Focusing on ShareGrid’s Full Frame Lens Test

One of the most challenging parts of pre-production is crafting the perfect shot list. But how can you be sure that your lens selections will translate as you intended?

Enter: ShareGrid’s Ultimate Full Frame Lens Test.

The full frame test is ShareGrid’s latest addition to their Ultimate Cinema Lens Library, a comprehensive database of reliable lens information built by conducting what ShareGrid calls “The Largest Side-By-Side Lens Test Ever Made.”

And best of all, this resource is completely free.

What makes it ultimate

The Ultimate Cinema Lens Library collects the findings of a series of massive and exhaustive lens tests carried out by the ShareGrid community into a single location. They break down every conceivable aspect of each tested lens’ character and performance, from comprehensive camera stats to in-depth bokeh chart breakdowns from major motion pictures and television shows who have put the lens to use.

The raw statistics are impressive, but, shockingly, they aren’t the coolest feature offered by the Ultimate Cinema Lens Library.

What makes the Library invaluable to the modern filmmaker is its side-by-side comparison feature. The ShareGrid team puts each individual lens through the exact same series of meticulous, painstaking visual tests, collecting corresponding footage each step along the way. As a result, the Library’s comparison feature allows any filmmaker to choose up to four different lenses at a time and view the same test footage for each of them in a single window.

And because the test footage is the same, the individual video panes allow you to see any differences or similarities between each lens immediately.

In other words, you can see what your footage will look like using different lenses literally side-by-side.

While you can undoubtedly find a host of lens tests elsewhere online, the consistency, reliability, and comparability of ShareGrid’s Ultimate Cinema Lens Library is virtually unheard of. It’s unprecedented with obvious applications in both professional use and personal education.

But, to be honest, it’s also just fun.

What to check out first

So far, ShareGrid’s team of volunteering professionals has executed three rigorous sets of tests: The Ultimate Vintage Lens Test, The Ultimate Anamorphic Lens Test, and The Ultimate Full Frame Lens Test.

Each test more wide-ranging and exhaustive than the last, the latest and greatest Ultimate Full Frame Lens Test sought to meet the growing demand for full frame and large format in both lenses and sensor technology by putting twenty different sets of lenses through the gauntlet. After months of pre-production and five shooting days with a full professional crew, ShareGrid’s team added three-hundred 4K full frame videos to the Ultimate Cinema Lens Library, all available to you at a moment’s notice.

Beyond the library’s vastness, the Ultimate Cinema Lens Library boasts an impressive list of sponsors. We’re talking Zeiss, ARRI, JL Fisher, ICG magazine, The American Cinematographer magazine, the ASC itself, and many, many more. No matter how you spin it, a regular “Who’s Who?” list of making-your-movies-look-good-for-the-last-hundred-years has demonstrated their confidence in the Ultimate Cinema Lens Library.

Wrapping Up

Thanks to sponsorship and the countless hours spent by passionate volunteers, this incomparable resource is easy-to-access and free-to-use. All you need is an internet connection and a free ShareGrid account.

If you haven’t checked our post on the most rented equipment on ShareGrid, be sure to check it out before your next gig.