Methods used with Imatest Master and Kodak Photographic Step Tablet

Imatest Master Software and a Kodak Photographic Step Tablet No. 3 (uncalibrated) were used to measure dynamic range and normalized luminance noise at different ISO settings (ISO 200, 800, 3200) following instructions from Imatest for dynamic range and noise.
Briefly, the transmission step tablet with 21 steps of 0.15 density was taped and masked on a 16 inch wide light box. The tablet was photographed with each micro four thirds camera across the full length of the sensor using a Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AIS lens (mounted with Voigtlander m43 adapter) at f/2.8. The EOS-40D was used with an EF 50mm f/1.4 lens at f/2.8. The EOS-5D mark II was used with a 50mm f/2.5 macro lens at f/5.6. The tablet was exposed just slightly off focus as recommended in aperture priority setting with spot metering. Raw files were converted to 16 bit tif files with Lightroom 3 and cropped. The Imatest Master Stepchart module calculated number of steps detected, dynamic range (stops or EV) and normalized luminance channel noise (percent value). Three exposures were processed for each camera at each ISO setting. A mean and standard error of the mean were calculated for each measurement with SigmaStat software.
Tests were repeated with a Stouffer T4110 step wedge.

Panel From Imatest Master