Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> .....
> This was a very brief test using only the Zuiko 35/2.8 at 2.8 and the
> Tokina 28-80/2.8 at 35mm and 2.8. I took both autofocus and manual
> focus shots with the Tokina.
>
> .......... But
> in the relevant range that's in focus the Tokina zoom is the very clear
> winner. I guess 30 years of lens development has to be worth something.
>
One thing I have noticed in tests of recent zoom lenses using multiple
special dispersion and aspheric elements is that the old pattern of
image sharpness starting off softer at maximum aperture, improving
through a middle, optimum aperture, then generally declining some or a
lot at smallest apertures is not true of these new designs.
Many of them seem, at least at some fls, to be as sharp wide open as at
f8-16. Again, I'm just browsing through published tests, not testing
them myself. The implications are interesting, and I haven't heard much
said about them. In the old days, one assumed that a 300/4.5, for
example, would not reach maximum performance until f8 or f11, as Gary's
tests show. Then a zoom which goes to 300 mm, but only at f6.3 might
not, in the old days, be expected to reach optimum performance until
maybe f16-22. However, tests show some such achieving optimum
performance at f6.3-f8.
Anyway, that digression about the long end aside, I would expect a
modern, pro level zoom to outperform most primes when both are wide
open. I would also expect the difference to narrow as they are stopped
down, although I wouldn't be surprised to see the zoom continue to come
out on top.
I know lots of people want a wide range of primes optimized for digital
sensors and assume manufacturers are largely not providing them for
marketing and profit reasons. I propose it is possible that it may
also in many cases be because they can't see that they can exceed the
performance of their latest zoom designs, except perhaps at uneconomic cost.
Moose
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