I want to see how sharp the zuikos are in the wide apertures so I just did
some test shots on Provia 400F. While I understand that that best way to
improve a picture's sharpness is to put the camera on a tripod, all the
tests are handheld since that's type of shooting I do most. I just scanned
in the slides and didn't do any post processing. i.e. the pictures should
look sharper w/ some unsharp mask since the scanner softens the images,
especially since I have ICE dust removal on. Since I am comparing relative
sharpness, this is OK.
The assessment is purely subjective. I just print out some 4x6s, and open
the pictures on the screen to verify. I presume a much better methodology
is to project the slides. There are a few surprises. I think I will
re-shoot w/ couple of the lens to examine the data again. The 135 and 180
shots, I rested the camera on a sturdy fence, so effectively they are on a
very solid tripod.
So, on a relative scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the sharpest:
5 - 50/2@2.8, 180@4
4 - 50/2@2, 40@2, 35@4, 28@2, and also 40@2.8 28@2.8, 90@4, 135/2.8,
180/2.8 and 135@4
3 - 90@2.8, 50/1.4@2
2 - 35@2, 90@2
1 - 50/1.4@1.4
First of all, that 50/2 is just the sharpest thing there is. Even on the
4x6, it just blows everything else away.
Second, I am pleasantly surprised how good the 40/2 is. I have taken some
bummer pictures wide open with it, and on hindsight, I think those are the
ones that the shutter speed is very slow anyway.
Third, the better f/2 lens - 40/2 and 28/2 improve just a wee tad when
closed down to 2.8, not really enough to push them to the next level.
Fourth, the 50/1.4 (> 1.1 mil SN) is not as good as the 50/2, until at f4
or smaller.
Fifth, the 90/2 is performing worse than I thought and remember. Possibly
the light was getting less and the handheld speed is just too slow. I will
definitely redo tests with it.
Sixth, most lens at f4 and smaller, is quite good.
// richard <http://www.imagecraft.com>
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