Suggested video: 75mm f1.8 digital zoom vs 75-300mm at 300mm optical zoom

[John_Matthews]

Not sure if this has been done before, but I'd like a real-world comparison between the Olympus 75-300 at 300mm vs the Olympus 75mm F1.8 at 1.8 cropped and upscaled to match the Olympus 300mm. Is it possible to just skip the 75-300mm altogether and reap the rewards of F1.8 with much faster Sutter speeds and lower ISO's? I have the 75mm, but not the 75-300mm. I'm aware the Olympus 45-150 f2.8 and 300mm f4 would blow away the 75f1.8, but I'm just not so sure about the 75-300. Would be interesting to see.

[Rob Trek]

That would be interesting. I'll give that some thought.

[John_Matthews]

This would be pitting one of the sharpest M43 lenses against one of the softest and slowest M43 lenses (at 300mm, knowing full-well that this lens has many other benefits). You could throw in a twist with DXO and its AI detail recovery features. Why not Photoshop's AI too? I have a feeling it's closer than one might thing, but I've just never used that 75-300.

[John_Matthews]

You've been so busy, Rob. Are you making any headway on this? I have a feeling the 75mm at f/1.8 will be as sharp as most lenses at about 100mm lenses, probably beating out the 14-150, 40-140 (non-pro), 12-200, 12-100 pro (maybe), and 75-300. Of course, it's just a theory and I could be wrong. It would need to be about 25% sharper. Then again, maybe there's a reason for focal length to be the most important spec of a lens. What do you think?