Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/04/11

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Olympus E-1 vs. Digilux II
From: bdcolen at earthlink.net (B. D. Colen)
Date: Mon Apr 11 14:50:54 2005

Let me suggest - my Olympus affiliation aside - that the value of the E1
and its lenses be judged by what they produce, not test results (and
that's essentially what I've always said about Leica gear, btw ;-)). I
haven't noticed anyone saying, 'oh, that would be a great image B.D., if
only it hadn't been shot with that crappy E-1. In fact, when on a few
occasions I've at first said something was a Summicron shot, people have
taken the hook, believing the images in question were Summicron shots on
tri-x.

I have found the E-1 11-22 (22 -44 35 mm) at 22 to be every bit as good
in real world use as my Leica 21 asph - and I sure as hell couldn't say
that about my Nikon 17-35 2.8 ED IS blah blah blah. And as a number of
you have noted, the 50 f 2 (100 f2) that Chandos mentions, and the 150
f2 (300 f2) are extremely sharp and contrasty, with good bokeh.

Do I wish that Olympus was using the CMOS chip? Sure - because I would
love to have that amazing lack of noise. On the other hand, I'm doing
just fine at 800 and even 1600, because I'm comparing them to Tri-X and
800 and 1200, and Delta 3200 at 1600.

B. D.

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
cmbrow@wm.edu
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 2:25 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Olympus E-1 vs. Digilux II


Perhaps it is naive of me to state it, but all these recent developments
(including Putz's remarkable assessment of the
E1) seem to lay to rest the question of whether the 4/3 system is a
viable entity in the photographic marketplace.

I confess to some personal interest in this, because I've acquired two
pieces of Zukio glass (11-22/28.3.5 and 50/2) that continue flatly to
blow me away, and I relish the prospect of an upward migration path
without fear of having to abandon them.  When the new Zukio 14-35/2
appears, my Noct goes on the market.

And just mildly to weigh in on the noise issue, I can count
the number of times that I've used film with an ISO rating
over 400 in the past 25 years on the fingers of both hands. 
It's simply a non-issue for me, and,as BD's been saying all along, the
E1 with its present sensor produces superb images at ISO 800 with only
minimal post-processing.

Chandos
_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information


In reply to: Message from cmbrow at wm.edu (cmbrow@wm.edu) ([Leica] Olympus E-1 vs. Digilux II)