Benchmarking optics

How do you determine if a lens costing $800 is better than one costing a quarter the price? Well asides from thinking, as I do with wine, it must be better if they can command a premium for it, the answer is to do a side-by-side comparison.

“But Brian,” I hear you moaning, “I only want to buy one lens, not two, one of which I will not need.”

Well fortunately, Edmund Optics has already done some benchmarking for you. “Better Optics = Better System Performance” describes how they compared their lens with one from a competitor. Surprisingly enough, the Edmunds lens came out on top, but that’s not important right now.

What is important is how they conducted the comparison. It was a simple test that you could do yourself. Yes, you will need two lenses, but if you ask nicely your supplier will let you have them “on evaluation.” They may ask that you share the results with them. That’s something I have no problem with: mutual back-scratching is mutually beneficial.

So read the Edmunds article and learn why their lenses are so good how to evaluate lenses for yourself.