In article <33D6C5CA.6973@earthlink.net>, seangolden@earthlink.net says...
>Martin Tai wrote:

>> The best layman's lens test is photography New York Times ( or any
>> other news paper) double spread. Get the full double spread into one frame.

>One caution. This test will help with sharpness, but you have to be
>very aware of distortion and look for it specifically. It might be a
>good idea to take a straight edge and a marker and draw a large
>rectangle on the paper. That way pincushion or barrel distortion is
>more noticeable.

Another caution:
Many otherwise excellent lenses do poorly at wide apertures at or near
closest focus point, which may be where they are focused while using
lens testing targets or newspapers...
Hope This Helps
(David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether )