Leica 21-35mm v Contax Zeiss 21mm Distagon Following a two day shoot solely using the Leica 21-35mm Vario Elmar f3.5-4 and Canon 1Ds II, using the CameraQuest adaptor, I ran some controlled tests on a familiar target, because I was sure the Leica was going soft on me at the wide end. The obvious benchmark …
Olympus 18mm f4 v Contax Zeiss 18mm f4 v Canon 16-35mm f2.8 [Test by Mike Hatam, published 2004] All images shot with a Canon 1Ds Mark II in RAW, processed in 8 bit via Raw Shooter Essential and converted for web with BoxTop Pro. Centre Frame Crops (100%) Olympus 18mm at f11 Contax Zeiss 18mm …
Contax Zeiss 18mm f4 v Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f2.8 [published 2004] Further to the apparent narrow victory of the Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f2.8 in the 21mm play-offs for second place to the Zeiss 21mm, the natural next step was to assess its performance against the Contax Zeiss 18mm f4 Distagon. While nowhere considered the equal …
Olympus 21mm f2 v Sigma 15-30mm v Nikon 17-35mm AFS [published 2004] OK: so everyone knows the best 21mm in the world by a country mile is the Zeiss 21mm, but not everyone can afford one, and not everyone can live with the awkward waveform distortion. So, what most people have come to realise is …
Sigma 12-24mm v Sigma 15-30mm v Canon 17-40mm L v Contax Zeiss 21mm Distagon f2.8 [published 2004] ISO 100 / Full frame Canon 1Ds Mark I with mirror lock up, f8 / 1 second / AWB on a Manfrotto 155 with view camera head, legs locked. All were shot RAW and processed in 8 bit …
A Tale of Two 28mm Nikon 28mm f2.8 AIS sample variation demonstrated [published december 2005] Preliminary to the 28mm group test, two samples of the well-regarded Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AI-S were obtained to compare with the Olympus 28mm f2 and Carl Zeiss Contax 28mm f2.8 Distagon. Both were sourced from a reputable UK dealer …
Nikon 28mm f2.8 AIS v Olympus 28mm f2 v Zeiss 28mm f2.8 [published january 2006] So what is the best 28mm lens? Is it the so-called ‘Hollywood’ edition Zeiss f2? Te Nikon f1.4? Surely the Leica 28mm Super Elmarit is in the top three? Quite likely each of these in their own way can lay …
[nextpage title=”Introduction”] [Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar 15mm f4.5 v Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 [published january 2006] The Canon 5D/Voigtlander Rangefinder The Voigtlander 15mm f4.5. Where on earth are you going to put THAT? First: yes, you can use Voigtlander’s true wide angle lenses on Canon digital cameras: here’s my 15mm f4.5 SL on an EOS 5D. …
[nextpage title=”12-15mm”] 12-15mm Hall of Fame [nextpage title=”17-21mm”] 17-21mm hall of fame Despite being a highly desirable focal length for landscape,interiors and architectural photographers, at the time of writing no uncompromised retrofocus SLR lens exists that can resolve to the limit of the latest 13MP and 16MP 35mm sensors across the frame. This may come …
[nextpage title=”Introduction”] Canon 14mm f2.8 L v Nikon 14mm f2.8 EDIF v Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 DG [published march 2006] So you’ve got your killer wide angle zoom: either the Canon 16-35mm L or the (better) Nikon 17-35mm AFS – or, if the budget won’t quite stretch (but the field of view must) you’re working around …