I think it is a result of clear purpose and strong direction from
Maitani. It would be fairer to compare Zuikos to other major primary
brands. The third-party makers have a tougher job in that they must have
designs that are adaptable to work on many different mounts. That's
bound to make keeping size and weight down more difficult. Even compared
to Can*n, Nik*n, et. al. the Zuiko prime lenses are wonderfully light
and compact.
With zooms, the story is a little different and third-party lenses are
very competitive on size and weight in many cases. A couple of examples:
Zuiko Tamron SP Zuiko Tokina AT-X
35-80/2.8 35-105/2.8 65-200/4 35-200/3.5-4.5
Min. Length 99 101 147 128
Max Dia. 69 76 71 70
Weight 650 650 730 680
Filter Size 62 67 55 67
Reg. Close Focus 0.6m 1.0m 1.2m 2.1m
Max. Repro. 1:8.6 1:7.3 1:3.3 1:3.8
The above only compares specs, but I have chosen examples where there
should not be a great deal of difference in performance. I know the
35-80 is a legendary lens, but the Tamron is very highly regarded. It
also has extra reach that's important to me and I'm certainly pleased
with the results from mine. The 65-200 doesn't have the rep of the 35-80
and Tokina AT-Xs are good lenses. The 35-200 is one of my favorite
lenses, giving what I consider outstanding results.
I happen to have all this info at hand because I read all the comments
on the list about the Zuikos and sometimes think "Maybe I should get one
of those.", then wonder how they compare with what I already have.
So this won't sound like Zuiko zoom bashing, the Zuiko 35-70/3.5-3.5 is
smaller, lighter, better looking and a better lens than the Tamron
28-70/3.5-4.5.
Moose
Daniel J. Mitchell wrote:
I've just been comparing the sizes of lenses, and, apart from the basic
necessity for a bigger lens to make it faster, I'm still amazed at how small
the Zuiko lenses are compared to pretty much every third-party lens I've
got.
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