Imatest™ is the digital imaging industry's leading software package for measuring key image quality factors using inexpensive, widely-available targets.

• Digital cameras, digital imaging systems, or scanned film:  Measure device sharpness (MTF), perceptual sharpness (SQF), color response, noise, dynamic range, tonal response, lens flare (veiling glare), lens distortion, lens vignetting, sensor nonuniformity, and color moiré with SFR, Colorcheck, Multicharts, Stepchart, Distortion, Light Falloff (Uniformity), and Rescharts.
• Printers:  Measure tonal response, Dmax (the deepest printable black tone), color response, and color gamut with Print Test.

You can download an evaluation version that allows up to 20 runs of the individual modules. Online purchase and registration is available. Imatest comes in several versions:

• Imatest Master, the full-featured version for professionals and imaging system developers. Learn more about the versions.
• Imatest Studio, with everything an individual photographer needs to test cameras, lenses, and printers. You can always upgrade to Pro.
• Imatest API, non-GUI executable programs that interface with automated test systems.

The price includes one year of updates. After one year you will need to renew your Imatest subscription to register the current version.

Imatest operates under Windows* 2000, 2003, XP, and Vista, and on Macintosh systems with Virtual PC 6 or 7. 512+ MB RAM is recommended. Minimum screen size is 1024x768. (*Often works, but not supported, on Windows 98SE and ME.)

Imatest supports a rich array of test charts. Click on the thumbnails below to learn more.

Customers and publications  Imatest has been adopted by a wide range of industries, including mobile imaging (camera phones), medical, aerospace, and machine vision. It is also used by publications and reviews as well as academic, cultural, and research institutions. Click here to view a list of Imatest's better-known customers and publications that use Imatest.

Imatest news highlights  Latest version: 3.1, August 3, 2008. Full descriptions of updates can be found in the Change Log. August 3 , 2008  Imatest 3.1  Multiple files can be read and averaged (and saved) to facilitate measurements of fixed-pattern noise (in Stepchart, Colorcheck, and Light Falloff) and image stabilization (SFR). Highly distorted regions of interest (ROIs) can be analyzed with Colorcheck and Stepchart. New ΔE measurements and hot/dead pixel options have been added to Light Falloff. June 17 , 2008  Imatest 3.0   Imatest Master and Studio have been introduced, replacing Pro and Light. Support for Bayer RAW images has been strengthened. March 16, 2008  Imatest 2.7  The new Dynamic Range module calculates dynamic range from Several Stepchart images of reflective targets (much easier than using transmission targets). March 2, 2008.  Imatest 2.6.11  The Screen Patterns module displays several patterns for Imatest modules, monitor calibration, and camera testing. Feb. 15, 2008.  Imatest 2.6.8.  Spot detection is now available in Light Falloff. CIEDE2000 color difference metrics are now available in Multicharts and Colorcheck. Jan. 6, 2008.  Imatest 2.6  Two new options are available for refining multiple ROI selections in repeated SFR runs (Imatest Master only). (1) Multi-ROI fine adjustment (shift, magnify, reduce), and (2) Automatic ROI refinement. These speed up test sequences of different cameras and lenses, where it may be difficult to maintain exact chart alignment. August 20, 2007.  Norman Koren's Google TechTalk, Image Quality Measurement: Real world challenges, is now available online. For a clearer view of the image quality factors, download the the Presentation (PDF format) (2.8 MB).

Imatest also produces Gamutvision: an ICC profile gamut viewer and much more. Visualize color gamuts, gamut mappings, and rendering intents. Evaluate ICC profile quality, analyze printer performance using downloaded profiles and scanned test prints, and see precisely how an image changes when printed.