Lens sharpness test methodology

Bruno

Hi, i really love photographylife.com for providing objective and useful Information! I really enjoy the lens-reviews which became a very valuable source for buying decisions.
As I am currently in the market for a new lens I was researching the quality of 50mm primes (for Nikon F-Mount). I checked the reviews at photographylife and compared them to the findings of "opticallimits". While the results of the sharpness tests (imatest) are very comparable in most cases, they really differ in case of the AF-S 50mm 1.8G. While center sharpness increases only about 20% when stepping down form F1.8 to F4.0 according to opticallimits (they seem to have used the D3X for their tests), the increase is over 90% in the photographylife review.
What is the cause for such a big difference in results? Is there a big difference in test methodology?

MegaZ

Bruno, test results will vary greatly depending on many factors, including lens sample variation, body used, shooting conditions, chart resolution, etc. The sample I used was a very good one, which performed just like the Imatest results showed. Others might have weaker candidates that don't perform that well...