SALT II results... (Part 1,2,3,4 Bokeh, Breathing & Flare and Part 5: Impressions)

[Evin Grant]

Added section 3 Charachter, Drawing and distortion...
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...466#post950466

[Patrick Grossien]

Yeah, unfortunately all STILL glass manufacturer, the absolute WORST been SIGMA, have a variable quality check, meaning that no one lens is equal to the other, and for this is why I buy my lenses in 3's, as I replied to Mark, I have been doing this since I one day sow a same shot on a same camera on a same lens, taken by a fellow photographer on my shoot, and his was much nicer, so I said, one a minute I know you have done nothing differently, and I know you can't be that much better then me, sorry for the arrogance here, so we tested each lens, BINGO!!

So yeah expect QUALITY CHECK issues with all your Still glass manufacturers, and check your lenses, I do with al mines, and the "L" glass I have now are the selections of the best of 3's.

I hav not yet found this issue with Leica M or S series glass.

Ketch, do you have an easy setup to check the lenses, or how do you do it? Just shoot some charts?

[Martin Stevens]

it would be a good business for someone out there to setup as a dealer with all the lens manufactures and get a shipment of lenses, send the marginal ones back and sell the rockstar ones for a slight premium. I'd be a customer.

Right on!

[KETCH ROSSi]

Ketch, do you have an easy setup to check the lenses, or how do you do it? Just shoot some charts?

Shooting its okay, but painfully time consuming, I would use a lab and proper test gear fi one was to do this with a ton of lenses, I would not have time to do this again, not here not now, but when in Cali, even last year I did had plenty of time, well, kind of in the early part of the year, till Epic M8 arrived, then all bets were off, been traveling ever since, and never stopped, so no more time to go buy Still glass and have to test each one, unless its Leica, then all I have to test is the different models in the same focal, to see which one is bets... ;)

But its either way too complex and many steps process to list here how I do it, and how it needs to be done, with or without gear to test resolution of the actual lens.

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

Evan-

So what happened with the Zeiss 85? A reflection? Could you please explain this a bit?

[Bob Gundu]

Probably a car pulled up off camera and caused a reflection.

Evan-

So what happened with the Zeiss 85? A reflection? Could you please explain this a bit?

[James McLellan]

I don't have enough experience with a wide variety of lenses but this article seems to make sense about all these bad lenses people are talking about:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008...nd-other-myths

[KETCH ROSSi]

I don't have enough experience with a wide variety of lenses but this article seems to make sense about all these bad lenses people are talking about:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008...nd-other-myths

James, don't confuse things, no one is talking about bad lenses, just not as good as others... ;)

[Steve Sherrick]

it would be a good business for someone out there to setup as a dealer with all the lens manufactures and get a shipment of lenses, send the marginal ones back and sell the rockstar ones for a slight premium. I'd be a customer.

I've been wanting this as well. I know there's a member of this forum who would probably be a great candidate to do this (hint, hint) but they are also extremely busy so not sure if it would fit their business plan. But it would be great. Basically a seal of approval that says this lens meets or exceeds the criteria for professional use. Of course, there would still possibly be some subjective aspects to it but much better than hoping to get a good sample from retail stores.

[Scott Crawley]

it would be a good business for someone out there to setup as a dealer with all the lens manufactures and get a shipment of lenses, send the marginal ones back and sell the rockstar ones for a slight premium. I'd be a customer.

It's an interesting idea, but how would you actually do it? Who is going to agree to take returns of 2/3 or more? Is it reasonable to expect that Canon would support this business model and certify you as a dealer, taking back those returns directly? Supporting that would mean acknowledging as fact the idea that 2/3 of their flagship lenses are somehow not up to par. I think the business model would have to be very carefully crafted to pass muster.

Are we talking about a "Cine Certified" kind of identifier? That seems to send mixed messages, since the lenses are mechanically sub-par for much of what we know as cine work.

I don't ask these Q's to be critical... Just thinking publicly. Who has the answers?

I suppose if Duclos were to do it, they could rehouse a portion of the crappy ones as opposed to returning them all. That might make it work. What say you Matt, are you a candidate to be a Canon dealer? Are you already? Pardon my ignorance, if you please.

Demand for the less expensive "certified" lenses might likely out pace the finer rehoused lenses, throwing this model out of whack. You would still have to find a place for the rejects to go... Discounted sales? That might mean a higher premium for the selects...

Maybe you wouldn't have to return or discount the ones that can't make the select grade, just sell 'em as per usual depending upon how bad they were. Maybe you would have to bin them like processors; selects, standard, and discounted with only those truly unacceptable lenses going back. But once you have culled the good lenses from the herd, how would you define a "standard" grade and who would want to buy a marginal discounted lens if you knew it wasn't entirely sharp? I guess you would have to test that one out.

Sorry again for thinking aloud and off topic. Enjoying the SALT results guys. Keep it coming. :-)