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[OM] Oly versus Leica, Zeiss, etc

Subject: [OM] Oly versus Leica, Zeiss, etc
From: "Will von Dauster" <vondauster@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 14:52:25 -0700
Hi All,

Dr Rhoads asked:

> And implied, I take it, that Zuikos were on equivalent footing with Leica
> lenses. Is this true?! As a new list member, I may have missed past
> comparisons to other manufacturer's lenses, but does the Zuiko truly
> compare to Leica, Zeiss, Nikkor, and others? I ask out of ignorance, not
> disbelief.

Boy, can this be touchy subject! Having owned all of the systems mentioned
and used them at various times professionally, I thought I'd add my two
cents to this discussion. All of the following comments are subjective, of
course.

In my experience, all of the Olympus OM primes I have used were sharp, some
every bit as sharp as the best glass available. The Olympus 50mms, in
particular, are excellent. In every range of focal lengths, however, I
believe one manufacturer can easily stand out over another. Then, there are
a variety of factors to consider beyond image sharpness (resolution and
microcontrast).

Most single-coated Olympus lenses tend to have problems with flare and coma,
in my experience. The MC lenses, on the other hand, show control which is
generally as good as any on the market. Leica and Zeiss tend to have
excellent spectral consistency, Nikon and Canon somewhat less so. Leica
specializes in wide open performace with its faster lenses, Zeiss tends to
optimize more at f8. Zuiko lenses tend to vary in this area.

There are other factors - I personally much prefer the look my EOS 70-200
f2.8 L gives to my photographs - especially the color midtones - over the
technically superior (and absurdly heavy) Leica equivalent. The Olympus f1.2
50mm is, according to all I have spoken with, better than the old formula
Leica 50mm f1.4R - and a lot less expensive even new. Canon, Leica, and
Zeiss do not have a 21mm f2: Olympus does not have a 24mm or 35mm f1.4.

In my opinion, current production new Zuiko lenses, when available, are as
good accross the board as any system on the market. A number of their
lenses, everything else being equal, perform as well or better than their
top competition. The combination of the small OM-3Ti or 4Ti with the equally
compact Olympus cameras makes for an exceptionally compact, competent, and
unobtrusive system.

Thank you for your patience with this rather long post.

Will von Dauster

http://www.fsl.noaa.gov/~vondaust/

"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde


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