The sharpest lense regardless of format

The 75mm is the sharpest in my MFT collection followed by my PL 25mm and finally my Oly 45mm.Actually my Oly 12-100mm may be sharper at 45mm then the prime. But I definitely think my Leica 50mm APO ASPH on my Monochrom Type 246 is much sharper. I've never seen anything in my life like it. Truly a dream.

No charts just my experience.

Here is a jpg strait out of the camera.

Wheel Fence

mferencz wrote:

I'll take your word on it, it's a Leica, but this photo doesn't show it.

It sure doesn't. Does dpreview do something to images in their gallery? It's a lot sharper on my screen when I look at the original.

According to the lens reviews at LensTip.com...

Olympus 300mm f/4.0 : Resolves 73 lpmm at f/5.6

Voigtlander 25 mm f/0.95 : Resolves 82 lpmm at f/2.8

Olympus 75mm f/1.8 : Resolves 82.6 Lpmm at f/4.0

Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 : Resolves 91 lpmm at f/2.8

Sony 55 mm f/1.8 ZA : Resolves 63 lpmm at f/4.0

So in this limited test it would appear that the Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 has the highest resolution here and it does this wide open. The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 comes in second when stopped down to f/4.0, with the Voightlander 25mm f/0.95 lens coming in third when stopped down to f/2.8.

NOTE: This is not a fair test for Full Frame lenses because their optical image is larger compared to m4/3 lenses. So a lens like the Sony 55mm is resolving 63 lpmm for a sensor that is 2.0 times taller and 2.1 times wider than the standard m4/3 sensor, so the total resolution of the whole FF image will be higher than any m4/3 image.

LingoDingo wrote:

According to the lens reviews at LensTip.com...

Olympus 300mm f/4.0 : Resolves 73 lpmm at f/5.6

Voigtlander 25 mm f/0.95 : Resolves 82 lpmm at f/2.8

Olympus 75mm f/1.8 : Resolves 82.6 Lpmm at f/4.0

Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 : Resolves 91 lpmm at f/2.8

Sony 55 mm f/1.8 ZA : Resolves 63 lpmm at f/4.0

So in this limited test it would appear that the Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 has the highest resolution here and it does this wide open. The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 comes in second when stopped down to f/4.0, with the Voightlander 25mm f/0.95 lens coming in third when stopped down to f/2.8.

NOTE: This is not a fair test for Full Frame lenses because their optical image is larger compared to m4/3 lenses. So a lens like the Sony 55mm is resolving 63 lpmm for a sensor that is 2.0 times taller and 2.1 times wider than the standard m4/3 sensor, so the total resolution of the whole FF image will be higher than any m4/3 image.

It really is impossible to compare, a FF super-telephoto on a 50MP (or 48, or 42) camera resolves an amazing amount of detail. Plus if you stop them down it gets insane. So do you go with the same focal length (hint, big MP sensors with expensive glass win) or identical focal lengths and assume the subject is in a m43 crop (possible for wildlife).

Dr_Jon wrote:

It really is impossible to compare, a FF super-telephoto on a 50MP (or 48, or 42) camera resolves an amazing amount of detail.

But if the m4/3 lens is resolving the SAME amount of detail on to a m4/3 sensor that can record all of this detail, then it can become a toss up.

Many of the pro grade m4/3 lenses ( especially the telephotos ) are resolving twice the number of lpmm as the Full Frame lenses are, so the SAME amount of detail can be captured by both sensors despite the large difference in sensor size. ( a sensor can't capture detail if the lens can't resolve it )

Plus if you stop them down it gets insane.

It depends on the lens. Some lenses perform best at full aperture ( like the Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 does ) and some lenses only reach their peak 2 - 3 stops down from their maximum aperture. ( older lens designs tend to perform poorly at full aperture )

Felice62 wrote:

I believe Sony FE 55/1.8 ZA outresolves it.

But with those specs it's amost irrilevant..

Unfortunately, there is no perfect like for like comparison between formats. The closest one I can find are on imaging resource's website, as they use the blur unit to determine sharpness which divorces the lens from the sensor to some degree. The size of the sensor is still a factor, mostly it works against lens sharpness on the edges as the light on the edges becomes much more difficult to control/keep straight on larger sensors.

Sony 55mm f1.8 blur map on an A7R:
https://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/sony/fe-55mm-f1.8-za-carl-zeiss-sonnar-t-sel55f18z/review/

Oly 75mm f1.8 blur map on an EP1:
https://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/olympus/75mm-f1.8-ed-m.zuiko-digital/review/

The Oly is a sharper lens for its given format than the Sony is for its format. But this really doesn't matter, as it does not take into account the final image which is absolutely dependant on overall megapixels, and to some degree, size of those pixels. When you account for those things, the Sony will look sharper because it has at minimum, a 24MP sensor to work from, whereas the Oly has a maximum of 20MP. So even if the Sony doesn't resolve a higher overall percentage of those MP, it will still look sharper, because it has resolved a larger total number of pixels.

LingoDingo wrote:

Dr_Jon wrote:

It really is impossible to compare, a FF super-telephoto on a 50MP (or 48, or 42) camera resolves an amazing amount of detail.

But if the m4/3 lens is resolving the SAME amount of detail on to a m4/3 sensor that can record all of this detail, then it can become a toss up.

I have a 20MP m43 camera and a 50MP m43 camera. I have lenses where you can see pixel-level detail on the FF camera (some need stopping-down). I suspect if someone makes a 100MP FF sensor they'll be good there too. The fact some people like to test lenses on 21MP FF sensors really doesn't mean much.

Many of the pro grade m4/3 lenses ( especially the telephotos ) are resolving twice the number of lpmm as the Full Frame lenses are, so the SAME amount of detail can be captured by both sensors despite the large difference in sensor size. ( a sensor can't capture detail if the lens can't resolve it )

They really aren't if you use a high-pixel-density FF sensor. There are a lot of FF lenses out there that out-resolve 50MP sensors but they are limited if you test on low-res sensors. Lenstip recently reviewed the Sigma 105mm f1.4 on a 21MP FF sensor and shock horror even allowing for the test software doing some guesstimating it topped out at 42lp/mm.

Photozone tested the Sigma 85mm f1.4 on a 21MP Canon camera and got a peak resolution of 3693 lw/ph (where ph=24mm), they tested it on a 5Dsr and got 5473.

Plus if you stop them down it gets insane.

It depends on the lens. Some lenses perform best at full aperture ( like the Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 does ) and some lenses only reach their peak 2 - 3 stops down from their maximum aperture. ( older lens designs tend to perform poorly at full aperture )

I found using the same focal length lens (no equivalence) my 5Dsr used to resolve the same level of detail as my GH4, or sometimes better as I have some good Canon lenses. My GH5 is a little better with good glass (meaning you see somewhere between 10-20% more detail at the same focal length, just 3/4 of the image isn't there).

bobn2 wrote:

Bhima78 wrote:

Felice62 wrote:

I believe Sony FE 55/1.8 ZA outresolves it.

But with those specs it's amost irrilevant..

Unfortunately, there is no perfect like for like comparison between formats. The closest one I can find are on imaging resource's website, as they use the blur unit to determine sharpness which divorces the lens from the sensor to some degree.

The BxU blur unit is pixel count dependent. So, a the same blur will appear as less BxU on a 20MP camera than it will on a 24MP camera.

DxO thought it was a good idea when they invented it, for their own use they abandoned it in favour of the equally lame 'Perceptual MegaPixel'. It's a shame, the DxO lens tests used to be one of the best sources of raw lens test data you could get.

I ask, because, across the board, Sony, Canon and Nikon lenses have better blur unit charts on their APS-C cameras than on their FF cameras with more MP. To me, that looks like its MP independent and much moreso dependent on the size of the sensor and the lenses ability to keep the light straight at the extreme edges of larger and larger sensors.

RSColo wrote:

mferencz wrote:

I'll take your word on it, it's a Leica, but this photo doesn't show it.

It sure doesn't. Does dpreview do something to images in their gallery? It's a lot sharper on my screen when I look at the original.

OK, I like this thread. So I'm going to try again to upload a direct out of the camera shot. I think I may have screwed up last time.

As a reminder, this is my Leica 50mm APO ASPH M-mount lens on my Monochrom type 246.

But Sigma got even better with the Art and the most recent DN lenses.

Peter