Lens sharpness

[Jon Ruyle]

On the subject of questioning the sharpness ability of a given lens, I have seen many posts everywherethat state the testing procedures is to use live view via a tripod alongside other variables. In my humble opinion I cannot understand how this may solve the issue of softness or sharpness or some other IQ concern that may have been raised.

Mark is right- I suggested manual focus with live view to remove autofocus from the equation, and because it is impossible (at least for me) to judge focus with the viewfinder.

i.e., taking a photo via the viewfinder, the images seem to be questionable, however using liveview to perform testing the IQ has somewaht improved, what has this really proved?

If I couldn't get a sharp image using manual focus with the viewfinder but could get a sharp one with live view, I would conclude that the problem is my inability to judge focus through the viewfinder, not a fault of the lens (though maybe the viewfinder diopter thingy just needs adjustment). If I couldn't get a sharp image using autofocus but could get a sharp image with manual focus + live view, I would conclude that the autofocus is the problem.