I think I agree with you "But, alas, I believe..." sentiment Bob - the
design priorities are, it seems, size and AF speed. Back then, with manual
focus lenses, the criteria by which one lens stood out were wholly
different.
And I think there is another aspect to the discussion - we don't talk about
lenses because optical hardware no longer determines the end result - the
focus (so to speak) has moved to the camera body. Not only do we not talk
lenses, we (of course) don't talk about film. But we *do* talk about the
in-camera image processing which influences the end result just as much as
the choice of Velvia or Kodachrome did.
Piers
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Whitmire [mailto:bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 15 September 2013 10:15
To: Olympus Camera Discussion
Subject: Re: [OM] Speaking of lenses [was Speaking of sharpness ... ]
Well, today's glass is pretty good, as a whole, and most of it certainly is
good enough for 1000 pixel images posted on the web. Back in the day we made
prints, and prints can tell the tale of a good lens--up to a point. (I know,
Chuck, I know--lenses out resolve paper, but you know what I mean. <g>)
It also may be that we've talked glass so much that it's not that
interesting anymore because the glass that really stands out is glass most
of us peasants can't or won't afford.
I'm completely happy with my Nikon 24-70/2.8, and don't care if other lenses
get better test results. It does the trick for me, although I wouldn't mind
if it were a little lighter. <g> I haven't tried a largish print with a Fuji
X-100s shot yet, but I suspect I'll be more than happy with the quality.
And then there's software. All the de-convoluting and USMing and chromatic
correction and special plug-ins and perspective and distortion correction
and such more than make up for a lot of lens flaws, at least in my humble
opinion.
But, alas, I believe it mostly is because these new lenses, particularly the
micro-lenses, just aren't very sexy. They do the job but they don't show any
style while they're doing it. Just not much there to talk about.
Your mileage may vary.
--Bob Whitmire
Registered Neanderthal
On Sep 15, 2013, at 5:03 AM, Moose wrote:
> That's one of the big differences between the digital age and film on this
list - we hardly speak about lenses.
>
> Remember when threads about particular lenses and how they compare to
> other lenses would go on hot and heavy for days - or weeks?
>
> An announcement of a new Zuiko macro lens would elicit a flurry of
> posts. Oly announced the µ4/3 60/2.8, stating that it is as good as the ZD
50/2. I don't recall it even being mentioned here. I only became aware of it
wandering about the web.
>
> Anybody know about its unique hood?
>
> I post an image from it, with 100% crop, and comparisons with other M.Z
lenses, and get one response (Thanks, Chuck!):
>
> On 9/13/2013 5:04 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>> All are very nice within their size domain.
>
> That's it? That's all anyone has to say about a new(ish) lens?
>
> I'm not complaining, just curious. Might it be that contemporary 4/3
> and µ4/3 lenses have reached a point of sufficiency such that
> differences don't matter much, to most of us, most of the time? Have
> all our eyes grown so old that most of us can't see the difference any
> more? :-(
>
> AG is, of course, still singing the praises of certain OM lenses, Mike
> weighs in with images form Bigfoot and its kin and Moose mind bending
erudite contributions on DOF, motion blur, etc.
>
> And Joel had his recent Summer fling with a strange girl, the ZD 18-180,
before abandoning her.
>
> But really not that much lens talk.
--
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