Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6 review - Vignetting

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Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6

17 March 2010

Arkadiusz Olech

8. Vignetting

One of the 4/3 system’s advantages, compared to full frame, was supposed to be small vignetting. In most of the cases this advantage has been proven by measurements. On full frame the 40-70% vignetting levels are nothing uncommon, in the Four Thirds system, though, they are practically non-existent. The Olympus 70-300 mm is not an exception to that rule and in its case that aberration won’t cause us any troubles.

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6 - Vignetting

At 70 mm, even if wide open, the light fall-off in the frame corners is simply imperceptible amounting to just 11% (-0.35 EV). On stopping down to f/5.6 the vignetting decreases further and it drops to 5%.

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At 130 mm the situation is similar. By f/4.3 the vignetting level reaches 14% (-0.43 EV) and it decreases to 5% by f/5.6. Almost identical results we get at 200 mm because by f/5.0 the brightness loss in the frame corners reaches 15% (-0.47 EV) and it decreases to 7% by f/5.6.

The biggest chance of seeing any vignetting, although still very slight, we get at 300 mm. There at the maximum aperture the light fall-off in the frame corners reaches 18% (-0.56 EV) and it decreases to an imperceptible level of 4% by f/8.0.

In this category the Olympus 70-300 mm deserves our praise.