Lens Test

In 2007, German lensmaker Carl Zeiss branched out from the medium-format lenses it had concentrated on for decades and followed its customers to the digital SLR 35mm platform. Now, four years later, the line spans nine focal lengths from 18mm to 100mm, all primes with manual focus only. The 50mm f/1.4 may be the most interesting. The fastest and lightest of the new breed, it is available in the most mounts and costs the least by far—though still plenty of coin ($725, street).

With a massive 10.7X range that reaches supertele on DSLRs with APS-C-sized sensors, full-frame 28–300mm zooms handle nearly every photo genre: wildlife, portraits, landscapes, even close-ups. The category runs from Canon’s f/3.5–5.6L ($2,420, street) to Sigma’s f/3.5–6.3 ($300, street). Between the extremes lie Tamron’s f/3.5–5.6 ($600, street) and now this Nikon f/3.5–5.6 ($1,030, street). Yet despite the wide variation in price, features, and build, all these current models turned in fairly similar optical performances in our Test Lab.

With the new E-5, tested, Olympus turns back to the Four Thirds DSLR format after a two-year push for interchangeable-lens compacts (ILCs). A fitting example of Oly’s commitment to the format, this 14–35mm f/2 (a 28–70mm equivalent) is the world’s fastest standard-range zoom for DSLRs and well paired with the company’s 35–100mm f/2 speedster. Among its strengths: a Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) autofocus motor, dust and moisture seals, extra-low dispersion glass, and updateable firmware.

Tailor-made for wildlife and sports shooters, this third-generation 70–300mm full-frame telezoom in Tamron’s SP line adds Vibration Compensation (VC) plus two innovations: an Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) focusing motor for near-silent AF, and an element of what Tamron calls XLD glass, a relatively inexpensive low-dispersion glass that the company claims suppresses chromatic aberration as well as fluorite does. About a 105–450mm equivalent on APS-C-bodies, it’s internal-focusing, with full-time manual focusing, a non-rotating lens barrel, and a new anti-flare coating.