Sharpness at 150mm

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 frame at 150mm

Centre sharpness at 150mm is excellent at f/3.9 (the widest aperture at 150mm). It remains excellent at f/4.0, f/5.6, and f/8.0. Sharpness drops off a little at f/11, becoming softer again at f/16, and being softest at f/22. At normal printing and web sizes, the impression of detail is still very good. At the edges of the image, the best, sharpest results can be seen between f/8 and f/16.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/3.9
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22