Outdoor scene - Leica D 14-50mm vs Olympus ZD 14-42mm ED with Olympus E-400
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To compare real-life performance we shot the same scene with the Olympus E-400 using its kit 14-42mm ED lens and the Leica 14-50mm lens within a few moments of each other.
The E-400 was set to its best quality SHQ JPEG mode, Auto White Balance, Digital ESP Metering, the default Vivid Picture Mode and its lowest 100 ISO sensitivity.
The focal length of each lens was adjusted to deliver an identical field of view, and the aperture of each was set to f8. In our resolution tests with both lenses, the best results were achieved at this aperture. |
The image above was taken with the Olympus E-400 using the Leica 14-50mm at 21mm f8 and at 100 ISO; the original measured 6.71MB. The
crops are taken from far left, middle, right, top and far right portions of the originals
and presented here at 100%.
Despite the significant price difference between the two lenses tested here, the crops below show remarkably similar levels of detail and optical correction. The most obvious difference can be seen in the first crop, taken from the far left side of the image, where the Leica result is noticeably sharper. This can be seen across the roof tiles and surrounding foliage. The result from the Zuiko Digital 14-42mm kit lens is visibly softer, losing the ultimate detail that's present on the Leica sample. Beyond this though, the results on this particular image are very similar.
To see how the Leica lens performs on the Panasonic L1 against the Nikon D80, check out our Pansasonic Lumix L1 review, and to see it against both the Olympus E-400 and the Canon EOS 400D / XTi, check out our Olympus E-400 review. In the meantime though, this page shows the latest Zuiko Digital 14-42mm ED kit lens stands up well against premium lenses when it comes to day-to-day outdoor shots at f8. It's a good result for the E-400, E-410 and E-510 bundles. |
Zuiko Digital 14-42mm
Using Olympus E-400 |
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Leica 14-50mm
Using Olympus E-400 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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100 ISO, 1/160, f8 |
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