Compare panasonic 14-140ll with 35-100 f2.8

Cimarron wrote:

Gary from Seattle wrote:

Cimarron wrote:

I just bought a 35-100mm f/2.8, and my first impression is that it is unacceptably soft. Don't know whether I got a bad copy or not, but I'll update the firmware and do some real testing tonight.

If it's still as soft, it's going back. A $1,300 lens should easily outperform my $100 Oly 40-150, but it does not. In fact, the Oly is sharper. :\

Sounds like a bad lens. In my opinion my 35-100 F2.8 is somewhat sharper than my 12-40.

That's what I hoped for. I have the Oly 12-40, and it is outstanding, so if the 35-100 is in the same league, I'll be happy.

Just wanted to post an update for anyone who's considering the Panny 35-100 f/2.8...

I did some more testing last night and determined that the lens is fine.  The problem is/was its interface with my new GX8.

When I put the 35-100 on my E-M5, it produced excellent, tack-sharp images at f/2.8 -- just like the great Oly 12-40.  The softness only showed up when it was paired with the GX8. I had not updated the firmware on the GX8 or lens yet, so I think the problem was caused by the image-stabilization systems in the lens and body working against each other, rather than in tandem.

So I updated the firmware on the 35-100 and GX8, and that seems to have addressed the issue.  The images still aren't quite as good as they are with the E-M5, but I've only compared OOC jpegs so far.  I'll do some further testing with RAW and see how the final images look.

Bottom line is that the 35-100 f/2.8 is great, and I'm very happy with it.  As for the GX8, that remains to be seen. :\