[Scythels]

re: compact zooms.  I have minimal data from them, but some.

 

28-80 @ 28mm/T2.8 -  http://i.imgur.com/LvdOFDs.png

 

28-80 @ 50mm/T2.8 - http://i.imgur.com/Yme82tC.png

 

28-80 @ 70mm/T2.8 - http://i.imgur.com/3skLkQs.png


70-200 @ 70/T2.8 - http://i.imgur.com/u0TrTyX.png

 

70-200 @ 135/T2.8- http://i.imgur.com/XhsYvJL.png

 

70-200 @ 200/T2.8- http://i.imgur.com/APlZ40j.png

 

The performance is... competitive, but the consistency/assembly quality is a notch above (though not as good as the 11-24).  All 3 samples of the 28-80 look like that, and both of the 70-200 look like that.  The distortion of the compact zooms is much much better than the photographic lenses.  The fact that they are extremely rotationally symmetric is also very good, especially for a zoom.  To give you an idea of what most photographic zooms look like, here are two 70-200 IS IIs @ 200mm

 

http://i.imgur.com/m1xF3I6.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/LZzTQyI.png

 

A mixed bag.

 

Dave, without seeing CAD files I can't really separate design from the manufactured product.  It is mostly design, but I do consider quality of manufacture as well.  I did not rank voigtlander because I do know enough about their lenses to really rank them, but I would probably put them somewhere around Nikon.  Pentax would go around #9 or so.