Digital BW, The Print

The issue of the body making a difference for chromatic aberration and vignetting makes no sense whatsoever. I don't doubt what you have read, but I question the "validity" of the testers over their advertising interest. Chromatic aberration is an artifact of the optical path (the glass) . . . period, and if vignetting is coming into play, that would indicate lousy tolerances on behalf of some of the lense designers. Because there is still a wide market available for full-frame lenses which in most cases are at the forefront of the lense designers art/ability, they should, for all intents and purposes work perfectly on a half-frame camera (a digital camera). The only place where it would make sense about some problems is the opinion offered (can't remember who posted it) about the sensor being so reflective that it would cause "backflash" or flare. That obviosly is a problem that needs to be tended to at the sensor surface, and perhaps some additional coating at the rear elements (matte black paint on the rear element doesn't count).

If there is going to be a "consensus" amongst "test" magazines (read; nikon pays us more than canon, epson pays us more than canon) that we suddenly need to take their advice to "dump" our systems, I think that "advice????" should be taken with not a grain of salt but perhaps a truckload. Contrary to what "chasseur d'images, pop photo, shutterbug" or any other amatuer rag wish to say, the laws of physics are for the most part, immutable. If the lense comes to focus (all colours) at a common point, it comes to focus . . . that is it. The problem then is obviously in the nintendo box (digital camera).

Maybe the manufacturers aren't as ready as many would like to think?

Paul Aparycki


  different results as to
  vignetting, chromatic aberration, geometrial distorsion, sharpness and
  noise (s/n ratio).

  The results I have are from the French magazine Chasseur d'Images
  (March 2004). I have not followed on it since I still use a film camera.

  SNIP SNIP SNIP

  How things used to be simple. Now everything is complicated!


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