Sharpness and image quality are always top of mind for photographers. How do we get the best quality image from the lenses we purchase? Whether the lens is a budget lens or a premium lens, there are always ways we can work to the lens's strengths. Learn how to maximize the capability of your lenses.
Photographers are often familiar with lenses having a “sweet spot,” that certain aperture setting that provides the best results. In this video, Simon d’Entremont explains not only how to find the sweet spot of your lenses but also why your lens has a “sweet spot.”
d’Entremont begins the video by explaining the physics of light, how it passes through the lens, and what is happening at wide apertures and small apertures. Using this explanation, he ties those effects—both the good and the bad—into why a lens has a “sweet spot.”
Following the explanation, d’Entremont reviews three ways to find the sweet spot of your lens. This includes helpful resources to see what third parties say about the highest optical quality option for your lens, general rules of thumb (and what to watch out for with the rules of thumb), and finally, how to test and find this optimal quality with your specific lens and camera body pairing.
I found this video from d’Entremont extremely helpful. While I was familiar with many of the concepts in this video, the way he explained and pulled all these concepts together was very helpful. I now have a more comprehensive understanding of why a lens has a “sweet spot” and what variables are at play in determining that.
