If you were to believe the various sources on the internet, you’d be quick to come to the conclusion that there simply are good lenses and bad lenses. We can make some general assumptions like price is a benchmark of quality even without referencing what others, experts or otherwise, think.
In the photography world, we’re all familiar with how kit lenses provide the budding photographer inexpensive access to the art form, since they’ll likely never notice the attributes that make the lens so inexpensive. With time, and experience it often becomes clear that better optics are needed for the full expression of one’s art.
Here is where most of the trouble, and confusion begin. We’re quick to make a lot of assumptions about what makes a lens either good or bad, but we’re often either mis-informed, or undereducated. Until, of course, we learn to test lenses ourselves instead of relying on hard to read charts, or the hearsay of others.
This is something that filmmakers seem to take much more seriously than photographers. For one, few photographers have ever been shown the quality of their optics in a controlled testing environment, so they are at best having to make some general assumptions about what their lens does or doesn’t do. The filmmaking process is also much more expensive with much more at stake, and every variable usually has to be teased out to ensure excellence in the final product.
In professional filmmaking, much effort is poured into lens testing to parse out how the optical quality can enhance the storytelling. Clinical concepts call for clinically perfect glass, whereas ethereal and dreamlike ideas need to be supported by lenses that can subconsciously layer that feeling into the image. I don’t believe this should just be the domain of filmmaking. An image is an image, moving or still. There is no benefit to gate keeping this information from anyone.
You can certainly rely on whatever available MDF chart exists, or watch someone point a flashlight at a lens, but there are inherently problems with this approach. No two lenses are identical and the chart you see for a lens is only accurate for that exact lens. The only sure fire way to know what your lens is doing to your image is to take that exact lens and run it through a barrage of tests. You may be surprised to discover that no expensive machinery is required. Much of what you need is inexpensive and accessible and can be accomplished in the comfort of your home, studio, or local park.
I set out to teach all of this in our video Zen & The Art of Cinema Lens Testing. It’s a comprehensive 60 minute masterclass. All of the information in the video was vetted by two of Hollywood’s go-to experts in optics, Jay Holben & Matthew Duclos. Jay is the co-author of the acclaimed Cine Lens Manual, and Matthew is the owner of Duclos lenses in Los Angeles.
I believe this is the most comprehensive and approachable video on the subject in existence and it’s beneficial for all creators – photographers or filmmakers. We cover not just testing, but the deep science of optics so you know exactly what you’re looking for, why it happens, and how to control it. This is your opportunity to fully take control over your image making.
Dale Sood, Cinematographer & Digital Content Producer