Leica Four Thirds

[wilfredo]

What's currently available (lenses) from Leica/Panasonic in the 4/3 arena? How do these compare to other 4/3 lenses by Sigma and Olympus?

[jdlaing]

25mm 1.4
14-50 2.8
14-50 3.6 ?
14-150

On equal par with Olympus mid-range lenses with the exception of weather sealing.
The Panasonic/Leica lenses with the exception of the 25mm have built in IS which makes them a benefit for other bodies without IS.

They are a very very good quality lens.

[pomyhra]

See Four Thirds | Products | Lenses

[wilfredo]

What's the story on the Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm F3.5-5.6 Asph. Where is this lens selling?

[pomyhra]

Originally Posted by wilfredo

What's the story on the Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm F3.5-5.6 Asph. Where is this lens selling?

I got my lens from B&H: Lenses Dedicated for Panasonic Digital Cameras | B&H Photo Video

[Riley]

doesnt appear to be available anywhere Wilfredo
it was lens of the year or something

the 25/1.4 is one of the sharpest lenses in the 4/3rds inventory
and right up there with the sharpest set
50/2, 14-35/2 and 35-100/2, 150/2, 300/2

if you are ou to get it, do it now, i suspect prices are rising 20% on almost everything

[wilfredo]

Originally Posted by Riley

doesnt appear to be available anywhere Wilfredo
it was lens of the year or something

the 25/1.4 is one of the sharpest lenses in the 4/3rds inventory
and right up there with the sharpest set
50/2, 14-35/2 and 35-100/2, 150/2, 300/2

if you are ou to get it, do it now, i suspect prices are rising 20% on almost everything

The 25/1.4 has gotten great reviews but the 14-150 Vario Elmarit not so great. Here's what one Zuiko lens user had to say:

I tested this lens against an Olympus Zuiko 14-54, at four focal lengths common to both. I used a tripod, cable release, and mirror lockup, and took the same pictures with both in the same light, at all apertures with both lenses. The Panasonic/Leica did not match the Olympus in either color or sharpness at any aperture; and this was only the mid-level Olympus, not the top. I had high hopes, but they weren't met.

I'm considering the four thirds option hence my questions.

[miami91]

Originally Posted by wilfredo

The 25/1.4 has gotten great reviews but the 14-150 Vario Elmarit not so great. Here's what one Zuiko lens user had to say:

I tested this lens against an Olympus Zuiko 14-54, at four focal lengths common to both. I used a tripod, cable release, and mirror lockup, and took the same pictures with both in the same light, at all apertures with both lenses. The Panasonic/Leica did not match the Olympus in either color or sharpness at any aperture; and this was only the mid-level Olympus, not the top. I had high hopes, but they weren't met.

I'm considering the four thirds option hence my questions.

A bit of a strange comparison. I could see comparing an Olympus 14-54 to the Digilux 3 kit lens (which is 14-50), but comparing it to a lens with almost 3 times the reach? Not exactly apples and oranges.

Jeff.

[Karlumix]

My experience with the 14-150 has been very positive. Since buying it from B&H last summer, I have gotten great results on my L1. 11x17 prints of antique cars sharply detail radiator honeycombs, wheel spokes, and leather stitching.

Field testing the 14-150 against the 14-50 kit lens and the Olympus 70-300 shows no difference between the two Leica lenses in sharpness (center or edge), color rendition, fringing, or vignetting. Sometimes, it seems that there is more flare when shooting into a bright light source with the 14-150, but I have not been able to demonstrate that by comparison testing.

The Olympus 70-300 is not in the same league as the Leica 14-150 at 70, 100 or 150 mm. The decreased contrast and sharpness are readily apparent by comparing jpeg files. Shooting raw appears to decrease those differences, but I don't understand why. I did find it important to turn off the image stabilization on the 14-150 and 14-50 when using a tripod. Otherwise, the images are notably degraded.

The 14-150 has effectively retired the 14-50 f/2.8 that came with the camera. The 14-150 is slightly shorter at the 14 mm setting and is built using black-anodized aluminum instead of plastic for the lens body as in the 14-50 kit lens. The 1/2 stop in additional lens speed is not worth the extra carrying weight.

[wilfredo]

Originally Posted by Karlumix

My experience with the 14-150 has been very positive. Since buying it from B&H last summer, I have gotten great results on my L1. 11x17 prints of antique cars sharply detail radiator honeycombs, wheel spokes, and leather stitching.

Field testing the 14-150 against the 14-50 kit lens and the Olympus 70-300 shows no difference between the two Leica lenses in sharpness (center or edge), color rendition, fringing, or vignetting. Sometimes, it seems that there is more flare when shooting into a bright light source with the 14-150, but I have not been able to demonstrate that by comparison testing.

The Olympus 70-300 is not in the same league as the Leica 14-150 at 70, 100 or 150 mm. The decreased contrast and sharpness are readily apparent by comparing jpeg files. Shooting raw appears to decrease those differences, but I don't understand why. I did find it important to turn off the image stabilization on the 14-150 and 14-50 when using a tripod. Otherwise, the images are notably degraded.

The 14-150 has effectively retired the 14-50 f/2.8 that came with the camera. The 14-150 is slightly shorter at the 14 mm setting and is built using black-anodized aluminum instead of plastic for the lens body as in the 14-50 kit lens. The 1/2 stop in additional lens speed is not worth the extra carrying weight.

This sounds like a good honest evaluation.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by wilfredo

What's the story on the Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm F3.5-5.6 Asph. Where is this lens selling?

I have read that of the three "mega zooms" available for 4/3rds, the Vario-Elmar is the best. While I have been fascinated by these 10X zooms, I have stayed in the 4X or less zoom range, because I feel that there are too many optical compromises. Zoom lenses are strange birds with sweet spots for sharpness and bokeh usually occuring at several spots, bur rarely coinciding. They are fun though. My 4/3rds lenses are all ZDs, 11-22mm, 14-54mm, 50-200mm, 35mm & 50mm. All but the 35mm are weather proof, if that is a feature you would want. I also use OM and Leica R lenses with adapters. Because I am viewfinder sensitive and like 100% VFs, I have gone for the E-1 & E-3. They are also best with focusing manual legacy lenses with the factory focusing screen. The price for being picky is size and weight. The E-1/E-3 about the size and weight of the old Nikon F2.
Bob

[Riley]

Originally Posted by wilfredo

The 25/1.4 has gotten great reviews but the 14-150 Vario Elmarit not so great. Here's what one Zuiko lens user had to say:

I tested this lens against an Olympus Zuiko 14-54, at four focal lengths common to both. I used a tripod, cable release, and mirror lockup, and took the same pictures with both in the same light, at all apertures with both lenses. The Panasonic/Leica did not match the Olympus in either color or sharpness at any aperture; and this was only the mid-level Olympus, not the top. I had high hopes, but they weren't met.

I'm considering the four thirds option hence my questions.

yeah but consider what each lens is about
the 14-150 is really a walk around lens, you will always get better results with more dedicated lenses. I noted the 25/1.4 as sharp b/se it was mentioned in the second post.

I would take the 14-54 on a non Panasonic/Leica body as they cant use the 14-50 f/2.8 Leica D kit aperture ring, the 14-50 f/2.8 is after all just a kit lens, but quite probably one of the best kit lenses made. And note that a second version of 14-54 II is now available with SWD.

[wilfredo]

I've been looking for an alternative to a Canon G9 I bought last year and sold. I finally decided yesterday on an Olympus E-410. Although it doesn't quite fit in your pocket it is very small and compact and the kit comes with not one but two Zuiko 4/3 lenses for $399.95 from B&H. I'm thinking that perhaps I'll sell the two lenses and get the 14-150 Vario Elmarit but I still haven't heard anyone say it is a fantastic lens and worth the extra money for the Leica label. The 25mm 1.4 sounds like a real winner. Can anyone post some pictures using Panasonic/Leica lenses? How do these perform on the less expensive Olympus DSLR's?

[chkphoto]

I have been hoping for a four thirds wide prime, a 24mm equivalent in 35mm terms. Zooms are good but not great. There are no adapted lenses (R, Zeiss, etc) that will fit.

[cfc247]

Wilfredo,

I can't speak for how the Leica D lenses perform on Oly bodies but I can vouch for their performance on the Digilux 3. But based on what I have heard and read from Oly users, the lenses seem to deliver on them as well.

The first photo is with the 25 1.4, 2 and 3 with the 14-50 kit lens. Just as a comparison, I have included two shots taken with the Leica R 35-70 f4 lens and a Konica Hexanon 50 1.7 (paid $13 for this lens from KEH, a 15-30 minute job to manually make it fit on the 4/3 mount). The Hexanon is a very impressive piece of glass for the money. It seems to have an orange cast in certain lighting however.

[wilfredo]

Mark,

Thanks for posting the pictures. That's very helpful.