This image sample series includes pictures shot with the Leica DG 8-18/2.8-4.0 lens on the Olympus E-M1 II camera using the High Res Mode.

The series serves a dual purpose:

• Checking how the Olympus High Res Mode performs with yet another top-grade lens.

  This is a continuation of Part II of the High Res report, where the first two sections describe the files involved and the presentation used (a required reading).

• Checking how good is the performance of this lens: good enough to take advantage of the 50 or 80 MP format resolution of the Olympus High Res Mode?

  This continues the lens evaluation as described in the Leica Lens Report

I'm including here pictures shot at both extremes of the focal length range: 8 and 18 mm, at the sweet-spot aperture of F/5.6 and the focusing distance close to the minimum: about 10 cm from the lens front. (At 16 mm the field is then 12.5 cm wide.)

I also repeated the series at F/4 and F/8; the results were hard to tell apart, so I decided not to include them here.

Also, as an extra precaution against AF errors or camera shake, all frames were shot in duplicate, so that I always could select the better one for the final set. No need this time: all pairs were identical twins.

First impression: all 1:1 samples look extremely good. They may, at the first glance, look better than ones for the MZD 12-100/4.0 Pro, but I believe this is due to a much lower magnification.

Now, the tricky part, row three: comparing the samples upsampled (if needed) to the same scale, with caveats as described in the previous article.

The amount of detail in the 50 MP version is clearly above that for 20 MP; just look at the back of the eagle's neck. On the other hand, I see no such (or any) difference between 50 MP and 80 MP. Even flipping between both in an image viewer does not show a thing.

Conclusion: the lens resolves, in these circumstances, more than 20 MP can carry, but not more than 50 MP. The same as I got for other premium lenses I've tried.

For 18 mm I could just copy and paste what I wrote for 8 mm, even if the difference between 20 and 50 MP is not as drastic (still, check the bird's lower eyelid) . This is becoming boring — but somebody had to check.