Overview and introduction to measurements   Summary table— Image quality factors and corresponding test charts and modules Sharpness   Noise   Tonal response & contrast   Color accuracy Lens Distortion   Light Falloff & Nonuniformities   Blemishes   Dynamic range  Lateral Chromatic Aberration   Veiling Glare   Color aliasing and moiré   ISO Sensitivity   Data compression losses   Texture Detail   Print Dmax & color gamut    Software artifacts  Overview and Imatest measurements  Image quality is one of those concepts that’s greater than the sum of its parts. But you can’t ignore the parts if your goal is to produce […]

Imatest software can measure a great many digital camera image quality factors from test chart images. If you’re just getting started we recommend that you explore the Image Quality factors page. The two most widely used modules, SFRplus and eSFR ISO, can measure a great many image quality factors from single test chart images. Other modules and charts let you work with a wide variety of testing challenges. Running Imatest – Three helpful buttons – RAW files – Misc. controls and utilities ROI Options – Options II – EXIF data – Dropdown menus – Figures – CSV & JSON output    Running Imatest Imatest […]

Imatest 4.5  The Checkerboard Module, which calculates distortion, MTF, and lateral chromatic aberration is Imatest’s primary recommended means of calculating optical distortion. It produces highly accurate results and works well with highly barrel-distorted (fisheye) images, which cannot be analyzed with the Distortion module. SFRplus also measures distortion with similar results to the Distortion module. A key advantage of SFRplus is that it can measure distortion in highly barrel-distorted (fisheye) lenses using pre-distorted charts. It can also measure Field of View (in addition to performing a great many image quality measurements). Distortion is one of several Imatest modules that calculate optical distortion. These modules […]

           PostProcessor to Spatial Frequency Response (SFR) Slanted Edge Chart:                  Calculates AutoFocus Consistency of a Digital Cameras using a Slanted Edge Image   Standard: ISO/NP 20490  Measuring Auto-Focus Performance of a Digital Camera Technical Committee: ISO/TC 42 Photography Published: 2016-06-02   Introduction to the AutoFocus postprocessor  Imatest 4.5-5.1 can measure Autofocus repeatability of a digital still camera by using Imatest’s SFR module.  This module was deprecated in Imatest 5.2 since the ISO standard for Autofocus was postponed. A method to measure the Autofocus Consistency performance of a digital still […]

The SFRplus chart: description and how to photograph it Watch on YouTube. Download 1080p/720p/540p. Purchase SFRplus Test Charts from the Imatest Store. Imatest SFRplus performs highly automated measurements of several key image quality factors using a specially-designed test chart that may be purchased from the Imatest store (recommended) or printed on a high-quality inkjet printer. The user does not need to manually select Regions of Interest (ROIs). Image quality factors include Sharpness, expressed as Spatial Frequency Response (SFR), also known as Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), which can be mapped over the entire image, Noise (limited: eSFR ISO has more detailed […]

Table of Contents Image quality — Sharpness — Other IQ factors — IQ Utilities —  Getting started — Imatest Instructions – general — Troubleshooting —  Knowledge Base highlights — Sharpness modules — Tone, Color, Noise & Dynamic Range modules — Spatial & Uniformity modules — Miscellaneous modules and utilities — Industrial Testing edition — Appendix Offline (local) documentation  Imatest documentation can now be viewed offline. Download this small (8MB) zip file (only the main documentation pages) to a convenient location, then unzip it. The Imatest site folder will contain a mirror of the Imatest documentation website (not the entire site, but […]

Which version is right for you? Imatest 5.0:  All functions of Imatest Image Sensor have been incorporated into Imatest Master.   Imatest is available in several GUI (Graphic User Interface)-based versions. Studio, with everything individual photographers need to test their cameras and lenses. Studio is only available to individual photographers. Master, the full-featured industrial-strength version for engineers and scientists who develop and evaluate imaging systems. Acquire images directly from several manufacturer’s development systems. Images can be updated and analyzed in real time with the Rescharts, Multicharts, and Uniformity-Interactive modules. As of Imatest 5.0, Image Sensor (IS) has been discontinued. All […]

New XML improvements in Imatest 3.5.1+ This page describes changes in the XML output that occurred as of Imatest version 3.5.1. These changes have been made in order to accommodate the Database for test results. Naming Conventions Spacing Words will be separated by underscores. Abbreviations No use of shortened or abbreviated words (such as “corr” for corrected, or “interp” for interpolated). The whole word is now used. Corrected Data No suffix on uncorrected data. For data that is “corrected” there should be a “_Corrected” suffix on the end. XML Schemas for Validation XML schemas have been constructed for validation of […]

Analysis of hyperbolic or trapezoidal wedge patterns with the Imatest Wedge and eSFR ISO modules Introduction Imatest Master and IS can analyze wedge patterns in two modules, both of which may be run from the interactive Rescharts interface or as fixed (batch-capable) modules. The Wedge module (described in this document) can analyze any arrangement of horizontal or vertical (but not diagonal) wedges, using manual region selection. The eSFR ISO module can analyze pairs of wedges on the Enhanced and Extended eSFR ISO charts (including the charts with extra wedges), introduced in April 2014. Region detection is fully automated. The user […]

For more information on how to use INI files in Imatest IT, we recommend the Imatest INI File Reference This document was created by running checkerboard in Imatest 5.2.0. ALPHA on 30-May-2019 22:57:20. For Imatest IT, most of these entries don’t need to be entered. Many don’t affect Imatest IT results: they control interactive figure displays or figure output formats (figures are often not used in Imatest IT). Background Meaning Yellow Yellow background: Important to Imatest IT. Parameter and Description are in boldface. [IT] Cyan Cyan background: Figure settings. (Figures are used infrequently for IT.) [f] Gray Gray background: For […]

For more information on how to use INI files in Imatest IT, we recommend the Imatest INI File Reference For Imatest IT, most of these entries don’t need to be entered. Many don’t affect Imatest IT results: they control interactive figure displays or figure output formats (figures are often not used in Imatest IT). Background Meaning Yellow Yellow background: Important to Imatest IT. Parameter and Description are in boldface. [IT] Cyan Cyan background: Figure settings. (Figures are used infrequently for IT.) [f] Gray Gray background: For interactive operation. No effect on IT. Clear Clear background: Results details (units, scaling, etc.) […]

For more information on how to use INI files in Imatest IT, we recommend the Imatest INI File Reference This document was created by running sfrreg in Imatest 5.2.0. ALPHA on 31-May-2019 14:48:43. For Imatest IT, most of these entries don’t need to be entered. Many don’t affect Imatest IT results: they control interactive figure displays or figure output formats (figures are often not used in Imatest IT). Background Meaning Yellow Yellow background: Important to Imatest IT. Parameter and Description are in boldface. [IT] Cyan Cyan background: Figure settings. (Figures are used infrequently for IT.) [f] Gray Gray background: For […]

For more information on how to use INI files in Imatest IT, we recommend the Imatest INI File Reference For Imatest IT, most of these entries don’t need to be entered. Many don’t affect Imatest IT results: they control interactive figure displays or figure output formats (figures are often not used in Imatest IT). Background Meaning Yellow Yellow background: Important to Imatest IT. Parameter and Description are in boldface. [IT] Cyan Cyan background: Figure settings. (Figures are used infrequently for IT.) [f] Gray Gray background: For interactive operation. No effect on IT. Clear Clear background: Results details (units, scaling, etc.) […]

* indicates that this field will be described in more detail at the bottom of this document (Much of the text at the bottom will be common to several ini file reference pages). For more information on how to use INI files in Imatest IT, we recommend the Imatest INI File Reference For Imatest IT, most of these entries don’t need to be entered. Many don’t affect Imatest IT results: they control interactive figure displays or figure output formats (figures are often not used in Imatest IT). Background Meaning Yellow Yellow background: Important to Imatest IT. Parameter and Description are […]