What makes a Nikon lens an S lens?

[MrFotoFool]

I always have to give myself a refresh on reading these charts. If I understand the numbers are how many lines per millimeter on the test image, the 10 trying to measure contrast, the 30 resolution. The S and M are the direction of the test lines and the x axis is center of the lens on the left moving to edges on the right.

I have been seeing these charts (first in photo magazines) for well over three decades and to this day I still don't know what they mean. I have never in my life bought a lens based on a chart on a graph.

 

[Ken Miracle]

Typically the manufacturers publish MTFs at Wide and Tele for zooms and wide open for all lenses. But you're 100% correct, there is so much more to lens than sharpness.

Personally, I'm finding that my best photos (ie those that sell most products for my clients) are not necessarily the sharpest. I think that for the past ten years lens makers have been overly obsessed with sharpness and removal of all distortion and lenses today produce very sterile images.

Agreed! As lenses and cameras have become technically amazing for sharpness, clarity etc.. I had to chuckle a little as new versions of Light Room Classic introduced adjustments to add grain, produce lens blur etc.. I have had technically near perfect images that did not fare as well in sales (when I was still doing retail displays) or competitions as those that were not but they piqued a viewers interest.