Ángel writes:
<< I carry on thinking is a good idea to check the zooms at his "standard"
focal lengths. (75-150: 85,100 and 135 and also 75 and 150mm) . . . I know
this is an addicional cost in film and time, but a real comparative test v/s
the others Zuiko lenses. What think about this question the other list
members? >>
Hi Ángel:
Thanks for bringing up this issue. Hopefully my comments below won't be the
only response to your idea.
In practice, one rarely uses a zoom at a set focal length, other than the
maximum or minimum settings. In another words, we don't pick up a 35-70mm
zoom, set it to 50mm and then shoot at that setting. We crop within the frame
prior to shooting. As such, it seems that a zoom lens test with a two extreme
and one intermediate focal length setting will indicate to us trends in
performance AND be a good trade off between the cost of testing and knowledge
gained. One could than extrapolate between the two nearest focal length
settings for an estimate of performance.
In the case of the 35-105mm zoom, I doubt that there would be any difference
between the 100mm and 105mm settings, for instance. Nor between 35mm and 40mm
- necessary if we were to account for the existance of a 40mm prime lens.
It took three hours of shooting to get yesterdays results. While tedious,
especially triple-checking the exposures for each lens/converter combo, it was
delightful handling the various telephotos. My least favorite combo: the
100-200 f/5 Zuiko w/ 2X teleconverter at the 200mm (=400) setting. It bounced
like a son of a gun on the tripod! I had to prop up the lens hood with a
second tripod. Quite ungainly - needed to be designed with a tripod collar
since it seems a mile long. And almost impossible to focus. In contrast, the
200mm f/4 and f/5 are "sleek" with the 2X, although the f/5 is also a bear to
focus. And I was using a Varimagnifinder. Most favorite: the 1.4X and 300mm
f/4.5 Combo. hardly adds any extra length and what it does add is still
NICELY balanced when using the tripod collar. But nothing matched the
focusing ease of the #1-8 screen and the 90mm f/2 Zuiko Macro.
Gary
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|