Micro 4/3 Panasonic 14-42x poor quality - comparison shots

[Iansky]

I recently picked up my new GX1 + 14-42 X lens, not happy with it - the controls are awkward and in the wrong place and the focus is soft.

I have done some comparison shots with my original 14-45mm metal mount lens and it is a sharper lens across all focal lengths.

The images below are all 100% crops from full image and have only been adjusted for tone/col/contrast & levels, no sharpening.

The original 14-45mm is better at all focal lengths and feels a more solid lens and at 14mm & 45mm it is a lot better than the new pretender - what a shame considering the price & hype!

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[pictogramax]

There is even a difference at wide angle, but not so pronounced. But at the tele end the superiority of the old lens is striking.
Guess there's no free lunch - the same optical quality cannot be packed into so much smaller lens (at least for now). Thanks for the comparison!

 

[norman shearer]

That is a shame - that lens looked so cool too. Did you rely solely on AF or did you try some shots manually focused with magnified view? Just wondering if it is an AF issue or optical inferiority? What about IS? Is that playing a part?

 

[Iansky]

Norman,

All shot in AF with centre spot small area focussing so no margin for error as all focussed on same point.

 

[PeterB666]

Panasonic have put the money into gimmicks rather than quality.

 

[Iansky]

In this case I agree, they were going for size not quality and alas I think they have failed!

It is a shame because the GX1 is superb in every way and for me, an improvement on my GF1.