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Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8 Distagon

MTF for Milvus 18/2.8 from f/2.8 to f/16

MTF is world-class wide open at f/2.8 in the center, declining gradually to the edges and corners. The decline is almost certainly a mild field curvature arcing forward (closer to the camera) which would be consistent with its Milvus 21mm f/2.8 sibling.

Stopping down to f/5.6 delivers world-class performance, albeit with some astigmatism in outer zones. The cause of astigmatism is unclear, but it may be a very mild color aberration.

That this measured-from-a-real-lens is a superb performance can be noted by comparing it to the computed MTF of the Leica 18mm f/3.8 Super-Elmar-M ASPH, which is nearly a stop slower in speed. The Zeiss Milvus 18/2.8 has an MTF curve showing much less astigmatism over the central 2/3 of the field, and equally good contrast values for fine details across the entire field (a little higher actually).

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Aperture series 2.8,4,5.6,8,11,16 available in full article
MTF for Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8 Distagon from f/2.4 to f/16
Aperture series 3.5, 8 available in full article
MTF for Zeiss ZF 18mm f/3.5 Distagon @ f/3.5

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