Earlier this year, I agonized over the 45 and 55 wide angles for a trip to Alaska. Glowing reports of the new design 55's sharpness made for a difficult choise. I chose the 45 and have been elated with its performance. It is the sharpest lens in my kit; the others being a new 105 f 2.4 and 165 f 2.8.

I still have an interest in the new design 55, however, the new 55 to 100 is causing me to loose sleep with a new dilemma. Should I add the 55 or trade my 105 for the new zoom? Can any one offer a comparison of the zoom set at 55 to the 55 prime? At the long end, how does the zoom compare to the 105? I'm working with a P67II and primarily shoot nature and landscape, but do some studio shoots also.

Scott Seigmund

-- Scott Seigmund (Ssgmd@aol.com), September 21, 1999

Answers

I guess the answer depends on how much perfection you are looking for. In tests, the 55-100 is equal to the single focal length lenses in center sharpness but off axis,(corners)the fixed lenses were better. You probably wouldn't notice the difference however unless you enlarged to over 20X24. I doubt very much if the latest 55mm could be surpassed in performance. Both the 75mm Takumar and Pentax are extremely sharp (similar to the 55). The Pop Photo test showed the 105 being better off axis than the 55-100. This is not surprising considering that the 105 is a semi-symmetrical design. SR

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), September 22, 1999.