- This topic is empty.
Olympus Manual Focus Lenses
-
I’m considering a film slr system (to complement my rangefinder system), and have become really enamoured with the OM-series bodies.
The OM1 & OM2 bodies really are something.. but I know next to nothing about Olympus lenses, other than the high regard in which they are held.
I have seen you Oly film users lurking around here, of late, and am hoping I can impress on your knowledge/ experiences on the lens front, so I can figure out if the system is for me.
I’ll be primarily shooting available light (no flash) b&w and am mainly a prime lens guy, and I guess really just looking at the nuts and bolts to start, ie two/ three of the following: 24mm/ 28mm/ 35mm/ 50mm/ 85mm/ 100mm, with something in the way of macro, and portrait also.
Am hoping you can point me in the direction of the Oly gems out there,
Thanks in advance,
Damien
Well here is a very usefull link for all Zuiko Manual focus optics >>>>
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/shared/zuiko/htmls/index.htm
Generally speaking the f2.0 lenses seem to be great performers and of course at a price. the slower 2.8’and 3.5’s
are very reasonably priced.For Macro the 90 f2 is supposed to be a cracker but again you would want a big wallet!
I have the 21mm f3.5 and the 28mm f3.5, dont have them for long now so am only getting used to them.
first impressions >>>> they are tiny!I also have the 100 f2.8, 135 f3.5 and 200 f4 again limited shooting with these but results have been
pretty good on my Canon 5D!Im a new Oly user so im sure there will be someone else along to advise.
oh and if you are in the market for a 100 2.8, give me a shout!
Thanks for the heads up
What body(ies) are you using by the way ?
Damien
They’re not cheap anymore-
I’ve seen the value of my ones go down to nothing,
now they’re on the rise, and still appreciating-Well, not my ones, because they’re well used, and show signs of age on the barrels-
they tend to wear around the aperture rings-
but still optically good, and working-I’ve seen a number of them with sticky diaphragms, due to oil on the blades,
it’s perhaps a question to ask a seller, is the diaphragm ‘snappy’, do the blades return quickly-
mostly (in fact all, I think), 50mm lenses.Camera? I reckon the OM2n, or the OM1, if you prefer a fully mechanical camera that’ll work without batteries-
the OM2 only has a single shutter speed when the batteries run out-
which isn’t often, the LR44’s last a long time-All cameras will be getting on a bit now, and may not be fully reliable-
I just had to send back a very nice OM2n, advertised as fully working, which had an intermittent sticky shutter and mirror-They’re lovely cameras to use, and very small-
I just took mine out again recently, and put one beside the Nikon DSLR-
very tiny by comparison…
I think they were perhaps the smallest 35mm SLR, though the Pentax came close…Hi Joseph,
It seems all things film are on the rise, as the devotion to digital recedes somewhat :)
Re: camera, that’s what I had envisaged – a pairing of an OM1 and OM2 bodies to cover me for whenever I wanted full manual, and whenever I wanted more automation.
Re: lenses, will keep an eye out for the oil on blades issue. I’m a little better armed with information from the link Alan provided above, and really like the look of the 40mm f2 or the 50mm f2 macro, as normal lenses.
Once I settle on a normal lens, I will have a look at a wide, and a tele. In all, probably looking at something like 24mm/ 40mm/ 85 or 100, or 28mm/ 50mm/ 100mm. The 200mm f4 looks quite nice as an occasional tele, also.
Any experience with any of the above/ further thoughts appreciated,
Damien
That 40mm will be expensive, but looks good-
though I’ve never used one- it is tiny, and would make the camera pocketable-Going for the faster versions, as Alan mentioned, will increase the price too-
I haven’t used that 200, but the 180 2.8 is a good one, though large and heavy…
The 100 ƒ/2 is nice too, and reasonably compact-
though not as much as the 2.8, which will be a good bit cheaper…the 24 2.8 is getting more expensive, the 28 3.5 is a lot more reasonable-
Also, consider the 135 2.8-
a nice lens, though, again, more money than the smaller, lighter 3.5-You might want to test any lenses you get-
don’t be tempted to stop down too much, for example-
there was diffraction evident in some of my pictures, though I didn’t know what it was, at the time-
Others were bitingly sharp…Yes, the 40 looks like a real beauty. The focal length has always fascinated me, being between 35mm & 50mm, which I use so much. It would also complement my M6, on which I mainly shoot 35mm/ 50mm/ 90mm.
The 180 seems nice, but too big for me, I think. I’ve been spoiled by my M6 (which I’ve found to be the perfect size for me), and looking for a similarly compact OM set-up. The 200 seems nice though, and more than sufficient for the odd time I need that much reach.
The 100 f2 also looks nice – do you have a copy yourself? I must say this lens really interests me, but if too heavy/ expensive would probably favour the 100 f2.8.
The 24 f2.8 seems like a handy lens, and hopefully it’s not too pricey. Feel if I were going for the 40mm as my normal, it pushes me towards a 24mm, as 28mm wouldn’t be wide enough to serve as a complimentary lens. 24mm would be handy for interiors, and the odd landscape too, although for interiors the 24mm f2 looks a real stunner.
..well, I guess I seem to be settling on a series of focal lengths. 24mm/ 40mm/ 100mm would be nice, or even 21mm/ 40mm/ 135mm as a perfect compliment (on paper) to the 35/ 50/ 90 I shoot with on rangefinders..
Anywho, just thinking out loud :)
Damien
Damien I have the 100 2.8 135 3.5 & 200 4 but have not used them much.
The 40 PANCAKE would be nice but expensive.
If you are ever over near Galway you are welcome to try them out to get a feel for them.
[no obligation to buy them of course, even though I would like to sell them]I use a Canon 5D
:)Thanks Alan, may be interested in one or two of the tele’s at some point. Dependent on selling off some lenses before I can look at putting my money where my mouth just yet though.
My experience to date has been mainly with Nikon, and more recently Leica, kit so trying to educate myself at the mo.
It’s funny, wherever I turn I seem to find Leica users with a supplementary OM-kit, in addition to more than a few former Nikon film slr users that have moved onto an OM kit also. I must say one of the main attractions to Olympus, aside from the beautifully compact and ergonomic OM bodies, are the reasonable prices of some of the kit.
Do you use any of the OM bodies yourself, or are you just using the the zuiko’s with your 5D at the moment? I’d heard mention of the Olympus adaptors for Canon, and using Olympus lenses on Canon DSLR bodies seems to be a popular option..
Damien
yes the zuikos adapt well on the 5D!
There are new adapters out now that are programmable
so you can program in the focal length and f# of the lens
and that shows up on the exif data along with the manual
f# you use.I have an old Nikkor-s 35mm lens f2.8 with the new adapter
and if I shoot f8 the exif data shows it as 35mm f2.8 | f8, handy!Also the progaramable chip allows focus confirm with a beep as with
a native auto focus lens.this was taken last weekend with the Nikkor >
Oh and if you are wondering about the 100mm f2.8 zuiko
it is the same size as my Nikkor 35mm ! :shock:but I wouldnt sell you my one as there is a slight fungus
mark showing :roll:anyway happy hunting!
damien.murphy wrote:
I’d heard mention of the Olympus adaptors for Canon, and using Olympus lenses on Canon DSLR bodies seems to be a popular option..
Damien
That’s what’s pushing the price up-
The 100 ƒ/2 is a bit bigger-
still takes 55mm filters though-
and comes in about 500g, I think-Nice portrait lens-
Beautiful pic, I have an autofocus version of the 35mm f2 Nikkor, and must say you would have to prise it from my hands!
When I saw the results of what that little lens could produce, I knew I would not be buying many more zoom lenses again :)
Damien
jb7 wrote:
damien.murphy wrote:
I’d heard mention of the Olympus adaptors for Canon, and using Olympus lenses on Canon DSLR bodies seems to be a popular option..
Damien
That’s what’s pushing the price up-
..damn Canon users :)
actually lads I think its the new Micro 4/3rs that is
really making a demand on the old Zuiko’s [and others] as they are small they go
very well with the small bodies and can use the sweet spot of the bigger image circles too.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
