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23mm lens or 18-55 at 23

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Enir4

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I like going around with a 35mm (equivalent) lens. I have the 10-24 and the 18-55. Is the IQ of the 23mm much better than the 18-55 at 23? I am not particularly concerned about the maximum opening, just about IQ.

Enrique
 
I bought the 23mm for its F1.4.
 
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I have both.

I like the 23mm better. It seems to me the colors have more punch.

Other than that, both lenses are plenty sharp.
 
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I had been thinking of getting the 23mm to complete my line of primes which is currently 14mmf2.8, 35mm f1.4, 60mm f2.4 and 90mm f2 but I also have the 2 zooms and I already find my choosing between primes which to take out as a 3 lens 2 body setup and leaving lenses at home unused. I don't have a use for wide apertures in lenses wider than standard 35mm so the 18-55 zoom makes sense as it has OIS. I no longer need take my sixty since it is more oe less emulated by the zoom's 55mm and for a fast optiom I have the more widely spaced 90mmf2. So now my standard walkaround kit is 14mm, 18-55mm and 90mm f2 and with that there is little I can't cover. The zoom is also smaller and lighter than the 23mm. I figure I'd rather have the extra DoF and OIS then lack narrow DoF and no OIS. I no longer intend to get the 23mm, the zoom is also better than the 18mm prime at the wide end.
 
If you are not concerned about the max aperture save your money and keep the zoom.
 
Here are a couple of shots I took today. Both on a tripod, OIS off on the 18-55. Processed in CaptureOne with identical settings. F8.

It's easy to spot the differences at the corners & edges. You decide if you see a difference in the center.













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georgehudetz said:
Here are a couple of shots I took today. Both on a tripod, OIS off on the 18-55. Processed in CaptureOne with identical settings. F8.

It's easy to spot the differences at the corners & edges. You decide if you see a difference in the center.





--
http://georgehudetzphotography.smugmug.com/
My Flikr stream: http://flic.kr/ps/Ay8ka
Click to expand...
Diff is very clear across the whole frame (I am assuming the 2nd pic is with the prime).

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Thank you very much, this truly helps.


The bottom one, taken with the prime lens, is obviously better. After sharpening, differences become so small that tend to be negligible.

Enrique
 
I had the 23mm F1.4 as well, part of what makes the IQ so special is it butter smooth bokeh. Its also pretty sharp wide open with good color & contrast. Things you can do at F1.4 that you cant do otherwise...
 
Enir4 said:
Thank you very much, this truly helps.

The bottom one, taken with the prime lens, is obviously better. After sharpening, differences become so small that tend to be negligible.

Enrique
Click to expand...
I'm sure it's a language barrier thing, but you seem to be contradicting yourself here? Be aware that I was fairly aggressive with the sharpening in the PP. Trying to bring more out of either shot is likely to have other undesirable side-affects. I'm not saying this is a perfect comparison, but the 23 can be pushed just as hard in post, if not harder, than the 18-55.
 
Enir4 said:
I like going around with a 35mm (equivalent) lens. I have the 10-24 and the 18-55. Is the IQ of the 23mm much better than the 18-55 at 23? I am not particularly concerned about the maximum opening, just about IQ.

Enrique
Click to expand...
IQ of the 23mm is definitely better than the 18-55 and 23mm, even stopped down a bit.

However, there's a lot of times I don't really care to have maximum IQ and so I tend to use the 10-24 a lot more than my 23mm. 10 to 24mm is such an awesome focal length range for me.
 
georgehudetz said:
Enir4 said:
Thank you very much, this truly helps.

The bottom one, taken with the prime lens, is obviously better. After sharpening, differences become so small that tend to be negligible.

Enrique
Click to expand...
I'm sure it's a language barrier thing, but you seem to be contradicting yourself here? Be aware that I was fairly aggressive with the sharpening in the PP. Trying to bring more out of either shot is likely to have other undesirable side-affects. I'm not saying this is a perfect comparison, but the 23 can be pushed just as hard in post, if not harder, than the 18-55.
Click to expand...
I didn't know you sharpened them. I did with Nik's sharpener and didn't notice excess sharpening. Instead, as I said, IQ difference became so small that based on these photos I wouldn't pick the 23mm lens over the 18-55, given the versatility of the zoom.

Enrique
 
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