Joseph wrote:
> In the 20mm to 100mm range, Olympus might be the best system
> around quality-wise... eg a setup with 21/2, 35/2, 50/2 macro, 90/2 macro
Hum, best to extend that *possibility* to 350mm, given the 180mm f/2, the
250mm f/2, and the 350mm f/2.8 Zuikos. But Denton might have something to say
here regarding the Contax lineup of primes.
I'll just comment further on the 35mm f/2.0 Zuiko. I've been singing the
praises of the 35mm f/2.8 Zuiko for years. But I finally got around to
testing out the two. I had some left over Sensia II 100 film after doing copy
work at a 0.7 meter focusing distance. Not enough for all apertures, so I
just looked at the widest aperture, f/8 and f/16. I'm basing the following
from memory, since I wasn't looking to be "iris retentive" about this.
Wide open at f/2, the faster Zuiko really stinks. Vignetting is terrible,
edge sharpness and contrast is nonexistent, but center sharpness and contrast
nudge out the 2.8 at f/2.8
Wide open at f/2.8, the slower Zuiko has unacceptable (to me) edge sharpness
with fair contrast, although not as bad as the f/2, but less pronounced
vignetting.
At f/8, the faster Zuiko edges out the slower in center contrast and
resolution and is obviously better in the corners. A fine performer!
Vignetting is gone, as was expected.
At f/16, I was surprised to see that the faster Zuiko held it's own, vs.
published tests. The edge performance was splitting hairs, so I won't call
it. Center was a bit better for the faster Zuiko.
Conclusion: the f/2 earns a spot in my starting lineup, esp. since going with
digital prints I knew I was I needing edge enhancement in the middle aperture
range. (One often doesn't detect taking lens deficiencies when projecting or
enlarging, since performance loss in the edges is logically attributable to
the projecting lens). But I'd be a fool to use it at f2.0, esp. metering in
spot metering mode which leads to underexposure of anything but the center of
the image. From my single sample would I call this a world class lens? Nope.
But I am expecting a lot of good images from it stopped down. Hum, now how
does the 35mm Shift compare?
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
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