Lenses and Optics
There are a lot of right ways to do optical testing. The gold standard is to put the lens on a $150,000 optical bench or run it through a well-equipped Imatest lab. But unless you have an optical bench or Imatest lab handy, that’s not practical. We have to optically test around 400 lenses a […]
How To's
By far the most common email and PM I get basically says, “I think my lens is optically out of sorts. What do you think?” The second most common is, “So what’s the best way to optically test my lens without a ton of equipment.” Years ago I wrote an overly long post about testing […]
Teardowns and Disassembly
The usual warnings apply: Do not try this at home. This post was made by semi-trained, semi-professional repair technicians who sort of know what they’re doing. The following blog post contains graphic images of the inside of a very nice camera. If such things make you squeamish, don’t read further. No cameras were harmed in […]
Lenses and Optics
There’s been a lot of interest in the newly released Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 SP Di VC USD lens. (For those wondering what the initials mean, VC means vibration compensation, the others all read ‘marketing drivel’.) But meaningless initials or not, with a price under $1,100, a superior range, and vibration compensation, this lens has created a lot […]
Equipment
Photography companies love catchword marketing. They like catchwords because photographers make assumptions about what those words mean, even though the words really don’t mean anything. So basically, they say nothing, but it makes you believe something. Two of my favorite examples are “professional quality construction” and “weather resistance”. When I read those terms, my brain […]
