Digital_Camera_World_Issue_192_July_2017

SUPERZOOM LEnSES
KIT Zone
Mount option: Micro Four Thirds
olympus m.Zuiko digital ed
14-150mm f/4-5.6 ii
£550/$500
The Oly keeps things simple
Mount option:
Micro Four Thirds
Panasonic lumix g
14-140mm f/3.5-5.6
asPh Power ois
£550/$550
It’s a lightweight, in a good way
H
ere’s a real highquality
feel to this
dust-, splash- and
freeze-proof lens, yet it
weighs just 285g and, like the
Panasonic lens also on test,
has a small build enabled by
the Micro Four Thirds format.
Thanks to the 2x crop factor of the
MFT system, it has an effective
zoom range of 28-300mm.
Disarmingly simple in its
design, the Olympus is the only
lens here to lack any switches or
buttons. There’s no zoom lock
switch, while auto/manual
focusing is taken care of by camera
menus. There’s also no optical
image stabiliser: the lens instead
relies on the sensor-shift
stabilisation in Olympus MFT
camera bodies. That’s a drawback
if you plan on shooting with
Panasonic MFT cameras.
Performance
The Olympus lens’ autofocus
system works well for both stills
and movies, and sharpness is
impressive even at the widest
available apertures, at least
through most of the zoom range.
Like most superzooms, however,
sharpness tails off noticeably at
the longest zoom setting.
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
sharPness higher is Better
f/4.5
readingS taken
from centre
Verdict
FeatUres
BUild & handling
PerFormance
ValUe
f/6.5
oVerall
f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 f/25
14mm 50mm 100mm 150mm
Long-zoom sharpness could be better when
the maximum focal length is only 150mm.
Fringing (at F/8) lower iS better
Wide 0.14 Mid 0.67 Tele 0.88
Colour fringing is essentially a non-issue:
it’s automatically corrected by firmware.
distortion nearer 0 iS better
Wide 0.07 Mid 0.02 Tele 0.02
Firmware corrections mean distortion-free
images across the zoom range.
E
minently suitable for
travel photography,
the Panasonic is the
outright smallest and lightest
lens in the group, measuring
just 75mm long and weighing
in at 265g. It undercuts the
competing Olympus MFT format
lens in both respects.
While it comes up a bit shorter
in telephoto reach, it adds optical
image stabilisation. In practice, the
difference in maximum effective
focal lengths (280mm versus
300mm) is barely noticeable, while
the addition of stabilisation is
worth having, especially on
non-stabilised Panasonic bodies.
Build quality feels of a similarly
high standard to the Olympus lens,
although the Panasonic lacks
weather seals. The stepping-motor
based autofocus system is equally
near-silent. Further similarities
include non-rotation of the focus
ring during autofocus.
Performance
Good at both ends of the zoom
range, sharpness drops off in the
middle sector, where the Panasonic
loses out to the Olympus. Colour
fringing and distortions are low,
but not as comprehensively
corrected as with the Olympus.
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
sharPness higher is Better
f/4.8
readingS taken
from centre
14mm 70mm 100mm 140mm
It’s good at short and long settings, but
falls away a little in the 70-100mm sector.
Fringing (at F/8) lower iS better
Wide 0.94 Mid 0.45 Tele 0.54
There’s only marginal colour fringing after
corrections are applied via firmware.
distortion nearer 0 iS better
Wide -1.71 Mid 0.39 Tele 0.44
Barrel and pincushion distortions aren’t as
fully corrected as with the Olympus lens.
Verdict
FeatUres
BUild & handling
PerFormance
ValUe
f/6.7
oVerall
f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 f/25
www.digitalcameraworld.com JULY 2017 digital camera 115