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Comparison Test: Leica D Vario Elmarit 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5 vs ZD 50mm f/2.0

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pschia

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This is a simple comparison test between the Leica kit lens of the Panasonic L1 and the critically revered Zukio Digital 50mm f/2 Macro lens when used with the Panasonic L1. The camera was set on a tripod and the exposures were triggered by timer. The 2 lenses were compared at the focal length of 50mm and aperture settings starting from f/3.5 as this is the largest aperture the Leica can use at the focal length of 50mm.

The photos were shot in RAW and converted using the SilkyPix software that was bundled with the L1. All parameters were set to Average during RAW conversion except for Exposure which was set to Auto for all shots. There was a slight difference in magnification as it seems that 50mm on the ZD 50mm is not the same as 50mm on the Leica 14-50mm.

This was the target.



And these are the results.



Not too shabby a performance by the Leica kit lens, I think.
 
As you say...not too shabby given that the 50mmDZ is one heck of a sharp lens...but what you really need to do is a comparison between the Leica and the 14-54 DZ kit lens that came with the E1!!!

Please.

:-)

--
kind regards

Nick

Falling snow inside a cauliflower does not drfit - Charlie, Space Cadets 15th Dec 2005

http://www.pbase.com/nickjdavis

Four Thirds FAQ's - http://www.fourthirdsFAQ.com
 
Why didn't you just manually set the exposure on camera instead of using the auto settings in RAW conversion? I'd figure you want the software to touch as little as possible during a comparison like this.

Thanks for the effort though! Bring on the 14-54 as others have said. :)
--

 
Not a good comparison IMHO. Prime lenses usually better corrected and sharper. A close comparison would be the Olympus 14-54 lens vs 14-50 Leica lens you have on your L1.
 
My 50/2 is MUCH better than this lens.

Here 100% crops from my Zuiko 50/2 on my E-1...

F2,0:



F5,6:

 
That's exactly the point. If the Leica 14-50mm zoom lens can come close to the performance of one of Olympus' best prime lenses like the 50mm, it would speak volumes of the optical quality of the Leica lens.
 
Perhaps because it was not used in its capacity as a close-up macro lens in comparison test?
 
pschia said:
Perhaps because it was not used in its capacity as a close-up macro
lens in comparison test?
Click to expand...
mine is also better at more focus distance (you have been quite close to the subject, too, I only showed the 100% crops, so it may appear more "macro" than it actually was).

Maybe your 50/2,0 macro didn't focus exactly ?

(it should be a lot better at F2,0 imho)
 
nick66davis said:
As you say...not too shabby given that the 50mmDZ is one heck of a
sharp lens...but what you really need to do is a comparison between
the Leica and the 14-54 DZ kit lens that came with the E1!!!

Please.

:-)

--
kind regards

Nick

Falling snow inside a cauliflower does not drfit - Charlie, Space
Cadets 15th Dec 2005

http://www.pbase.com/nickjdavis

Four Thirds FAQ's - http://www.fourthirdsFAQ.com
Click to expand...
Yes, it would be interesting to see how it matches up against the ZD 14-54mm. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the 14-54mm. :-(
 
PS: The Leica 14-50 OIS seems to be a very sharp lens, too (I tried it myself on the E-1), but the Zuiko 50/2 could be much better than what has been shown in this comparison.
 
Yes, it seems the Pana/Leica zoom isn't bad. But what about corners ? And to be sure of the focus on the 50 f/2.0, you could use LiveView (I don't recall if the L1 has the same 10x loupe than the 330).

--
Rémi
 
The target was a letter-sized page out of a magazine and was taped onto a wall about 2.5ft away from the camera. So it is not really that close. I have used that lens for many shoots before and it doesn't really have a focussing problem. I could repeat the shoot at f/2 just to confirm though.
 
The Leica is sharper wide open than the 14-54, but the 14-54 has a more even performance across the aperture range according to digit.no
--
johan
 
That Leica seems to look sharper to me at all apertures. I would have to look back at the samples to be 100% sure, but that Leicasonic lens looks like a winner to me...

If it is less than $800...I'll take one (assuming I keep my system)
 
These are the comparison shots for the top right corner of the frame. Ignore the shot taken by the ZD 50mm at f/2 if you think that it's not focussed properly. It doesn't matter anyway in this comparison since there is no corresponding Leica shot at f/2.

 
do they say anything about softness around the edge with the leica vs. the zuiko?

oly
 
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