We have all seen the lengthy discussions about “which lens is sharpest.” While the ability of a lens to resolve detail is certainly important, it is not the only thing that is important. And in many cases, knowing which is the sharpest lens is not as important as know which among a number of sharp alternatives best suits your needs. I stumbled into another discussion of this topic online today and posted the following as my contribution. (Slightly edited here from the original post.)
Folks sometimes allow themselves to become completely distracted by “sharpness” to the point that they overlook a whole bunch of other important issues in their quest to find the holy grail of “sharp.” This can become the equivalent to realizing that good tires are important on a car, and then deciding to buy a particular car because it comes with the “best” tires… but is too big to fit in your garage, costs twice your annual income, has a terrible repair record, needs a tune-up every 750 miles, and only comes in a color your spouse hates.
For a few people doing certain types of very critical work, printing very large, working slowly and methodically, and willing to forego the compensatory advantages of other lens options, lenses like the excellent TS models, lenses from another manufacturer that only work with adapters, classic primes, and so forth might make some sense.
But just because a lens might measure a bit better to some extent in one of the areas that is measurable (e. g. “sharpness”), it does not necessarily follow that it is a better lens, nor that alternatives that may measure differently in sharpness – but are very nearly as good – will not also be excellent performers. It is also not true that these specialized lenses are required to produce large and effective prints.
It is interesting to watch people go through a process that may look something like the following at times, as they…
1. decide they need a sharper kens.
2. research lens sharpness.
3. consider only sharpness and overlook or dismiss other issues, including those mentioned in the sources analyzing sharpness.
4. decide that some lens is the “sharpest” – frequently some expensive prime, the most expensive zoom they can find, an alternative brand, a specialized TS, etc.
4.5. lust after said lens for some period. The excitement builds…
5. purchase the aforementioned Really Really Sharp Lens.
6. use the new lens and glory in it’s pure Divinely Sharp Wonderfulness, thereby confirming their wise choice.
7. share their wonder with others.
8. make more photographs, and eventually come to find out that a) in real photography the sharpness difference is rarely visible, b) there are downsides to using the sharper lens, c) the downsides sometimes compromise or lose the shot, and d) in many cases their previous “less sharp” lens proves just as useful and effective.
9. note that the new super Super Lens, while useful, begins to spend more time in the bag, and…
10. learn an important lesson or two about Lens Lust… or else repeat the cycle with a different WonderLens. :-)
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that sharpness is unimportant. I’m just encouraging people to keep things in perspective.
G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email
Good point Dan. Sharpness is only one factor in selecting a lens and with the current state of high-end optics it is often akin to splitting hairs. In contrast bokeh, which is almost the opposite of sharpness, is sometimes the best quality of a lens. They’re all just tools and never replace vision.
Fantastic point, Dan. Sometimes, I think that focusing too much on the minutiae really takes away from the general appreciation of the art.
That said, some people derive joy from the minutiae. I guess it takes all kinds to make a world.
-Greg
And I’m finding more and more that I like my images a little less sharp anyway.