Having the sharpest lens in the world does nothing for you if it is useless for the situation you are about to use it for. Purchasing a 'L' lens based on sharpness quality's alone is a bit like purchasing a Ferrari and deciding to try it out on the slick rock of moab.
If you look at all of the MTF charts for Canon, the 400 f/2.8 is the sharpest of all. I looked at all of the MTF charts and here are the lenses in order of sharpness (based on what the MTF charts showe me)
BigBlueDodge wrote:
If you look at all of the MTF charts for Canon, the 400 f/2.8 is the sharpest of all. I looked at all of the MTF charts and here are the lenses in order of sharpness (based on what the MTF charts showe me) [...]
Canon's MTF charts are theoretical - they're based on computer analysis of the optical design and not on actual MTF bench testing of real lenses coming off of the real assembly line. Therefore you can't simply list them in order by charts and trust it completely.
Of course, all of the lenses you listed are very sharp, but some of those not listed are extremely sharp as well. Furthermore, your list doesn't include any of Canon's now discontinued lenses, like the 200/1.8 or the 300/4L (non-IS).
BigBlueDodge wrote:
If you look at all of the MTF charts for Canon, the 400 f/2.8 is the sharpest of all. I looked at all of the MTF charts and here are the lenses in order of sharpness (based on what the MTF charts showe me)
1. 400 f/2.8
2. 300 f/2.8
Actually that's not right. The black solid line is wide open and the solid blue line is close down (I can't remember if that's at f/8 or two stop downs for Canon). As someone else said these are theoretical
The Canon 300 f/2.8L is the sharpest lens currently in production. However that may not be the best option for you. The sharpest zoom is the 70-200 f/4 IS. The sharpest mid-prime is the 135 f/2L. The fastest short lens is the 35mm f/1.4L
perspective wrote:
The Canon 300 f/2.8L is the sharpest lens currently in production. However that may not be the best option for you. The sharpest zoom is the 70-200 f/4 IS. The sharpest mid-prime is the 135 f/2L. The fastest short lens is the 35mm f/1.4L
My 135/2.0 is very good, but not quite as sharp as my 200/2.8 II. Here I have even compared the two:
The 135 is not better when it comes to absolute sharpness, but I shall agree that 2.0 is an asset. The larger aperture is also the reason why it is more expensive than the 200/2.8 II.
And for those who may still be curious what the EF 200/2.8 II is capable of, here are some more:
perspective wrote:
The Canon 300 f/2.8L is the sharpest lens currently in production. However that may not be the best option for you. The sharpest zoom is the 70-200 f/4 IS. The sharpest mid-prime is the 135 f/2L. The fastest short lens is the 35mm f/1.4L
Nobody has yet mentioned the TS-E 90f2.8, which (without any shift and tilt) seems to be able to challenge both my 135f2L, 200f2.8L II and 400f2.8L II - and it does even win at some distances (more specifically, near the MFD)!
However, it is a manual focus -only lens, so not much use in e.g. sports. Besides that, the bokeh, contrast and flare resistance are things that you should not overlook - along with the focal length, which certainly affects the result more than a miniscule difference in sharpness.
Also, please note that fast telephoto lenses often seem even sharper than they are (numerically), due to the stronger contrast between sharp foreground and blurred background (with large apertures).
