Four thirds lens review in German ColorFoto magazine (Oly, Sigma, no Leica/Panasonic)

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Here's a quick synopsis of a rather thorough and comprehensive test / review of four thirds lenses presented in issue 05-2007 of German ColorFoto magazine.

 

Sigma EX 1.4/30

69.5 of 150 points

"The Sigma lens is intended as a normal lens for APS sized sensors, and has shown to work quite well in that realm. For the smaller 4/3 sensor, results are less encouraging. Contrast wide open is moderate at best, with a notable decrease towards the corners. Stopping down improves the overall impression notably, and still makes a rather fast lens at 2.8".

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 3.5/35 Macro

86.5 of 150 points - recommended

"This macro lens performs convincingly wide open, and stopping down will further improve contrast. Its moderate speed notwithstanding, this lens is recommended, especially considering its price point at 250 euros".

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2/50 Macro

85.5 of 150 points - recommended

"A classic macro telephoto lens with a high usability factor; contrast and resolution are spot on even wide open. Recommended. Works down to 1:1."

 

Sigma EX 2.8/105

87 - recommended

"Actually a 24x36 lens, this lens is very sharp over the full area of the smaller 4/3 sensor (as can be expected). Stopping down will further increase sharpness. This helps both in scoring and in getting a clear recommendation."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2/150

92 - recommended

"A nearly perfect lens, and certainly worth a recommendation. Center or corner, f/2 or f/4: the 150 is crisp and sharp. Vignetting and distortion are virtually non-existent; consequently, the score counter goes all the way up to 92. Fast and very good - this makes even the 1,600 g weight and the 2,300 euros price seem appropriate."

 

Sigma EX 2.8/150 Macro

82.5 - recommended

"In direct comparison with the Oly 150, the Sigma is one stop slower and falls nearly 10 points short of the Oly's record score. While the Oly's performance is nearly independent of f stop, stoppind down the Sigma will improve contrast quite notably. Of course, price should be factored into the comparison: the Sigma will set you back only one quarter!"

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2.8/300

86 - recommended

"2.8 speed at a focal length corresponding to 600 mm in 24x36 - this is a specialist lens. And a specialist will happily shell out the 6,600 euros asking price, and lug the 3 kg around."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 4/7-14

87 - recommended

"An extreme wide angle zoom. At 7 mm, diagonal angle is close to 180 degrees. Still, contrast is quite good with some decay towards the corners when shot wide open. Vignetting and distortion are quite limited. This excellent super wide zoom receives our recommendation."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2.8-3.5/11-22

85

"A less extreme wide angle zoom. At 11 mm, sharpness is limited to the center. Stopping down will not do a lot towards improving the edges. Quite good from center focal length upwards. Price is fair considering the 11-22 focal length range; on account of the problems at 11 mm, still no recommendation."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 3.5-5.6/14-42

85.5 - recommended

"Super compact standard zoom lens (with slow speed limiting its usability). Stopping down will not improve much on the already solid image quality. More than 1% distortion on the wide end may turn out to be a nuisance - but considering the attractive price of 260 euros and an overall reasonable level of performance: recommended."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2.8-3.5/14-54

84.5

"The faster version of the standard zoom lens. In the tele range, good performance requires stopping down, thus partially obliterating the theoretical advantages. At 54 mm it reaches a mediocre 80.5 score - not recommended."

 

Sigma EX 2.8/18-50 Macro

85.5 - recommended

"This universal zoom lens with macro down to 20 cm and 2.8 speed is an attractive offer at 420 euros. Overall, a solid performer. Wide open, the corners leave a bit to be desired, and sharpness decreases towards the long end. Still, recommended."

 

Sigma 3.5-5.6/18-125

84

"At short focal length and wide open, the corners are significantly worse than the center. Considering the already slow speed, stopping down does not seem a very practical proposition. Add to that the loss of contrast towards the tele end - not recommended."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 3.5-6.3/18-180

74.5

"A tenfold zoom lens at the expense of optical compromises. The 18-180 fails to convince at any focal length, with the additional problem of low contrast at long lengths. In comparison, the 18-125 sigma is a better choice, offering better optical quality at half the price, even if it ends at 125 mm. At 180 mm, contrast loss when stopped down to f/12.5 is striking. This is probably due to diffraction which, owing to the comparatively small sensor size, limits resolution already at f/8."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2/35-100

87 - recommended

"Fast and expensive, but also very good. This is a convincing tele zoom lens with reasonable sharpness even at 100mm (provided you stop down a little bit - superb results at f/4 whereas at f/2, contrast is visibly weaker). So in fact one should consider f/2 to be an extra option for an overall very good 4/35-100 zoom. When shot wide open, center contrast is lower than corner contrast in the tele range for some frequencies which appears to be a problem of stray light. Still, a clear recommendation for this one."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 3.5-4.5/40-150

83

"This economically priced tele zoom works well at the short end, but performance decreases significantly towards the tele end. At 150mm, contrast and resolution are visibly worse which precludes a recommendation. Stopping down drastically will improve performance, but using f/9 at 150mm makes precious little sense."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2.8-3.5/50-200

83

"Tele zoom with reasonable speed and good performance up to medium lengths, even better when stopped down. At 200mm, contrast will break down pretty strongly, leading to a weak 73 points score at that length. Hence, no recommendation."

 

Sigma 4-5.6/55-200

81.5

"The Sigma lens is the cheapest lens in today's roster. Also, it is the only lens that has visible lens centering problems. A second copy exhibited even worse centering problems, hinting towards a general problem in manufacturing. On the other hand, 150 euros is a super bargain price. Apart from the off-center lens problems, performance is satisfactory."

 

Olympus Zuiko Digital 2.8/90-250

83 - recommended

"This fast super tele lens scores well even at full tele - an exception to the rule among tele zoom lenses. Its 105 mm filter thread diameter is bound to break a few records, as is the price at 5,900 euros."

 

 

Caption to enclosed images:

"The difference between 72 and 92 points. While the excellent Oly 2/150 resolves the tree branches even at f/2, the 10x zoom Oly 18-180 exhibits noticeable color fringes and poor contrast in the fine structures."

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[spylaw4]

Interesting that the Oly 11-22 does not get a recommendation, yet it seems frorm postings here to be quite a favourite with D3/L1 users and gives v.good results in practice.

User comments?

[robsteve]

Was there a Leica lens in the test?

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I, for one, am using one (see .sig) and I can't say I've encountered much of a sharpness problem @ 11mm - which is what I'm using almost exclusively.

Enclosed a shot @ 11 mm, f/6.3 (so there should be no diffraction induced ill effects). Crops taken from smack in the center and way out near the bottom right corner.

In-camera jpeg with no post processing whatsoever. You be the judge.

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[dist]

Was there a Leica lens in the test?

 

As it says in the thread title - no Leica/Panasonic

[robsteve]

As it says in the thread title - no Leica/Panasonic

 

I hadn't noticed that. I looked through the whole list of lenses and when I got to the bottom of the list and there was no Leica. Doesn't seem like a very complete test if it doesn't include Leica.

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Doesn't seem like a very complete test if it doesn't include Leica.

Well let's be honest here - there is ONE Leica lens for 4/3 at this time that can actually be purchased by the average person, and then only with a camera body attached (in Germany, the D3/L1 kit lens is just that - it comes with the body and cannot be purchased separately). The 1.4/25, for all practical purposes, is non existent (yes I know it was in stock for a few hours at B&W LOL). The Vario Elmar 14-150, much to my chagrin, appears to be vaporware for many months to come. I'm particularly lusting for this one because it seems to be the only real tele lens with OIS built in.

 

Finally, I'm sure such rather comprehensive reviews have a number of weeks lead time until they make it to the printed page, hence it is perfectly possible that the 1.4/25 wasn't even theoretically available at the time the tests were done.

 

So I guess the review pretty much covers the field. Granted, the high end Oly glass may not be very relevant market-wise, but at least the average Joe can buy it. Not so for the non-kit Leica glass.

Cheers,

[dwcolvin]

Seems to contradict (in some cases, years of) user experience... the Olympus 11-22, 14-54 and 50-200 are all considered excellent by owners.

 

Curious that they review the new 14-42 and the old 40-150 (which consistantly receives high marks from users).

[Bob Ross]

My ZD 2/50 only works down to half of what they say. It is a beautiful lens.

My ZD11-22 doesn't exhibit any of what they are saying. It does tend to flare, but has little, if any, distortion and is sharp corner to corner. They should get another sample of the lens.

Bob

[Enrique Santa]

Oly 11-22 is a great lens. I think the best I ever had. Look at this pics and the 100% crop.

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[Guest sirvine]

That last 100% crop is a-MAZE-ing. It's a nice photo, nevertheless, and looks like a great place to be. Wish I was there!