Testing the M.Zuiko f/1.2 PRO Series
Many of you have been eagerly waiting for my long-announced reviews of the M.Zuiko PRO Series f/1.2 lenses. I’d like to provide an update on my progress behind the scenes.
Too Good to Be True
Having tested the ultra-fast f/1.2 PRO series lenses for nearly a year now, I’ve discovered many things: beautiful character, superior handling and a level image quality that’s truly unprecedented. In fact, it’s this latter characteristic of the f/1.2 M.Zuiko’s that has delayed my review. The lenses consistently outperform even the most sophisticated high-end optical test setup.
A new level of lens design: The M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO.
Playing Catch-Up With Perfection
To give you an idea of the challenges I’ve faced, here are a few examples:
Resolving Power: While attempting to measure the peak resolving power of the M.Zuiko primes, I discovered that the f/1.2 lenses are so sharp that cars passing by on the streets four floors below my studio were enough to disrupt the test results. Even worse, my cat moving around in the next room had a detrimental effect on the measurements, despite the high-precision target being illuminated by flash with exposure times well below 1/8000s. This is a testament to their extraordinary performance, and I'm still struggling to fully comprehend the levels I'm witnessing.
Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration: My previously successful longitudinal chromatic aberration test setup was not accurate enough to examine the almost imperceptible focus shift at different wavelengths exhibited by these lenses.
MTF Charts: The M.Zuiko lenses have even outperformed my very expensive full-frame MTF charts. Measurements revealed the imperceptible bumps of the paper, obscuring the minuscule sharpness fall-off of the f/1.2 primes.
Even without sharing any specific measurements yet, these challenges alone highlight the exceptional performance of the M.Zuiko f/1.2 PRO lenses.
Can’t see any bumps here? That’s because you are not an M.Zuiko f/1.2 prime lens.
Way Ahead
I'm now working with another industry-leading international lab to create a never-before-seen test chart printed on metal plates. I'm confident that this will allow me to finalize the remaining tests and provide you with insights into the unprecedented performance of these 21st-century optical marvels.
It goes without saying that this is a significant financial investment, and I rely on community funding to provide you with high-quality information. Please consider contributing via the link below.
