Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54 mm f/2.8-3.5 review - Autofocus

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Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54 mm f/2.8-3.5

3 March 2010

Arkadiusz Olech

10. Autofocus

The new E-3 camera, along with the SWD motor lenses, was supposed to guarantee the fastest autofocus drive in the world. Having that in mind we were even more keen to check how it manages the cooperation with older instruments without that motor. The problem was neither the speed, because it was quite decent, nor the noise, because it was definitely not so bothersome, but accuracy. The histogram below, used in the E-3 test, shows the accuracy of that camera while working with the ZD 12-60 mm, the Leica 1.4/25 and the ZD 14-54 mm tested here. Unfortunately the latter fares the worst from the trio.

Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54 mm f/2.8-3.5 - Autofocus

If you want to describe the situation using conventional methods you can notice that in the studio conditions the ZD’s 14-54 mm autofocus missed in 12% of shoots. It is still an average result but dangerously close to a bad one, taking into account the depth of field the Olympus offers.

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Luckily we didn’t notice any back or front focus tendency. If the ZD 14-45 mm misses it does it fairly, spreading setting evenly on both sides of the right position.