Macro Lens Tests

At present, I have about 60 lenses that can be used for macro and high-magnification imaging. Over the last couple years, I have performed a moderate amount of testing on virtually all of them. I only recently expanded my lens testing procedures to add numerical detail about corner sharpness. I will add more lens reviews to this list as I finish additional testing on my other lenses.



Numerical testing is performed by way of Imatest (imatest.com). Because macro lens testing is performed at various magnifications (for me at least), and commercially available test patterns are made to work at a single magnification, I had to develop my testing procedures to account for that limitation. The bottom line is that I have to do a lot more work to get a similar amount of information.

I test the lenses in the macro magnification range from 1:4 to well beyond 1:1, depending upon the lens and its usable range. Numerical testing in this magnification range is generally ignored with most lens reviews that you find on the web.

Glossary of Definitions

Commonly seen lens mounts/adapters

Note: This page will not be updated with new lens tests. New lens tests can be found on the "New lens tests" page that can be accessed by hitting the "back" button above and hitting the appropriate link on that page.