Modern Photography Catadioptric Lens Tests I have included the correlation tables between the numeric ratings and the qualitative ratings at the end. Note, however, that MP doesn't seem to follow these tables very closely themselves! Thus, the best method to use when comparing two lenses of the same focal length is to compare their numeric ratings only, ignoring the qualitative rating. Lenses with a reference but no data will be added as I get the articles. 500/8.0 MTO (3/79 pp. 110-111): Actual: 509/8.3, Distortion: 1.0%, Falloff: 0.6 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:36x Center: Ex 54 Corner: VG 42 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Low 40 Corner: Low 28 500/8.0 Soligor (10/80 pp. 125, 192): Actual: 505.0/8.10, Distortion: 1.0% pincush, Falloff: 0.75 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:50x Center: Ex 44 Corner: Gd 32 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Low 36 Corner: Low 25 500/8.0 Spiratone (3/79 p. 125): Actual: 505/8.28, Distortion: < 2.0%, Falloff: 0.4 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:41x Center: Ex 44 Corner: Ex 36 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 42 Corner: Med 34 500/8.0 Tamron Close Focus (6/79 p. 126): Actual: 508/8.0, Distortion: 1.2% pincush, Falloff: 0.75 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:40x Center: VG 48 Corner: Gd 36 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:4x Center: Gd 40 Corner: Gd 30 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 44 Corner: Low 28 500/8.0 Tokina (10/80 pp. 124-125): Actual: 504/8.3, Distortion: 0.9% pincush, Falloff: 0.74 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:48x Center: Gd 44 Corner: Gd 32 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Low 34 Corner: Low 28 500/8.0 Zuiko (8/84 pp. 70-71, 130): Actual: 498/8.27, Distortion: 1.04% pincush, Falloff: 0.8 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at ???x Center: Gd 45 Corner: Ex 40 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Hi 58 Corner: Hi 55 600/8.0 Sigma (11/81 pp. 160, 164, 166): Actual: 597.0/8.35, Distortion: < 1%, Falloff: 0.82 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:40x Center: Ex 50 Corner: Gd 40 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Low 37 Corner: Med 29 600/8.0 Vivitar "Solid Cat" (10/76 pp. 151-152): Actual: 571.43/8.9, Distortion: 1.0%, Falloff: 0.5 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:34x Center: Acc 34 Corner: Gd 27 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 38 Corner: Hi 36 700/8.0 Questar (1/77 p. 139): Actual: 710/8.5, Distortion: <0.5%, Falloff: 0.85 stops at f/8 8 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:40x Center: Ex 64 Corner: Ex 60 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 40 Corner: Med 37 750/6.0 Honeywell (6/75 pp. 103-104): Actual: 755/6.04, Distortion: 1.5% pincush, Falloff: 0.3 stops at f/6 6 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:40x Center: Ex 64 Corner: Ex 44 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 48 Corner: Med 38 1000/11.0 Meade (3/82 pp. 115, 156): Actual: 1030/11.0, Distortion: <1.0%, Falloff: 0.78 stops at f/11 11 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:34x Center: Ex 50 Corner: Ex 44 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 38 Corner: Med 32 1250/10.0 Celestron (2/77 pp. 106): Actual: 1260/10.0, Distortion: 1.5%, Falloff: 1.4 stops at f/10 10 Resolution (lines/mm) at 1:41x Center: Ex 64 Corner: Ex 56 Contrast (%) at 30 lines/mm: Center: Med 44 Corner: Hi 40 Modern Photography Resolution Standards 251 to 2000mm Center Corner Acc Gd VG Ex Acc Gd VG Ex Max: 30-34 35-39 40-43 44+ 24-26 27-29 30-32 33+ Med: 36-40 41-45 46-49 50+ 28-31 32-35 36-39 40+ 16 up: 30-34 35-39 40-43 44+ 26-29 30-33 34-37 38+ Modern Photography Contrast Standards 251 to 2000mm Center Corner Low Med Hi Low Med Hi Max: 24-40 41-51 52+ 20-27 28-35 36+ Next: 28-46 47-61 62+ 24-32 33-39 40+ Med: 36-50 51-67 68+ 28-38 39-47 48+ 11 up: 38-46 47-57 58+ 32-40 41-47 48+