> I bought a 35/2.0 and a 50/1.8 recently. They're both great
> lenses to use and I'm growing to love them already.
> I decided to do a simple test on them to compare their sharpness against
> a 35-80/4.0-5.6 zoom .... The lenses were mounted on an N2020 (F501),
> all set at f/8 aperture .... The film was Fuji Superia Reala ISO 100
> .... I got 4x6 prints and examined them under a Peak 10x Loupe .... To
> my amazement, I could detect no real difference in sharpness between the
> primes and the zoom. .... I was both amazed and disappointed (for my
> primes; it has given me new faith in my 35-80mm zoom).
Mike, I'm not suprised at your results for two reasons:
1. You used print film for your tests and measured the results by
examining the prints. There is a good chance you are only measuring the
sharpness of the lens in the photo lab used to make the prints - not the
sharpness of your lens. To see the sharpness of your lens, you really need
to check the negs, or better still, shoot some fine grained (50 or 100
ISO) slide film and check the slides.
2. You shot the pictures at f8. Most lenses are sharpest at this aperture
and you will need to look very closely to see any differences. The real
test of a lens is how well it performs at wide apertures.
Roland
