Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/03/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Saw this in person yesterday; the two-lens Oly 500 kit is now available at Costco (in the US, anyway) for around $ 700.00. Tempting. Bob in Seattle On Feb 28, 2007, at 20:33, Alastair Firkin wrote: Nothing like first hand experience. One question: is the Oly lens smaller than the Leica? On 27/02/2007, at 21:38, Howard Cummer wrote: > Alaistair Didier, > > I offer the following comments based on my experience with my Oly 330E > and L 1 and the OLy 14 - 54 and Leica 14 - 50 Elmarit. Sorry for the > delay in commenting but I only get the digest. > >> Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:11:46 +0100 >> From: Didier Ludwig <leica@screengang.com> >> Subject: Re: [Leica] The Elusive Digilux 3 compared to the L1 and Oly >> 330E >> To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org> >> >> Alastair >> >> I have followed several discussions about that on a german oly forum. >> Yes the O.I.S. works with the Vario Elmarit on a Oly e-330 body - but >> in the "stabilize: always" mode only. > > True. > > >> Oly users reported it is very power consuming and the accus went down >> in less than the half of the usual time when they used the Leica >> lens. > > This is not my experience. I haven't noticed battery consumption > variations when using the Oly lenses verses the Leica zoom on the > 330E. That may be because I wasn't looking for it but in any event I > always carry a spare battery. Battery consumption in my experience is > about the same for each camera body irrespective of lens used. > Obviously your mileage can vary! > >> Others also reported the O.I.S. significantly lowers the picture >> quality in terms of sharpness and contrast. > > Good grief! Not my experience at all. Both lenses with OIS on provide > outstanding images - with my taste leaning towards the colour and > contrast drawn by the Elmarit. > >> One user wrote he had to fix the Elmarit's aperture ring as it did >> not work in manual mode on the oly e-330. > > The Oly 330E body does not recognize the input of the movement of the > Elmarit's aperture ring. The Oly needs to be set to Shutter Priority > and the control wheel behind the program dial spun to reduce the > shutter speed until the aperture of the Elmarit reaches f22. Then move > the programming priority to Program "P" and the Oly will work in that > program and control the aperture of the Elmarit. Move the control dial > to Aperture priority with the Elmarit aperture set to f22 by the wheel > and Aperture priority will control the lens aperture. If a user wants > to change the aperture of the Elmarit he or she has to use the control > wheel. Nothing to fix! > >> >> Optical quality seems to be almost equal; the Zuiko may be a tad >> better, as users reported the Vario Elmarit vignets slightly more @ >> wide angle/wide open. > > The vignetting of the Elmarit depends, I think, on the positioning of > the shade which tends to twist around if not securely set. If properly > set, white line on shade to white dot on lens barrel I don't see any > difference in image quality between the two lenses. If you don't need > IS obviously the Oly 14 - 54 lens is cheaper and gives you 4mm more > length at the telephoto end. > >> >> On the plus side, the Vario Elmarit on L1/D-3 is said to be faster >> in autofocus mode than the Zuiko (both used on a e-330). > > Can't comment on this as I haven't made the comparison. Focusing on > the Oly or the L 1 is not in the same league as Canon or Nikon > professional bodies but not bad. Low light focusing is pretty > marginal. Time then to switch to the M8! :-) > >> >> The users recommended the Zuiko 14-54 for Oly bodies, and the Leica >> 14-50 for the L1/Digilux-3 bodies, but not a cross-over combination. > > For me, I like using the Elmarit on my Oly 330E to the extent that I > have sold my Oly 14 - 54. Didn't seem like I needed to duplicate the > lens focal lengths with two lenses. Just my several cents worth! > >> >> Didier >> > Cheers > Howard (in Hong Kong) > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information