Shooting at the sweet-spot means a MUCH sharper file from the get go. This results in less post process (sharpening) being required and this in turn results in cleaner files with more detail.
From my sample I have concluded that it's simply a matter of setting it at f3.5 and leaving it there.
When shooting wide, f3.5 provides a sharp image with good near to far DOF. (The joys of small sensor DOF) When you zoom, this setting automagically changes to f4.5 (the widest aperture when in tele) and this happens to be the long end sweet-spot.
It's actually a little disappointing that the lens is effectively limited in aperture (being that the smaller apertures are useless due to diffraction) but now that I know the results I can work with it.... even if it does mean using the built in ND filter a bit on sunny days.
I have posted a sample file on my web site for the tele end (1.7mb) and would be interested to know if other G10 users have a similar result at the varying apertures.
I should point out that the files have been processed from RAW using Capture One and sharpening has been applied at the conversion stage. I have found that if more sharpening is a preference, the images take well to a round of "high pass" sharpening in Photoshop.
Telephoto:
http://pixelpix.com.au/samples/G10LensTest.htm
Wide:
http://pixelpix.com.au/samples/G10LensTest2.htm (1.7mb)
Even though the focus point was at the tree base (middle of frame) the image is pretty sharp right to the very front (even in the corners) at f3.5-f4.
Front Edge/Corners:
http://pixelpix.com.au/samples/G10LensTest3.htm (1.5mb)
From these I have come to the conclusion that "if shot right", the G10 will be quite an amazing landscape camera for a point & shoot compact.
I hope this helps anyone who may be considering a G10. I would be interested if other G10 users find similar results with regard to lens performance and diffraction limits.
Cheers
Rusty
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