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Three 25s on the G1

scho

Well-known member
A comparison of the Canon 24mm FD f/2.8 (Rayqual FD adapter), Zeiss Biogon ZM 25mm f/2.8 (CQ M adapter), and Leica D 25mm f/1.4 (Panasonic 4/3 adapter) on the G1. Here are the lenses:


All shot at f/2.8 and f/5.6 at ISO 100. Tripod mounted, manually focused, and shutter released with self timer. All processed the same in LR2.2 and exported as jpegs that were cropped and labeled in CS4. First is overall view of scene with the Canon lens and then 100% crops of center, lower left corner, lower right corner, and upper right corner at both f/2.8 and f/5.6. Distortion and edge artifacts most pronounced in the Zeiss images. Slightly less distortion in the Canon images in the lower left corner. Canon is actually best in the upper right corner and lower right corner. All are sharp on center. Maze artifacts very evident in the Zeiss lower right corner, but not in other images.

















 

Jonas

Active member
A comparison of the Canon 24mm FD f/2.8 (Rayqual FD adapter), Zeiss Biogon ZM 25mm f/2.8 (CQ M adapter), and Leica D 25mm f/1.4 (Panasonic 4/3 adapter) on the G1.
Hi Carl,
As I'm still looking for a fast normal not smearing the borders and corners. This is a very interesting comparison to me and I thank you for posting it.

The short comment must be that all the lenses seem to work fine.

The long comment then: It seems as the Canon and the Panasonic are slighty different focused with the Canon a hair further away than the Panny. I think we can neglect that difference looking at the corners as we are down to f/2.8 and then f/5.6.

The Canon is impressive. The Zeiss not so. The Panasonic is a mix of great center sharpness and mixed corners. Does it suffer from decentering problems? I sold my Panasonic 25/1.4 a long time ago but just as your sample it never sharpened up the borders or corners when stopped down.

The Panasonic is a monster and tells us about the problem with the relative long register distance of the 4/3 system. OTOH it works on the G1 (something other small fast 25mm lenses do not from what I have seen this far).

Conclusions then; a) I may have to consider to buy the Panasonic again, b) I wonder what some of the 24/2 and 28/2 SLR lenses can do wide open, c) the maze artifacts are puzzling (not much of a conclusion though) and d) is the Panasonic G 20/1.7 pancake delayed due to telecentricity problems?

thanks again, /Jonas
 

scho

Well-known member
Hi Jonas, I think the apparent difference in focus distance of the Canon is simply the difference in focal length (24 vs 25 for the Zeiss and Leica). It might be worth trying to find a good copy of the Canon FD 24 f/2 or even the FD 24 f/1.4L, although the latter will be pricey. The Zeiss is very good on the M8, but like most of the wide M mount lenses does not do that well on the G1. The maze artifacts are puzzling appear to be peculiar to LR, but also only seem to appear in the distorted areas.

Regards,
Carl
 

Jonas

Active member
It might be worth trying to find a good copy of the Canon FD 24 f/2 or even the FD 24 f/1.4L, although the latter will be pricey.(...)
Carl,

Do you have any experience from any of the FDn 24/2 or 24/1.4L? The f/2 lens weights 150g less and has a filter diameter of 52mm only compared to the 72mm for the 24/1.4L.

I would prefer the smaller lens but would like to know if it is any good before finding/buying one.

The "focusing differences" I mentioned may be due to different focal lengths, yes.

regards, /Jonas
 

scho

Well-known member
Carl,

Do you have any experience from any of the FDn 24/2 or 24/1.4L? The f/2 lens weights 150g less and has a filter diameter of 52mm only compared to the 72mm for the 24/1.4L.

I would prefer the smaller lens but would like to know if it is any good before finding/buying one.

The "focusing differences" I mentioned may be due to different focal lengths, yes.

regards, /Jonas
Jonas, I have no first hand experience with either the f/2 or f/1.4L FD lenses. The f/1.4L pops up now and then at around 1K, but I've not yet found and f/2 on the market. The latter has had some good review comments from owners on photonet. The person on flickr with the ton of lenses he has been testing on the G1 may have one that hasn't surfaced yet. I would be interested in seeing some images from either lens on the G1.

Regards,
Carl
 

Jonas

Active member
Jonas, I have no first hand experience with either the f/2 or f/1.4L FD lenses. (...) I would be interested in seeing some images from either lens on the G1.
OK. I started with ordering the adapter. I'll see what lens(es) I can find. I think I saw your red G1 at the shop...

thanks again, /Jonas
 

monza

Active member
Very good comparo, Carl. That Canon looks excellent...

Want me to send you some 25/1.4 c mount lenses to try? You almost wouldn't notice them next to those other lenses, they are so small. :)
 

Terry

New member
Interesting on the zeiss. Look at the shot with the spigot and then below it. There is a a moire maze pattern showing up across the whole crop
 

Jonas

Active member
Very good comparo, Carl. That Canon looks excellent...

Want me to send you some 25/1.4 c mount lenses to try? You almost wouldn't notice them next to those other lenses, they are so small. :)
Have you got the Pentax 25/1.4? Images?! :)
 

GDI

Member
Interesting on the zeiss. Look at the shot with the spigot and then below it. There is a a moire maze pattern showing up across the whole crop
That is odd - it is all over the image - I saw that in some sky shots posted somewhere...
 

scho

Well-known member
Robert, The Canon FD 24 is a real bargain and performs well on the G1. I can imagine how tiny that 25 1.4c is. Does it vignette on the G1?

Terry, Somewhere in one of the threads here or in the LUF this maze pattern was discussed and it was concluded that it is an artifact of demosaicing in LR (and perhaps some other software). Does not occur in Raw Developer. Also seems to be associated with image distortion in some of the images I've processed in LR.
 
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