A good way to rekindle inspiration is to have a project.

For example, start collecting portraits of flowers, then make a Blurb book of them and show them around in style.

Maybe start entering photo competitions with a theme, but go out and shoot to the theme specifically.

Set a challenge, just go out with one memory card and one lens and have a very restricted day with the brief of filling the card and then go home and processs the results.

The possibilities are endless.

Exactly, it can always go back onto eBay!

When you take images in a museum you are normally agreeing that the images are for "private use only" and not for commercial use.

I would have thought that sharing your image via camera club competitions or sharing them with your friends here on PU was "private use" and not commercial.

If you wanted to use your image as, say, a map cover for Ordnance Survey or a book illustration, then approach the museum for permission. They will have a department or someone responsible for commercial photography.

More to follow.....

No decentering figures unfortunately, but you're right to mention that. Lenses do vary and if we only had one sample each then some of us would be very pleased and some less so.

It would be equally possible for these lens testers to have received an almost perfect Pentax lens and a rubbish Leica one, so skewing the results.

But short of thoroughly testing several samples of every lens, what alternative is there? I don't think anyone, apart from the factory, would have any time or inclination.

Back to 1981/1982 again and some 28mm lenses compared, and I think one common misconception turned on its head.

Lens name - MTF value at 10 lpm - MTF value at 40 lpm

Canon FD 89% 42%
Zeiss Distagon 92% 57%
Hoya HMC 87% 47%
Leitz Elmarit-R 86% 34%
Makinon 86% 31%
Nikon E 86% 40%
Pentax-M f2.8 88% 51%
Sigma 88% 40%
Tamron f2.5 83% 38%
Vivitar f2.8 83% 39%
Tokina 87% 47%
Zuiko 91% 51%

The best lenses in the group were the Zeiss, Pentax, Tokina and Olympus. The misconception I refer to is the commonly stated belief that the Pentax 28mm f2.8 design is not a good one. This test confirms my own experience of the lens, that it is in fact excellent. It's interesting that Tokina were excelling themselves as well and are well on a par with the "big boys".

Yes it would.

I couldn't even begin to guess. At any one time at least 80 people are likely to be here, some of them guests that are just passing by.

If it's RAW then save as a JPEG instead of a TIFF.

With a TIFF open the file and Save As choosing the file type as JPEG.

To put all these figures in perspective, here's the MTF figures for the Tamron 500mm mirror lens. Note how low the contrast is compared to 50mm lenses.

10 lpm 73%
40 lpm 16%