Ben Herrmann wrote:
Alright - much has been written in the past (along with bantering back and forth) about preferences between the kit 18-55 and 15-45 lenses.
I periodically get flustered with the two. For example, I love the 18-55 due to it's superior construction and finish - not to mention the longer focal reach. But then I also enjoy (more so lately) the 15-45 due mainly to its wider angle reach. I'm not crazy about the all plastic build nor the slow f6.3 long end, but it is what it is.
I have 3 copies of the 18-55 which came with the earlier M cameras I purchased. I also have 2 copies of the 15-45. I've found with my 18-55 that overall, the sharpness levels are fairly steady across the frame (with the center obviously being the sharpest) - at least with the copies I have. On the other hand, as much as I enjoy the 15-45, I find a certain blurriness on the edges. For example, one copy of my 15-45 is very sharp in the center, yet the left side is fairly diffuse - and on the other copy, the right side is diffuse to a certain extant. It drives me bonkers to see this.
So what am I asking here? For those of you who have both lenses, which do you prefer the most - based specifically on clarity and sharpness across the frame ?
Overall, if I had to choose just one to keep as my standard kit lens (yeah, the ole' gun to the head scenario in which you are forced to choose), I'd easily choose the 18-55.
Ben, I always enjoy reading your posts.
What you've asked is not at all a simple question.
A couple of weeks ago, I purchased the M6/18-150 kit (along with the 15-45 lens), adding it to my existing stable of Ms (M, M2 and M10) and EF-M lenses (22, 18-55 and 11-22).
For reasons of size, weight and volume, the 22 is generally on the M2 (or the M10 if I think I might need a dash of fill-flash and don't want to bother with the Canon 90 or Canon 270 external flashes, both of which work well on the M2's shoe). I can get to (and into!) places with the 22 lens attached to M-whatever body that I never dreamed possible. The flipping LCD screen that the M10 has is very useful under some circumstances, too (think eclipse). Finally, the f2 ability of the 22 is also extremely important at times, and enables good pictures in really dim places.
The 18-55 lens is generally left attached to the original M; it gets the least use--I think that's because I find the wide-angle options afforded by the 11-22 lens to be extremely useful for the kinds of people-and-places-on-vacation pix that the M system excels at: quite simply the 11-22 lens enables me to gather images that would be impossible with any other Canon EF-M lens. In other words, if I'm going to carry but one 'big' lens (big compared to the 22), I generally choose the 11-22.
I know I know you can simply change lenses. But when I'm with my wife and daughters...I try to make it seem like photography isn't all that important to me!
But with recent purchases I now own the 15-45 and 18-150 lenses--so I have additional choices...and your question is quite timely for me.
I have sold a few photographs but my M shooting is all family-related; the size, weight and volume issues are of paramount import to me as I want to feel as though I'm with my family first and only occasionally 'taking pictures' instead of the other way around.
So with the 22, 18-55 and 11-22 lenses, I've always assumed that the lenses I've been using were good enough sharpness-wise--the main drawback of the M system has always been (primarily) related to its inability to lock auto-focus on moving subjects.
But I have pixel-peeped at the 15-45 and 18-150 lenses and others have commented (negatively) about their sharpness.
With that in mind, I submit the following five out-of-camera unedited jpegs, one with each of the aformentioned lenses.
*autofocus on the nytimes
*1600dpi images at 1/13sec (except the last one, 1/15sec) and f5.6/ISO400; the 35mm equivalent focal lengths were all set to about 35mm (as required since the 22mm EF-M lens is part of the test)
*each lens attached to a tripod-mounted M10
*Image was captured 2 seconds after shutter depression
This is NOT a scientific test of these lenses; and the lenses used are my only copies of each--nevertheless, I think the five images supply a real-world baseline from which to at least catalyze a discussion of the question you've posed.
Now that I have a couple more lenses to fiddle around with, I plan to examine the quality of images that result from each one...and factor that into my decisions of which lenses to use at what times...which is I think what you were asking.
I can imagine that the wideness of the 15-45 (relative to the 18-55) might be good enough at times (compared to needing the 11-22)...and the 15-45 (presumably), at its widest setting, does not cast a shadow when the on-board flash of either the M10 or the M6 is used (I know that the 18-55 does cast a shadow at its wide end, when the on-board flash of the M10 is used; I have not tested the M6 but assume it to be the same. As you know, the 15-45 is significantly smaller than the 18-55).
I hope this helps answer your question. I'm going to peep at some pixels right now.
