How
to use these charts?
Chromatic aberration indicates the disable
of concentration on the sensor or blurring all colors of the light that the
same point of the lens. Severe chromatic aberration makes a noticeable fringing
and a halo effect around the sharp edges that border the picture. It can be
well manages thanks to editing software.
The Apochromatic lens owns the special lens
(aspheric, super-low dispersion, etc.) to minimize all of the problems above,
so they are undoubtedly more expensive.
In this review, the lens was tested on the
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 using Imatest.
It
is such a good offer for a new lens design.
The not-so-good illumination towards the
corners is quite typical for a standard zooming lens, and this does not makes
many troubles. The comers seem to be 1.52 stops darker at 14mm and f/3.5 than
the center of the image, and stopping down to f/8 gives us visually consistent
images. At 42mm, there are very few falloffs to be mentioned.
It is rather unusual for a lens in this
range to have mild pincushion distortion at both ends of the zoom range. At
14mm, there are 0.273% pincushion distortion and it increases up to 1.04% at
42mm. The distortion pattern is consistent throughout the zooming range, which
leads to the necessity of applying the edition by image editor after that. This
process is quite simple.
Accompanied this lens is a deep petal-shape
hood, whose mission is to protect the optics from extraneous light which might
cause flare or loss of contrast. However, it is relatively large compared to
the size of the lens, which makes it rather seem chunky. However, without this
hood installation, the lens still manages the flare problem well with good
contrast, even when we use it under the intense light.
Sample
photos from the product
Value
This lens is available with the price
around $328.5, which is such a good offer for a new lens design.
Panasonic also provides this price segment with
three different lenses, two of which seem ore chunkier, but give stable optical
images and have the same maximum aperture of f/3.5-5.6. This discontinuously
replacing lens can still be bought new with just $205. The 14-45mm lens is
considered to be the upgrade version of the discontinued lens with many costs
varying around $345 and creates an additional 3mm telephoto reach. Last but not
least, the 14-42mm X lens model of Panasonic can also be considered. This lens
automatically shrinks whenever it is not in use, but uses a motorized zooming
mechanism and has the price of roughly $375.
Olympus launched the new 14-42 lens model,
with the price of $150. This lens features with the collapsible design, but
does not have the optical stabilization, because Olympus camera bodies are the components
which own this feature.
Most people purchasing this lens will
probably pick it up as part of a kit with a new Panasonic G series camera, and
shouldn't need to be in any rush to replace it, as it performs well. Those with
existing Panasonic optics may find the compact size and manual zoom control
appealing. Whether it is a worthy upgrade to Panasonic's other 14-42mm optics, it
is open to debate.
Verdict
Most of people who has purchasing this lens
would consider it as a part of the new kit of the Panasonic G camera series, and
do not need to impatiently replace it, because it performs very well. For those
who own this Panasonic lens in hand can feel how good its conveniently compact
size and attracting zooming are. Although it is a valuable upgrade version
compared to other 14-42 mm optical lens from Panasonic, it still starts up many
debates.
For
those who own this Panasonic lens in hand can feel how good its conveniently
compact size and attracting zooming are.
Advantages
·
Outstanding sharpness in the center for the
entire zoom range
·
Compact size
·
Good build quality
·
Light weight
·
Optical stabilization
·
Good value
Disadvantages
·
The sharpness towards the edges of the frame
could be better at 14mm.
Specifications
Lens mounts
·
Panasonic Micro Four Thirds
·
Olympus Micro Four Thirds
Lens
·
Focal length: 14mm – 42mm
·
Angle of View: 29° - 75°
·
Max Aperture: f/3.5 – f/5.6
·
Min Aperture: f/22
·
Filter Size: 46mm
·
35mm equivalent: 28mm – 84mm
·
Internal focusing: Yes
Focusing
·
Min Focus: 20cm
·
Stabilized: Yes
Construction
·
Blades: 7
·
Elements: 9
·
Groups: 8
|
