Fascinating Article on Lens and Camera Variability

Doug has prodded me several times on learning to use MF, so I am sure he will appreciate this article (though he probably has read it and/or knows it all already).
For those of you who haven't seen it, enjoy.

LensRentals.com - Notes on Lens and Camera Variation

Ya know, one of these days I need to get a new focus screen. I really *hate* the low-contrast screens in dSLR's. They make manual focus more of a bear than it should be. I'd say my eyes have gotten worse, but I still use architectural screens without problem on my film bodies.

Good article btw.

Great article.. I'll keep this short for now, my cat is laying on my right arm so I'm typing with one finger! (she just moved... whew) First off for Dysfunction: Katz Eye Plus - KatzEye Optics
Great people and great products. They'll install one for you if you don't want to do it yourself. Well worth it.

When I was in Hungary, I had to bring my Sigma 28 1.8 lens in for repair because the focus ring was not turning smoothly, due to it having fallen while attached to my D300 while on a tripod. Was in a cemetary, and some kid ran bye, knocking it over... the whole rig fell on top of a marble stone! The camera's casing split open a bit, revealing the the alloy inside of it, and I was mortified! Amazingly though, everything still worked exactly the same. That D300 is a beast.

To the point, when I brought the Sigma in to this small shop, they not only fixed the focus ring, but used the kind of software talked about in the article, and calibrated the lens as well. It came back to me in better shape then when I had first bought it, focus was amazingly smooth and images were sharper than ever! The best part? I think I paid about $20 USD for this !

They also have an official Nikon factory over there, and it cost me $60 to fix the casing, as well as have the sensor cleaned and calibrated! It probably would have cost me several hundred for the same service here in the States. Man I miss that place...

Doug

Doug, thanks for the link. Swapping those things is no big deal Now.. to figure out what markings I actually want (why do I think it'll just be an arch screen... again)

I prefer bare, myself. I don't always adhere to the rule of thirds, especially for street shooting as that would be kind of stiff IMO. I like to let my mind create the lines for me, usually works out well... Um, in MY mind, anyway!;D

Doug

it's not the rule of thirds I like it for, it started with using it to check horizontal/vertical alignment.. and well, after 20 years .. now I'm just used to seeing the things

must admit i do not know the true significance of the y-axis, they can make the data points as spread-out as they like by choice of axis scales, it would have been nice if they included some images to illustrate the significance of the units of resolution a bit better.