My thoughts on Focus accuracy.....( manual as opposed to AF )

[Minniesmum]

Not sure if this is on the " correct " forum as it's an opinion...
Over the course of the past 10 years or so I've enjoyed using my older lenses on digital- started with Tamron Adaptall on the KM 5D DSLR and continuing with many more on the Olympus micro-four thirds bodies.
For me the sharpness of an image depends very much on one's eye and accuracy of focus. The VF2 and up to x14 magnification on the E-P3 helps enormously.
So when I see posts/reviews of various often hideously expensive glass- mostly Leica - and peeps saying this lens is sharper than that lens, etc. ,
I wonder how much of that perceived achievable sharpness is down to one's eye and focusing skills ?
Just wondering how other folk perceive sharpness and aside from technical measurements, does it really just depend on human judgement ??

btw I don't go sharpness hunting- more interested in bokeh and quirkiness

 

[norman shearer]

It is easy to miss focus when comparing lenses, I did it myself recently and on reviewing the results of a test the inferior lens looked to be sharper on some shots. Fortunately a real world test on the street was enough to confirm which was the better lens. So there's only so much you can learn from tests you read or even conduct yourself, there's no real substitute for taking the lens and using it as you intend and seeing how it fares.

I do find it amusing when someone asks for opinions on a lens that they have just bought and have in their posession. "Is this lens any good?...."

Nowt wrong with asking if there is a better lens than this though.