Corner falloff, or vignetting, has long been used as a creative or aesthetic tool to control focus and frame or border the subject within a shot. However, when unintended, the darkened, uneven illumination can be distracting and ultimately take away from the overall clarity of the photo. Falloff can be corrected easily in Photoshop, but the artificial brightening of the edge of the frame can increase noise and alter the quality and consistency of the file.

We measure the uniformity of the lenses using both the Olympus PEN E-P2 and Panasonic Lumix GF1 to filter out performance issues related to a particular lens and body pairing. The uniformity results were strikingly similar across bodies, reaffirming the consistency expected from the Micro Four Thirds system.

Shot with Panasonic Lumix GF1

Falloff Results with Panasonic Lumix GF1

Olympus M.Zuiko	Panasonic Lumix G Vario
14mm: Olympus kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body	14mm: Panasonic kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body
25mm: Olympus kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body	25mm: Panasonic kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body
45mm: Olympus kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body	45mm: Panasonic kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body

Shot with Olympus PEN E-P2

Falloff Results with Panasonic Lumix GF1

Olympus M.Zuiko	Panasonic Lumix G Vario
14mm: Olympus kit lens on Olympus E-P2 body	14mm: Panasonic kit lens on Olympus E-P2 body
25mm: Olympus kit lens on Olympus E-P2 body	25mm: Panasonic kit lens on Olympus E-P2 body
45mm: Olympus kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body	45mm: Panasonic kit lens on Panasonic GF1 body

On balance, Olympus’s 14-42mm M.Zuiko lens maintains illumination far more consistently across the frame, throughout the bulk of the focal range. Panasonic’s 14-45mm G Vario lens does produce a more even edge-to-edge exposure in the mid-portions of the focal range, but the overall advantage here is significantly in favor of Olympus.