how to test lens?

[dehuis]

hi all...
i just got a 2nd hand pair of canon mk II 75-300 telephoto lens. the previous owner said that i could test it out for 1 week and reject if its not good.
just wanna check how to test lens out? i get the impression that u just put it to different lengths and shoot the same object at different apertures and see if the photos are sharp..
is that it?
any particular type of things i should shoot? ( eg at the sky or at night or at certain objects?
when the photos come out, what to look out for?
is it enought to shoot at say 75, 200 and 300 mm at different apertures? and just the max and min apertures and some in the middle (eg 4, 5.6, 8, 19 , 22, 27) or every single aperture?

thks very much for help

 

[denizenx]

Originally posted by dehuis
hi all...
i just got a 2nd hand pair of canon mk II 75-300 telephoto lens. the previous owner said that i could test it out for 1 week and reject if its not good.
just wanna check how to test lens out? i get the impression that u just put it to different lengths and shoot the same object at different apertures and see if the photos are sharp..
is that it?
any particular type of things i should shoot? ( eg at the sky or at night or at certain objects?
when the photos come out, what to look out for?
is it enought to shoot at say 75, 200 and 300 mm at different apertures? and just the max and min apertures and some in the middle (eg 4, 5.6, 8, 19 , 22, 27) or every single aperture?

thks very much for help

one week ah? so good!
functionality: can zoom smoothly, can AF smoothly, no funny sounds like grits; shoot continuous (wo film I hope) and see it dun lockup/hang on you...
cosmetics: up to ur degree of tolerance...
optics: using tripod, shoot at smallest aperture, see got dirt or obvious glass probs like out-of-kink elements... maybe shoot out of focus for best effect? use a good lab for test roll, then see got obvious colour cast (fungal stain).
picture quality: ur degree of tolerance vs ur paying price. stuff like corner sharpness, flaring in the lens, etc. shoot w/o filter.

will the experts like to add on/correct?

 

[binbeto]

You could shoot at the extreme. Like the smallest aperture with the longest focal length.

Try extreme combination of shutter speed, aperture and focal length, You might have to waste a roll of film if you are not using digital.

Then again, if you test using digital and intend to use on film the effect might be a bit different.

You ccould shoot colour platte or brick wall(to test straight line).

Use a tripod and remote cord to get same condition.

For more "useful" test. You could refer to website like http://www.dpreview.com/ . They do several test for camera review.

 

[dehuis]

got it...thks
just when out to take some pics.. hope they come out well...
any good labs to recommend to print them?