Comments on: Are Zooms Always Sharper at One Extreme or the Other?

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:39:58 +0000

Thanks for the analysis. However, one very interesting piece of information is missing: What kind of correlation exists between sharpness at the zoom’s extremes for individual lenses? In other words, is in general a lens that is very sharp at one extreme also above average at the other end? Or is perhaps the opposite true?

By: Samuel Hurtado

Samuel Hurtado — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:17:37 +0000

a full lens-review site is a lot of work, but maybe you could get an intern to run all the tests in the weekends…

anyway: for a start, it would be great if you could try to solve the most common canon question: 24-70 or 24-105??

By: Jon Gilchrist

Jon Gilchrist — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:26:28 +0000

I don’t suppose you could test some older zooms (like some FD mount Canons or something equally old) to confirm the origin of the conventional wisdom?

By: Jim Spivey

Jim Spivey — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:07:08 +0000

I get so excited when I see you have posted a new blog article here. They are invariably entertaining and educational. Thanks so much for taking advantage of your inventory to do evaluations none of us would be able to do ourselves!

By: Tom Alicoate

Tom Alicoate — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:59:42 +0000

Great article. Love the data you are able to provide. You are making my idea of getting a relatively cheap 70-200 2.8 non-IS look like its not such a great idea. Oh well, now if my wife would only read your articles, I could order that 70-200 2.8L ISII. Thanks for the info and providing my only real option which is renting the lens.

Tom

By: Roger Cicala

Roger Cicala — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:17:28 +0000

Hanpeter wrote: What about the middle range? Just because 70 and 200 are sharp doesn’t mean that 135mm is as sharp as well.

That’s where DxOlabs and SLRGear come in: they test them ever 10mm throughout the entire focal length, something we just don’t have time to do. We did, of course, initially checked central focal lengths when we set up our protocols, but the main purpose of our tests is to detect failed or bad lenses. Our experience is that every failure involves one extreme or the other, never just the central portion of the zoom.

Roger

By: Hanspeter

Hanspeter — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:44:36 +0000

What about the middle range? Just because 70 and 200 are sharp doesn’t mean that 135mm is as sharp as well.

By: radu

radu — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:27:48 +0000

I love data and I love lenses. You should make a new site with lens reviews and data: both charts like DxO and dpreview and samples like “the digital picture”. Your big collection of lenses allows you not only to review one copy of the lens, but tens of them and give a broader image of the lens performance. No other site does that.

And you will win a LOT from a massive review/data site about lenses. Just google “24-70″.

By: Dave Pawson

Dave Pawson — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:23:34 +0000

You ought to be called ‘pin’ as a nickname, bursting all these bubbles! Love the way your info is so well backed up with data!

Great blog. Thanks.