How to test my new camera?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

>7. Can I test for "noise"?

You'll find noise easily enough. Shoot at a high ISO in natural light.



> 2. Is black the best background?

You want to push your lens to the limit? Shoot a bird against the
daytime sky.

There's a lot of things you can test for. You can test the metering to
see how it behaves with a black background, a high-key background, a
gray card.

To test color, shoot a color test card under various light conditions.
To test focus and depth of field, shoot along a ruler.

To test barrel and vignette, shoot a brick wall straight on. To test
moiré, shoot window screens.

The results may vary substantially between f-stops and focal lengths.

Don't test *too* thoroughly, or eventually you'll see that it's all
folly, and you'll end up selling your high-end DSLR and lenses as you
move to large format film...

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Good suggestions, James -

How do I get the bird to stand still?

Where can I get the color test card?

Thanks a lot, James -

Alex (Just kidding about the bird)


"James Of Tucson" <james0tucson@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1116288650.867339.191970@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

>7. Can I test for "noise"?

You'll find noise easily enough. Shoot at a high ISO in natural light.



> 2. Is black the best background?

You want to push your lens to the limit? Shoot a bird against the
daytime sky.

There's a lot of things you can test for. You can test the metering to
see how it behaves with a black background, a high-key background, a
gray card.

To test color, shoot a color test card under various light conditions.
To test focus and depth of field, shoot along a ruler.

To test barrel and vignette, shoot a brick wall straight on. To test
moiré, shoot window screens.

The results may vary substantially between f-stops and focal lengths.

Don't test *too* thoroughly, or eventually you'll see that it's all
folly, and you'll end up selling your high-end DSLR and lenses as you
move to large format film...

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Alex wrote:

> Paul -
>
> For the branches against a sky, does the sky need to be blue? Will overcast
> / hazy work?


Hazy white sky is best.



>
> Also "zoom in 500%"? That would make a Nikon on Kodachrome blush, wouldn't
> it? In other words, can any 5.1 mp camera look decent at 500%? How many
> pixels for transition are good / bad?


Generally it's only going to be meaningful to compare side by side. It
will all look awfull at 500% zoom but you can count the pixels
transitioning across a change in color. I don't think any camera could
get straight from black to white without a gray row between but if it's
several gray rows that's not a good sign.



>
> I think that you and James hit the nail on the head with the last sentence
> of each of your posts (Re: "Overtesting" ). I already miss the quality and
> ease of control of my old Olympus OM2n - but it ain't digital! Maybe one
> day I will be able to afford a digital SLR.
>
> Thanks a lot for the suggestions, Paul!
>
> Alex
>
>
> "Paul Furman" <paul-@-edgehill.net> wrote in message
> news:m_udnUPXK8pS0BTfRVn-hA@speakeasy.net...
> | More tests:
> |
> | Shoot a white wall out of focus at various ISOs to see noise.
> |
> | Shoot a newspaper & examine the print at the center & corners at 100% or
> | more.
> |
> | Branches against a sky, backlit to check for purple fringing (blooming
> | from small sensor/pixels) and chromatic aberration from lens design.
> |
> | Strong edges at various angles, then zoom in 500% to see how many pixels
> | it takes to make the transition.
> |
> | Colorful scenes to see how it handles various colors.
> |
> | High contrast (and soft) backgrounds out of focus to evaluate the
> | out-of-focus bokeh quality.
> |
> | But all this will just give you a headache unless you do the same tests
> | with two or more cameras and compare.
> |
> |
> | --
> | Paul Furman
> | http://www.edgehill.net/1
> | san francisco native plants
>
>

--
Paul Furman
http://www.edgehill.net/1
san francisco native plants

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Transition pixels looked good (mostly 3, some 2s, some 4s) as long as the
exposure was good or slightly dark. But 1 stop over exposed, they jump to
6 - 7!

I see what you mean now. completely different evaluation techniques for
digital vs. film. I still need to try the branches.

Thanks again,

Alex


"Paul Furman" <paul-@-edgehill.net> wrote in message
news:iYSdnd07X_-mnBHfRVn-qQ@speakeasy.net...
| Alex wrote:
|
| > Paul -
| >
| > For the branches against a sky, does the sky need to be blue? Will
overcast
| > / hazy work?
|
|
| Hazy white sky is best.
|
|
|
| >
| > Also "zoom in 500%"? That would make a Nikon on Kodachrome blush,
wouldn't
| > it? In other words, can any 5.1 mp camera look decent at 500%? How
many
| > pixels for transition are good / bad?
|
|
| Generally it's only going to be meaningful to compare side by side. It
| will all look awfull at 500% zoom but you can count the pixels
| transitioning across a change in color. I don't think any camera could
| get straight from black to white without a gray row between but if it's
| several gray rows that's not a good sign.
|
|
|
| >
| > I think that you and James hit the nail on the head with the last
sentence
| > of each of your posts (Re: "Overtesting" ). I already miss the quality
and
| > ease of control of my old Olympus OM2n - but it ain't digital! Maybe
one
| > day I will be able to afford a digital SLR.
| >
| > Thanks a lot for the suggestions, Paul!
| >
| > Alex
| >
| >
| > "Paul Furman" <paul-@-edgehill.net> wrote in message
| > news:m_udnUPXK8pS0BTfRVn-hA@speakeasy.net...
| > | More tests:
| > |
| > | Shoot a white wall out of focus at various ISOs to see noise.
| > |
| > | Shoot a newspaper & examine the print at the center & corners at 100%
or
| > | more.
| > |
| > | Branches against a sky, backlit to check for purple fringing (blooming
| > | from small sensor/pixels) and chromatic aberration from lens design.
| > |
| > | Strong edges at various angles, then zoom in 500% to see how many
pixels
| > | it takes to make the transition.
| > |
| > | Colorful scenes to see how it handles various colors.
| > |
| > | High contrast (and soft) backgrounds out of focus to evaluate the
| > | out-of-focus bokeh quality.
| > |
| > | But all this will just give you a headache unless you do the same
tests
| > | with two or more cameras and compare.
| > |
| > |
| > | --
| > | Paul Furman
| > | http://www.edgehill.net/1
| > | san francisco native plants
| >
| >
|
| --
| Paul Furman
| http://www.edgehill.net/1
| san francisco native plants