Can you pick......

[ebiggs1]

Can you pick the one taken by a lens that is considered the sharpest there is vs the one that isn't considered the best in IQ?

3rd one thrown in just to make it more challenging.  Only lens correction in LR has been done. No special lab techinques done either just a quck snap shot.  This is just the way it is done in real world use.

[diverhank]

A seems to be the sharpest and B seems to be the least sharp but it was very hard to tell.

[cicopo]

Agree. Used the white specks in the letters as the basis for my decision.

[Waddizzle]

Photo “A” looks the sharpest to me.

[RobertTheFat]

I rate B the sharpest. Check the water droplets on the straw and the right edge of the cup's plastic top. But the harshness of the blown highlights in the background detracts from the overall effect. So I think A has the best bokeh. The background might be somewhat correctable in post, the sharpness not so much.

EDIT: Actually, I don't think you can draw a sensible conclusion about the bokeh. None of the three pictures is a keeper; and if Ernie were doing it for real, he'd do something about the harsh backlighting.

[ebiggs1]

"... but it was very hard to tell."

Thank you, that is the point. 

[jrhoffman75]

Is it possible that DOF/focus shift-AFMA issues prevents a correct answer?

As Bob says, the water droplets/straw are sharper in B, but the trademark "R" looks sharper in A and less sharp in B.

[ebiggs1]

Each lens is nearly the same FL and the single focus point was on the center of the cup if that helps.

[shadowsports]

Ernie,

No fair...  "C" was taken at a different focal length.  (Ha Ha)

"B" sharpest, "A" lower quality

"C" is the bonus shot.

Bets placed (gulp)

[ebiggs1]

"No fair... "

You are correct, sir.  It isn't fair