That Guy wrote:
...Ok Heiko, thanks. Perhaps I overestimated the capability of ED elements. The following helped put things in perspective for me though:
The price for the above mentioned lens at Adorama?? $1,799.95... Yes, it's Canon L glass, yes it's 14mm and it also has problems with CA. Ok, so maybe it's just really, really hard to get CA out of an ultra-wide. I mean, if Canon has problems doing so in their premier L series glass, I think it's impressive that Pentax can sell a lens with metal construction and nearly the same performance for $1,000 USD less. Reviewers also stated that the canon lens has poor flare resistance...
I think that the DA14 is a very good lens for reasonable price. Furthermore - the problem is not CA (which would be a problem of the lens itself) but "purple finging". Michael Reichman writes:
"Purple Fringing
Purple fringing, also known by its technical name bichrominance, has been the source of much discussion among photographers. It is quite distinct from chromatic aberration — though both are often seen under the same circumstances — namely strong back light areas of high contrast, such as shiny chrome or back-lit tree branches.
Though there has been much debate about what causes PF (it now appears that microlenses on the surface of the sensor may be the major cause, especially when combined with small photo-sites, such as the 3 micron sensors on the Sony 8MP chip design), there is little agreement about how serious a problem it is. Some photographers find it everywhere, others are rarely bothered by it.
I'm in the latter group. Early in 2004 I used a Sony F828 extensively including on an African Safari workshop. Over a three month period I shot some 3,000 frames with the Sony. Out of all those photographs I think I saw PF on maybe half a dozen.
What does this have to do with the Minolta A2? Since it uses the same Sony chip, and presumably with the same micro-lenses applied, it likely should display the same degree of PF as did the Sony, and possibly the other new 8MP cameras as well. Frankly, I just don't see it. By way of testing I did lots of shots of trees with backlit leaves and shiny chrome on cars with nary a sign of the dreaded PF. I did see some traditional chromatic aberration, but it is minor and easily corrected, as seen further on in this review."
(http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/konica-minolta-a2.shtml)
So purple finging is not necessarily a problem of the lens but of the whole lens/ccd/microlenses/filter-system.
Cheers, Heiko
BTW - I would prefer to know your name instead of writing to an unknown pseudonym.
