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Opinions on the Vario-Elmar S 30-90 ASPH?


FlashGordonPhotography

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I've been looking at some samples sent to me by other owners of this lens and they're significantly better in the corners than mine. I've contacted Leica Australia and they're sending some files to Germany for evaluation but it really looks like my lens is not normal. I am going to Sydney next week and may compare mine to the one they have in stock there, as well.

 

It looks like it might be going on holiday.

 

Gordon

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

I just made an offer for one on LUL...............I will retract my offer after reading this thread :)

Thanks for the heads up

 

Neil

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When shooting a flat test subject—like for example a test chart, a fence, or a brick wall—then the corners may look bad due to field curvature. Especially when shooting at a fairly close distance with a non-macro lens.

 

So if the corners are less sharp than the center, always test the lens for field curvature before rendering the final verdict. Maybe the corners aren't that bad but the sharpness is just somewhere else ... i. e. slightly before or behind the intended plane of focus. When shooting real-life subjects then some degree of field curvature is no dire thing, particularly not in a zoom lens (with a macro lens, this would be a different matter).

 

Focus at your flat test subject's center, then move back and forth in small increments without re-focusing, to see if the corner sharpness improves. If it does, then you got field curvature.

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When shooting a flat test subject—like for example a test chart, a fence, or a brick wall—then the corners may look bad due to field curvature. Especially when shooting at a fairly close distance with a non-macro lens.

 

So if the corners are less sharp than the center, always test the lens for field curvature before rendering the final verdict. Maybe the corners aren't that bad but the sharpness is just somewhere else ... i. e. slightly before or behind the intended plane of focus. When shooting real-life subjects then some degree of field curvature is no dire thing, particularly not in a zoom lens (with a macro lens, this would be a different matter).

 

Focus at your flat test subject's center, then move back and forth in small increments without re-focusing, to see if the corner sharpness improves. If it does, then you got field curvature.

 

I tested mine for curvature both as you describe and with manual focus and live view at several distances. I also know the difference, and how to identify, between focus issues, decentering and smearing. Mine is the latter. I've also done side by side testing with another one and the differences are stark. It's going in for repair.

 

Gordon

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Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS

It would be OK for $4500 if he sells it for that, nearly $11K new. It is a useful lens in bright light (I try to use mine at ~f11) but the primes are still better.

 

john

He hasn't accepted my offer yet but I'm sure he will.................. either way I wont buy it as I like the primes that I have

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