Leica 12mm f/1.4 review by Robin Wong: “enjoyed using tremendously”


Image courtesy Robin Wong

Robin Wong posted his full Leica 12mm f/1.4 lens review:

What started out as a lens I was reluctant to review, became one that I actually enjoyed using tremendously.

Besides being a sharp wide angle lens, there is a pleasing quality to the way this lens renders the images. There is good amount of contrast and pop, creating a 3-D look which I normally do not see from wide angle lenses. Bokeh quality is excellent and autofocus works flawlessly. Nonetheless, the Panasonic 12mm F1.4 is not without flaws – the corner softness and chromatic aberration can pose serious problems. The corner sharpness is so bad that you need to stop down to F4 for decent results. Purple fringing is noticeable in high contrast areas, and software correction cannot account for this very well.

Despite these flaws there is currently no other alternative to a wide angle F1.4 lens. There really is no benchmark to compare to. Perhaps, it is a huge challenge to create a 12mm lens with such a large aperture opening.

12mm f/1.4 at [shopcountry 61026].

First E-M1II 2.0 firmware tested by Robin Wong (with future wishlist)

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II – Firmware 2.0 with Gavin Hoey

Robin Wong writes:

Firmware 2.0 for E-M1 Mark II was a minor upgrade. There was no rework of features or huge improvements. Unlike the multiple firmware upgrades for the original 2013 E-M1 that fixed the shutter shock issue, better burst sequential shooting from 6.5 fps to 9 fps, silent shutter option, better video functions (options to shoot at 24 and 25p) and the introduction of important game-changing features like live composite.

Personally, my wish-list of improvements for the E-M1 Mark II in future firmware upgrades are as follows:
1) Ability to group the burst sequential shots together in a folder, and enable quick selection during playback to decide which images to keep, and an option to delete the entire lot of unwanted batch of images at once.
2) Improved in-camera software correction and image optimization for non-Olympus Micro Four Thirds lenses. Come on, show some love for Panasonic lenses!
3) A quick shortcut for Live View Boost ON/OFF as a customization option for the Fn buttons on camera. I found myself switching back and forth from live view boost on and off from time to time, especially when I deal with flash photography.
4) Automatic switch to use of electronic shutter for shutter speed faster than 1/8000 sec. It is troublesome having to manually set this when needed. Now that there are plenty of F1.2 prime lenses available, to make full use of these lenses shooting wide open, higher shutter speed up to 1/32000 using electronic shutter can make a huge difference.

Something 43rumors readers like to add on that list?

Olympus 45mm f/1.2 PRO sets new resolution record for MFT at Lenstip

45mm at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama and GetOlympus.

Lenstip published their full Olympus 45mm PRO lens review

A long list of assets with only one more serious flaw (bit high longitudinal chromatic aberration) and a record-breaking resolution performance – we don’t doubt that the Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 45 mm f/1.2 PRO deserves our ‘Editors’ Choice’ badge. Our summary is exceptionally short but there’s really nothing to talk about. It’s another excellent Micro 4/3 lens.

Thanks Speeding and Tom!

Which is the better m43 telephoto lens? Leica 100-400mm vs Leica 200mm f/2.8 Review


Image courtesy www.photobyrichard.com

Richard writes:

“In this short video, I’ve compared the two Leica telephoto lens for micro four thirds cameras: Leica DG 100-400mm f/4-6.4 Leica DG 200mm f/2.8 Review with both 1.4x TC and 2.0x TC Which one is the better lens? which lens is sharper? Check out the video to find it out yourself. For 100% crop photos (all shot on a Lumix G9), please check my website: http://www.photobyrichard.com/reviewb… Camera equipment used to film this video: Panasonic Lumix G85 | Lumix 12-60mm Sennheiser MKE 400 microphone”