely different animals. Thus zooms cannot be excluded from the equation.

Most lenses are pretty darned sharp around f8-f11 - even the soft lenses.

The question is - what are your parameters for asking such a vague and subjective question?
 
The tests can tell you a lot about what "the sharpest" lens is...but as mentioned earlier, there are many factors that influence the result. The most important test is how it looks...
from Photonet:
Lennart Estrvm , Jun 20, 1999; 01:25 p.m.
Hi! I think that lens tests might do the work in some cases, but I believe more in what I see with my own eyes, in practical tests. Everyone who has tried a Leica knows that their lenses are of a very high standard, perhaps the best 35 mm lenses on the market. But I have seen tests that placed Leicas Summicron 35mm in second place after a low budget lens, a Soligor! Who can believe in that? It was a line/mm test, such as the one you refer to. I4ve tried both Soligors(which I believe is not made anymore) and Leicas and I4ve noticed a big difference in performance between the two. If you4re satisfied with how Pentax lenses perform, use them!
 
If sharpness doesn't make a photograph, you don't have to blow your dust, or clean your lens.. and you dont have to focus!~ focus (to get sharp pictures) is not needed!~ period.

It has to be something about everything.. I like sharp pictures, it gives the feeling of "whoah~" no one prefer blur pictures..

Way to completely miss the point.

:thumbdown:
 
Eh, it's a tough call as far as my equipment goes...
I'd say it's right there with my Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF-S Micro and my Nikon 200-400mm f/4. The 70-200mm f/2.8 is no slouch though.
 
The tests can tell you a lot about what "the sharpest" lens is...but as mentioned earlier, there are many factors that influence the result. The most important test is how it looks...
from Photonet:

Actually, the most important test is optical resolution, usually measured in LPI (or some other unit besides inches if you prefer). It's a quite objective measure of a lens's ability to distinguish between two lines a particular distance from each other. A lens that can distinguish two black lines 1mm apart, for example, has higher resolution or resolving power than one that can only distinguish two lines if they're, say, 2mm apart. This also depends upon distance from object to lens, as well as contrast ratios (which I won't bother going into). And although in practice raises questions of whether lens resolution matches or exceeds film/sensor resolution, the lens itself does have a discrete/finite resolution that is wholly independent of a viewer's ability to make the same distinctions.

For people with poor eyesight or low resolution film/sensors the difference may not be obvious and so people tend to lean on the law of diminishing returns given the resolution specs of their eyes and media. But for example the same photo taken with the same lens on a 20D vs a 1ds MKIII differs mostly because the more powerful sensor is better able to take advantage of the lens' native resolution. Whereas two sensors with resolutions grossly below or above the lens' resolution won't detect much of a difference. That doesn't, however mean it isn't there.

From a technical standpoint, a lens with a higher native resolution will always produce an image with a higher resolution at a given viewing distance or magnification, even if it isn't readily apparent to the viewer. From a practical standpoint, as your bodies/sensors/films get better over time, the difference will become clearer to the viewer.
 
The 60 mm f/4 UV-Vis-IR APO Macro, by Coastal Optics &
JENOPTIC is the sharpest lens...

...Not only because it is one of the best ever, but because it is
also sharp from UV, through visible light, to IR, with no focus shift.

As no other lens can do it, it can claim the title of 'The Sharpest
Lens'... :wink:

Take a look -
 
The 60 mm f/4 UV-Vis-IR APO Macro, by Coastal Optics &
JENOPTIC is the sharpest lens...

...Not only because it is one of the best ever, but because it is
also sharp from UV, through visible light, to IR, with no focus shift.

As no other lens can do it, it can claim the title of 'The Sharpest
Lens'... :wink:

Take a look -

News Flash: All true APO lenses are like that. That's what APO means.
 
Alpha said:
News Flash: All true APO lenses are like that.
That's what APO means.
Alpha said:
Certainly not every APO lens is corrected from UV (315 nm)
to IR (1100 nm), .
Some include the visible spectrum and UV, but not IR as well,
and not w/o focus shift over the whole range.
In practice, the term 'APO' typically regards the visible spectrum.

To the best of my knowledge, no other lens does this.
I'd be glad to learn something new.
Please point to a lens that does it, and which does it as well
as the Coastal Optics' 60 mm f/4 UV-Vis-IR APO Macro does.
 
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Shady marketing. At infinity, wavelength is negligible. Did you notice that all of their graphs of UV and IR light are for focusing at infinity?

It's just like statistics. Easily manipulated "data" that appear valid to the untrained eye.
 
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Hmm....

I never have put much stock in lens graphs. I prefer my eye.

A lot of measurebators claim the 17-85IS isn't that great. While there is a little distortion at each end it's not too bad and I'm very happy with this lens. It's my lens of choice for weddings.
 
Shady marketing. At infinity, wavelength is negligible.
...

Why do you say that? It's perfectly normal to give chromatic aberration data for infinity, because the effect of wavelength is not negligible.

Best,
Helen
 

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