Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm F2.8-4.0 ASPH Power OIS Review

April 24, 2018 | Amy Davies | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Sharpness at 50mm

For this review, the sharpness test is carried out by photographing a real-world sample, rather than a test chart. The Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0 ASPH Power OIS Lens was mounted on a Panasonic Lumix G9, which was in-turn mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure delay was activated to prevent camera-shake. Any changes in tone you might see across the crops are due to natural light changes during the shooting session.

The full frameThe full frame at 50mm

Sharpness is excellent at the centre of the frame between f/2.8 (the widest aperture at this point), and f/5.6. It’s ever so slightly softer at f/8, and softer again at f/11. At f/16 and f/22, it’s noticeably softer in the centre when examining at 100%, but maintains a good impression of sharpness when viewing at normal printing and web sizes. At the edge of the image, the best sharpness can be seen between f/5.6 and f/11.

Aperture Centre Crop Edge Crop
f/2.8 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/4 f4.jpg f4.jpg
f/5.6 f5_6.jpg f5_6.jpg
f/8 f8.jpg f8.jpg
f/11 f11.jpg f11.jpg
f/16 f16.jpg f16.jpg
f/22 f22.jpg f22.jpg