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Leica T 18-56 versus Olympus 12-40


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Below some Imatest graphs of both lenses. The Olympus lens is easily beating the Leica zoom. Do i read this properly ??

The first graph relates to the Leica T zoom and the second to the Olympus m 4/3 12-40 f 2.8 lens.

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Edited by tompoes
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How on earth can one compare the MTF graphs of lenses for different sensor formats?:confused:

 

I just asked for an explanation, thats all.

Coming back to earth: Now comparing the same formats as you suggested

Looking at other imatest graphs strictly related to the APSC format you can find a number of zoom lenses doing better then the Leica T lens.

In other words the Leica T doesn't look as impressive as i hoped. Keen to buy the Leica T with the zoom and will visit the shop next to the fish and chips place to check the performance in real life.

Edited by tompoes
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There you have it ;). Comparing MTF curves can be misleading. Between different sources (not the case here) and certainly between different formats is quite impossible.

Not that MTF curves are the a and o of lens quality, it measures one aspect only

 

D.Laney and G.Richter on MTF curves: (from "Leica Objektive in der Praxis")

These measurements [i.e.MTF measurements} alone do not result in objective and consistent results to judge the sharpness of the best lenses in comparison to lenses that produce as good or even better results in the usual tests, but render lesser images overall.

They then go on to explain the "Box Diagram" representation of edge contrast measurements as developed by Leica which gives a much better comparison. Unfortunately this never became a common standard by outside testers, as it is too elaborate aka expensive to be used for run-of-the-mill reviews. I would not be surprised if Leica still uses those diagrams internally. Edited by jaapv
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Hi There

Jaap is quite right - you certainly can't compare MTF figures across formats.

 

It's worth mentioning that the Olympus 12-40 is also an expensive lens, and is very very good. To be honest, I think it's the best zoom lens I've every used. I also think it's better than the Leica Zoom.

 

However it's also considerably bigger than the Leica lens, even though it's for a smaller format.

 

Tim Ashley's review of the Olympus 12-40

 

If you don't know him- Tim is seriously critical.

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Jono,

 

Thanks for the information. I like to have one camera with a zoom lens in the range 28-85 (FF equivalent) and the Leica T is high on my list. Obviously i did put my hope on the magical optical Leica tricks but is seems that this lens is good but not stellar.

The size of this lens is a bonus. As i said before a lot of APSC zoom lenses in this range show better resolution performance but all at a larger size.

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Doesn't that put the XVario in the picture as well?

 

Indeed, but the T gives me the option to use my M lenses. (a secondary function for me)

This option is very interesting for me with the 21mm SEM.

Edited by tompoes
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Fair enough. As I said, don't go by resolution and MTF. It has a very limited use for judging lens quality and ranking lenses. (Although reviewers and photo magazines love doing this..:(:D) You cannot even compare across brands as the methods to arrive at the MTF values vary,

 

Figures like these are better used to explain observed phenomena, e.g. corner unsharpness or huge contrast loss between apertures etc. Non of which are to be expected in this case

Edited by jaapv
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Doesn't that put the XVario in the picture as well?

 

Having owned a few fixed lens digitals and having suffered from dust getting into the sensor on each of them (including 2 Leica models) I would never spend more than pocket money on another.

 

To be fair I have not heard of any problems with dust on the X Vario (unlike the X1 and 2) but the major advantage of the T is being able to physically clean the sensor yourself!

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Interesting thread... I ordered a T with M lens adapter, but will keep the XVario - delivering remarkable quality for the time being...I am really waiting for the80..200mm Zoom

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Leica Vario-Elmar-T 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens - Photo Review

 

For other lenses look at their lens review base.

 

Thank you very much for the link. I also did read the review of the 23mm Lens. I think they perform quite nice.

 

How "good" and reliable are those "Imatest" tests they are using at Photo Review (http://www.imatest.com/)?

 

Seems like the 23mm has the sweet spot at f/3.5...

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Hi There

 

It's worth mentioning that the Olympus 12-40 is also an expensive lens, and is very very good. To be honest, I think it's the best zoom lens I've every used. I also think it's better than the Leica Zoom.

 

 

I regard myself as a dedicated Leica lens user and won't put anything else on my Ms, film or digital, but this Olympus 12-40 is astonishing. I've been using it a lot on my EM1 and cannot fault the IQ or handling. Of course IQ output of the EM1 doesn't really match M quality because of the sensor, good as it is of its type, but if I could put any zoom lens this good on my Ms I would happily break my own longstanding habit.

 

It would be disappointing if the T zoom was less good - I await more critical user reviews of that lens before making up my mind about the usefulness to me of the T.

 

Tim

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It would be disappointing if the T zoom was less good - I await more critical user reviews of that lens before making up my mind about the usefulness to me of the T.

 

Tim

 

Hi Tim. Of course I've done some comparisons, but nothing very scientific. It's tough to do a realistic comparison, but it's certainly no pushover in terms of IQ. The T zoom is really very good.. But remember, the Olympus is both wider and 'faster' with a constant aperture.

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Below some Imatest graphs of both lenses. The Olympus lens is easily beating the Leica zoom. Do i read this properly ??

The first graph relates to the Leica T zoom and the second to the Olympus m 4/3 12-40 f 2.8 lens.

 

I assume T lens is measure on T camera. and O lens is on MTF camera, both cameras are 16mp. If on both system, the lens resolution is the limiting factor, then I think the conclusion is the combination of the O lens and system has high spatial resolution.

 

If Leica T is not lens limited, it's hard to make conclusion.

No clear their color depth from this data, and not clear about many other IQ aspects.

 

This is like comparing two stereo systems. Beside higher frequency gain, there are many other aspects to consider. Do you want a high frequency amplifier or a harmonic one?

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I agree with the above. Also worth remembering that the 4/3 format also usually results in tests that look better for corner performance than those with a 3/2 format, having said that the figures above are just higher all over which is surprising for a system that has to fit those pixels on to a smaller sensor.

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