The Faversham vintage van in Avon Terrace, York, Western Australia. Olympus OMD EM-1 with Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 lens. Exposure: 1/200 sec, f5.6 ISO 400.
If you have slightly geeky bent, and to be honest if you are reading a photography blog it’s pretty much a given that you have, then Adobe’s Lightroom has several useful tools. One of the ones I’ve been looking at is the ability to look at your photographic work for a specific time frame, and in this case it’s for the year 2016. You can also look at the cameras and lenses you used for that period which enables you to see what patterns of equipment usage emerge. It might ultimately save you money i.e. if you have a hankering for an expensive lens you can look back on your past year to see if that focal length/s you used and whether the objective lens of your desires is one you’d actually use or not. This has actually happened to me – a while back I was working on my project Broncos and Bulls and I felt that the Canon EF 75-300 f4-5.6 IS was costing me shots as it wasn’t the fastest lens to focus and the images at the long end were pretty soft. I wanted a Canon 100-400 L IS but my then preferred local dealer didn’t have one in stock and after waiting nearly 3 months they informed they couldn’t get one. I allowed them to talk me into buying the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS with the Canon x2 converter which they had in stock. Their logic was that I’d end up using the 70-200 much more and would hardly use it combined with the teleconverter. Now looking back through my Lightroom library I can see that I’ve hardly used the 70-200 at all on its own and virtually all the times I have used it was in conjunction with the teleconverter. I should have stuck to my guns and gone to another dealer and that way I’d have a lens that met my needs gave and gave good image quality rather than put up with a convenient compromise.
Gotcha. Steer roping, Boddington Rodeo Western Australia. Canon EOS 5D with Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS L and x2 converter. Exposure: 1/800 s at f/5.6 ISO 200
So what have I deduced about my photography for 2016? Well I’ll start with commenting on 2015 – for that year over half my photographic output was shot with a DSLR (50:50 split between full frame and APS-C). In 2016 that dropped to 10% the other 90% was shot on mirrorless. The DSLR was only used for some macro work (radio controlled TTL flash), some architecture (a specialised lens) and one event where I had a crisis of confidence and didn’t think the mirrorless cameras would cope with high ISOs and low light focussing. When I look at lens usage it comes as a big surprise that one-quarter of the images were taken using adapted lenses and these with a focal range of between 15-135mm in full frame terms. Hmmm well I knew I preferred shorter lenses than
Aboriginal art at Quairading Railway Station, Western Australia. Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 24mm f2.8 lens. Exposure: 1/4000, f8 at ISO 400.
longer already, the main thing is that I enjoyed using legacy lenses and was more than happy with them in terms of image quality. I don’t have to use legacy lenses at all as I have 20 to 600mm covered by modern dedicated AF lenses. For work where it is appropriate I will use the legacy lenses because they give a certain aesthetic that I like which is a less digital and clinical look.
As you drive into York on the Great Southern Highway standing tall on your left is the historic York Flour Mill built in 1892, home to The York Mill. Sony A7r with Voigtlander 15mm f4.5 Super Wide – Heliar lens. Exposure: 1/25 sec, f16 at ISO 100.
Well what will 2017 bring. Well for 2016 I experimented with finding a certain look. For 2017 will be more project driven as I have found the style I wanted and now want to put it to practice. There will be at least one new book (work on that has already started) and there will be some multi media projects. So exciting times indeed.
Hillside Farmhouse was designed by Sir Talbot Hobbs, a leading architect and built in 1911 for Morris Edwards in the historic Wheatbelt town of York in Western Australia. Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 lens mounted via a Fotodiox adapter, Cokin circular polarizing filter and +3 stop graduated neutral density filter. Exposure 4 seconds, f16, ISO 50.
I hope for my readers that 2017 will be all that you hope and that you’ll be healthy and happy.
Everlastings on Mount Brown in York, WA. Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 135mm f2.8 lens. Exposure: aperture priority with +1 stop exposure compensation, 1/1000th sec, f2.8 at ISO 100.
This is my fifth look at classic Olympus OM Zuiko lenses and how they perform on a Sony A7r.
The Olympus OM Zuiko 135mm f2.8 fresh out of the box. Even though it is thirty years old it is brand new, never having been used.
Many years ago I had a very basic camera kit consisting of an Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f1.8 and 135mm f2.8 lenses with an Olympus OM20.One summer I made a series of portraits of friends down on the beach at Bognor Regis and shot a couple of concerts using the 135mm. The speed and shallow depth of field enabled me to get some shots that sold very well and that cemented the idea of my turning professional in my mind. Unfortunately I was seduced by the lure of zoom lens convenience and part exchanged the 135 for the Olympus 35-105mm. While the zoom was very good and became my photographic workhorse I regretted letting the 135 go.
The Olympus OM Zuiko 135mm f2.8 mounted on a Sony A7r using a Fotodiox adapter.
Fast forward some 30 years and I’ve been re-appraising my OM lens collection by mounting them on a Sony A7r. The results have exceeded my expectations so a little while ago I found my trawling EBay idly when I found a brand new OM 135mm f2.8 lens – and I mean brand new, never used complete in its unopened box. So I hit the “buy now” button and waited patiently for the lens to arrive. When it finally got here it was like being re-united with an old friend. The lens feels gorgeous – reassuringly sold and just oozing quality.The detents of the aperture ring cause it to have a very pleasing click as the ring is turned, and the focusing ring has a wonderfully smooth dampened action. The built in lens hood is a delightful touch in this day of $100 options one has to pay to get one for many modern lenses.
Part of the original instruction manual showing the optical construction of the lens. It is a very simple design of five elements in five groups.
The E-Zuiko AUTO-T 135mm f/2.8 was one of the first lenses released when the OM system was launched in 1972. It is easily identifiable thanks to the chromed front filter ring (the so-called “silver nose”). In 1977 it was replaced by the Zuiko AUTO-T 135mm f/2.8. Other than the improved multi-coated optics and some cosmetic changes (notably the loss of the silver nose) the lenses are largely the same with an optical formula of 5 elements in 5 groups and both versions come in at a svelte 360g (12.7 oz) The lens departs from the common Olympus filter size of 49mm and uses one of 55mm to allow a larger front element to facilitate the extra light gathering capability of this over the f3.5 version. This is a very modest size though in this day of 77 and 82 mm filter threads used on many modern lenses. Common to all Olympus OM prime lenses the aperture ring is forward of the focusing ring which makes the lens well-balanced in the hand and easy to use. In this day and age of F1.4 and f1.2 primes the maximum aperture seems a little pedestrian, but the aperture range of f2.8 to f22 allows for depth of field control when combined with the compression effect of a true telephoto.
Just to demonstrate the effect of stopping this lens down has on DOF. This is wide open at f2.8.
Just to demonstrate the effect of stopping this lens down has on DOF. This is f8.
Just to demonstrate the effect of stopping this lens down has on DOF. This is f22.
So down to the nitty-gritty – how does the lens perform on a modern digital camera. The quick answer is very well. Barrel distortion is virtually non-existent. In term of sharpness wide open the lens is pleasantly sharp although lacking in contrast and this improves when the lens is stopped down to f8. At the edges at f2.8 predictably the lens is very soft and has poor contrast. This is not altogether surprising considering the very simple design with no exotic elements. Things improve by f8 although it does not reach the standards of the centre.Vignetting is obvious wide open and again clears up as the lens is stopped down and disappears at f8. There is some chromatic aberration but it is very mild and easily fixed in Lightroom. The bokeh is nice and smooth but with only 8 aperture blades the “bokeh balls” turn into octagons as you stop down. When stressed by shooting into the sun veiling flare is very apparent, the solution to this is use a lens hood and that is easy as it is built into the lens.
Shooting into the sun without a lenshood at f2.8. The veiling flare is very apparent.
What a difference a lens hood makes. Shooting into the sun with a lenshood at f2.8. The rendition of the out of focus highlights (bokeh) is very pleasing.
With a minimum focusing distance of 1.5m the range of the depth of field at f2.8 is just 0.02m. Using the focus peaking set to mid on the A7r caused me no problems with finding focus on this shot. Everlastings on Mount Brown in York, WA.
One of the things I noticed when using this lens is that the weight and the resistance of the focusing ring shows the short comings of the Fotodiox adapter. You can feel the lens moving in the adapter as you turn the focus ring. The cheap no-name Chinese version was a lot worse. I am thinking about getting some longer lenses, but after this I think I’ll have to investigate a better adapter such as the one made by Novoflex.
Frida posing in the river. At f5.6 the lens is very sharp in the centre. Zoom into the area around Frida’s eye and ear and the fine detail of her fur is clear.
Subject isolation is what this lens is all about. Shooting at f4 through a chain link fence at this alpaca demonstrates this.
So to sum up – to get a better lens you’ll have to spend a lot of money on a more modern highly corrected design. With the softer edges the lens makes a very good portrait lens and you could make a strong argument that the decreased contrast in the centre at f2.8 and f4 would make it very suitable for glamour photography. The true telephoto effect of this focal length makes it a useful lens when you wish to compress perspective when shooting landscapes. The focus throw is a little over 180º and that makes finding focus a precise affair and would appeal to film makers. All in all if you want a manual focus telephoto for use on a full frame sensor then seriously consider this one.
At f11 the lens has bags of resolution and is capable of recording very fine detail. There is no sign of diffraction reducing the image quality. Wandoo tree (white gum) on the outskirts of the Western Australian town of Beverley.
So far I have looked at the following Olympus lenses:-
The entrance to Beverley Station Arts in the Western Australian town of Beverley.
Those who regularly follow my blog will know that I’m currently the artist in residence at Beverley Station Arts in Western Australia. So for this entry I’ll talk a little about the place. The town of Beverley is located some 130Km (or 80 miles for those still using imperial measurements) east of Perth in the Avon Valley in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. The Beverley Arts Gallery Committee was inaugurated in 1967 with the aim of establishing a venue for the fine arts in the town. Sir Claude Hotchin a noted arts benefactor donated work from his collection with the aim of starting the fledgling gallery off. The collection is now housed in what was the old railway station in Beverley.
Inside the exhibition space at Beverley Station Arts. Sony A7r, Fotodiox OM to Nex adapter, Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f3.5 lens. Exposure: 1/400th sec, f5.6 at ISO 6400.
The old station master’s quarters is now where the visiting artists in residence are accommodated. Beverley Station Arts, Western Australia. Sony A7r, Fotodiox OM adapter, Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f3.5 lens. Exposure: 1/400th sec, f8 ISO 400.
Beverley Station Arts also utilizes the former station masters living accommodation for the artist in residence program. This allows an artist to base themselves at the gallery and produce work, put on an exhibition, run workshops and generally interact with the community. Recently an open air stage was built which is suitable for all the performing arts. It has a seating capacity of 500 and local audiences enjoy music, theatre, movies and dance under the stars during the summer months. On Saturday 10th September 2016 the venue hosted the Voice Moves Country Choir Bash. This year there were eight participating choirs:
The Platform Theatre performing space at Beverley Station Arts, Western Australia. Sony A7r, Fotodiox OM to Nex adapter, Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f3.5 lens. Exposure: 1/200th sec, f8 at ISO 400.
As is usual in country Western Australia a sumptuous afternoon tea was provided in the intermission. The event was great fun and enjoyed by both the audience and the participants alike. Below is a short video featuring the Beverley Station Singers.
The garden bench even has a railway theme. Beverley Station Arts, Western Australia. Sony A7r, Fotodiox OM to Nex adapter and Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f3.5 lens. Exposure: 1/80th sec, f16, at ISO 400
Some years ago I was going through a phase I called “delusions of Bresson“. It involved hanging around on the street corners of Perth with a range finder camera fitted with a 35mm lens. It enabled me get close enough to my subjects but not ground them. In modern terms 35mm is not considered a wide-angle lens – in fact quite a few photographers brought up in the digital age think that wide angles start at 20mm (35mm full frame equivalent) – 35mm is seen more as a widish standard lens. Either way it is how I have come to see the world and I consider a 35mm prime (or its equivalent angle of view depending on format size) to be an essential item in my camera bag and this brings me to the Olympus Zuiko 35mm f2 lens.
Olympus OM Zuiko MC 35mm f2 lens.
Olympus OM Zuiko MC 35mm f2 lens.
There are again multiple versions of this lens. The first silver nosed single coated version was 42mm in length, 230g in weight and had a filter thread of 49mm. This MC version is 43mm in length, 240g in weight and has a filter thread of 55mm. It has an optical construction of eight lens elements in 7 groups and a minimum focusing distance of 0.3m.
Olympus OM Zuiko MC 35mm f2 lens
There is slight barrel distortion evident in the test image. CA is present when wide open and clears up on stopping down Wide open the lens is quite soft and lacking in contrast both in the centre and at the edges. Both sharpness and contrast improve in the centre when stopped down to f8. The edges show some signs of improvement but not as much as the centre. Wide open there is some vignetting but that quickly disappears as you stop down. The lens is quite prone to flare, especially ghosting flare, when there is a point light source in the frame. The solution is to use a lens hood or you can do as I sometimes do and use my cap as a French flag. The alternative approach is to embrace the flare and use it creatively in your photos and videos.
York Cemetry, Mount Brown, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2
York Cemetry, Mount Brown, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2
York Cemetry, Mount Brown, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2.
Canola and Patterson’s Curse at sunset. Mount Brown, York, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2
If you can find a good clean copy of the multi-coated version of this lens at a good price then I recommend you pounce on it. It is a wonderful characterful lens that makes its modern counterparts look sterile and boring.
The Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2 lens mounted onto a Sony A7r via a Fotodiox adapter.
So far I’ve looked at a couple of primes and now I’m going to turn my attention to a standard zoom, the Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-f4.5.
Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 lens.
As good as the day I bought it which was in 1983.
Introduced in 1983, which is when I bought my copy. This lens was often rumoured to have been designed and made by Tokina, but this has been refuted online and it would appear that it differs significantly enough that it can be until otherwise proven an Olympus lens.
Schematic of the Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-f4.5 showing the lens elements in their various groups.
Over its production cycle there were two variants produced. The first version, which is the one I have, with serial numbers below 500,000 weighs in at 460g, is 116mm fully extended (in macro mode) and 86mm retracted, the rubber focusing grip is 42mm wide, and there is and Infra Red (IR) focusing mark above the aperture ring. The rear lens element is flat and flush with the back of the lens.The second version (serial numbers above 500,000) is 470g in weight, 87mm long retracted, and the focus grip is 38mm wide. There is no IR focus mark, but there is a white variable aperture dot between 3.5 and 5.6 on the aperture ring. The rear lens element is recessed and convex. The construction of the lens is that of a one touch zoom design with a built in close focus mechanism which allows a minimum focus distance of 31cm with a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:5. There are sixteen lens elements in twelve groups and the filter thread is 55mm. The variable aperture was a design compromise to keep weight and size down, it provides a reasonably bright f/3.5 at the wide-angle setting but gradually stopped down to a dimmer f/4.5 when reaches the telephoto range. The big disadvantage is the rate at which the aperture varies through the range and this convinced me of the practicality of using TTL flash back in my days of shooting transparency with OM cameras.
Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5. 35mm at f8.
Comparison chart of the Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-f4.5 shot at 35mm focal length wide open and then at f8.
At the 35mm end the lens is remarkably free of distortion. Wide open the CA is very apparent, but this is easily corrected in post. The centre of the test image not crisply sharp and is also lacking in contrast which adds to the impression of softness. Bumping up the contrast in post improves things greatly. I never questioned the sharpness of this lens when shooting film – hardly surprising when you consider I most shot Fuji Chrome Velvia 50 or Kodachrome 25 or 64 all of which are high contrast films. At f8 the centre sharpness increases nicely but the edges are still soft and lacking contrast.
Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5. 105 at f8.
Comparison chart of the Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-f4.5 shot at 105mm focal length wide open and then at f8.
At 105mm the lens exhibits a slight pincushion effect. This is where image magnification increases with distance from the optical axis and parallel lines bow inwards like a pincushion. This is not uncommon in this type of lens at the long end. Wide open at f4.5 the image is soft and lacking in contrast at the centre and the edges are even worse. By f8 the centre of the image has improved a little but the edges have not. CA is present but again is easily dealt with.
Back in the day this was my go to lens – I shot nearly everything on it and I thought it was great. Here are some examples of it from the early 1980’s shot on film and scanned.
Beccah and Jane sitting on the back step at Molecomb Cottage, Goodwood, West Sussex. June 1985.
Balloons in the window. York, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5.
Bully Bridge. Frida, the English Bull Terrier, on the Swing Bridge in York, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5
The River Avon in York, Western Australia. Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5
Overall the lens lacks the contrast present in the other OM lenses. The bokeh is somewhat swirly though not as obvious as that exhibited by the Helios 58mm f/2 lens and is what some might call a little nervous. Wide open this lens is very prone to vignetting and filter users will have to be aware of this. Now zoom lens from this era have a bad rap for poor image quality so I thought that it would be interesting to compare this lens with a modern standard zoom – namely the Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS. Some people might find this an unfair comparison comparing a cheap kit lens with a premium quality zoom lens, but there is over thirty years separating them and lens design has come on a long way in that time especially in regard to zooms.
Sony 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 OSS
The most obvious thing that comes to mind when comparing the two lenses is the build quality – compared to the Olympus 35-105 the Sony feels like it came out of a Christmas cracker. It feels very cheap and plasticky and quite honestly it doesn’t feel very durable at all. In fact the word “disposable” comes to mind when handling it and I don’t think we’ll see many working copies of this lens around in thirty years time.
Sony 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 OSS
Sony 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 OSS. 28mm at f8.
Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS at 28mm comparing the centre and the edges of the frame at f3.5 and f8.
So having looked at the test shots what can we say? Well wide open at 28mm the centre the lens is sharp and contrasty and amazingly it improves considerably when stopped down to f8. At the edges wide open there is a significant drop off of sharpness and contrast and this only improves slightly when stopping down to f8. Distortion and chromatic aberration are automatically corrected in camera. At 70mm wide open in the centre the lens is a little soft and flat with hardly improvement when stopping down to f8. At the edges it is much the same story. The only real advantage this lens has over the Olympus is the automatic lens profiles that correct CA and distortion and the lens coatings are marginally better all of which can be overcome with a little fiddling around in Lightroom. The Sony sells for around $350 AUD at the moment while the Olympus can be picked up for less than $100 AUD on EBay. What is more worrying is that according to DXO the Sony FE Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS which is priced at around $1500 AUD is not significantly better than its cheaper sibling and coupled with accounts of substantial sample variation just doesn’t seem to have endeared it to Sony Alpha users. All this makes the Olympus OM Zuiko 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 seem like a screaming bargain if you don’t mind having a manual focus lens as your walk about kit.
As you drive into York on the Great Southern Highway standing tall on your left is the historic York Flour Mill built in 1892, home to The York Mill.
I like wide-angle lenses, I use them a lot, but funnily enough mostly in the 24-35mm range (35mm full frame sensor speak that is). Occasionally I’d pull oy a 20mm, but as I said only very occasionally. The above shot was taken with a 24mm lens, it’s OK but a little cramped. I couldn’t back up any more as I was against the fence so I threw caution to the wind and chucked a 15mm lens on the front of the camera – and we’re talking full frame sensor here.
York Mill again this time Voigtlander 15mm Super Wide-Heliar lens.
It’s amazing how much difference 9mm can make. Same viewpoint but this time with the camera in the landscape orientation. It sets the building in its context and thus makes it more appealing. I also like how the whole building is acting as a giant reflector for the setting sun. This will be the picture that is used for the end product, however, the one I like the most takes advantage of the enormous depth of field that such a short focal length provides.
What a lot of depth of field – from 30cm to infinity at f16.
* Today’s title comes from a couple of lines from the lyrics of “Is It A Crime” by Sade the über cool and totally smooth chanteuse of the 1980’s.
The second instalment in my look at classic Olympus OM Zuiko lenses and how they perform on modern full frame high megapixel digital cameras. This time we are looking at the Olympus OM Zuiko MC 24mm f2.8.
Olympus OM Zuiko MC 24mm f2.8 lens
This is the second iteration of the versions produced by Olympus – the silver nosed H.Zuiko, the MC and the NHC. All three share the same construction of eight elements in seven groups in a compact body that is 31mm long and weighs 185g for the multicoated versions and 180g for the earlier single coated design. The filter size is 49mm.
Barrel distortion is very obvious as is a small amount of CA wide open at f2.8. The CA clears up quickly by f8. Wide open the lens is reasonably sharp in the centre and soft at the edges. By the time it is stopped down to f8 the centre improves as a consequence of an increase in contrast and the edges while appreciably improving still aren’t as sharp as the centre of the image. Flare is impressively controlled on a lens of this age (its been raining a lot here so haven’t had much sun to poke it at) and so I’ve not felt compelled to whack a lens hood on the front.
The bookshelf test shot. Olympus OM Zuiko 24mm f2.8 at f8. Note the barrel distortion.
OK! OK! This isn’t the sexy f2 version, but with the modest aperture of f2.8 you get a very compact lens that is a very capable performer. Yes it does not exhibit the modern fetish of corner to corner sharpness but don’t let that put you off – this lens will handle landscapes, environmental portraits and reportage with aplomb. This lens will do most of heavy lifting work in my up coming new project so will end up with a Cokin P-series filter adapter mounted on it with a single lens hood extension and there are no signs of any vignetting with it mounted. Gotta love vintage glass – such modest filter sizes.
Cellarbrations Bottleshop, Avon Terrace York, WA. Olympus OM Zuiko 24mm
Aboriginal art at Quairading Railway Station, Western Australia. Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 24mm f2.8 lens. Exposure 1/4000 f8 ISO 400.
The Car Dealership From The 1970’s. Quairading. Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 24mm f2.8 lens.
My new full frame Olympus with the Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f1.4 lens mounted on a Fotodiox adapter.
Well I’ve done it. I’ve gone full frame digital with Olympus. No I’ve not got access to some top-secret prototype from Olympus. Instead I’m mounting OM Zuiko lenses on a “full frame” (I hate that term, I much prefer 35mm sensor) camera digital – the Sony A7r to be precise – with a Fotodiox pro OM-NEX adapter.
“If you date your cameras, you marry your lenses.”
Sony A7r with Olympus 24mm, 35mm and 50mm lenses. The Fotodiox Pro OM to Nex lens mount adaptor allows them to be mounted to the camera.
I was left with a collection of Olympus OM lenses when Olympus in their infinite wisdom decided to abandon the OM mount – this did not occur with the advent of digital imaging, but back in the film era. I migrated to the Canon EOS system reluctantly and left my lovely jewel like Zuiko lenses sitting in a drawer. Every now and again I would get one out and fondle it. Oh the beautiful feel of the buttery smooth focusing ring with its long throw. The cool feeling of the metal body with that heft that instantly denotes high quality precision engineering. To cap it off and send me into a rapturous state is the aperture ring – firstly there is one, and then there is the feel and sound of that ring as you change aperture. Just thinking about sends me into the throes of ecstasy.
Now it is a little known fact that when Yoshihisa Maitani designed the OM system he chose to make the flange distance a mere 46mm. At the time he probably thought that this would make a very compact SLR. But the unforeseen benefit of this decision is that it makes the OM lenses very easy to adapt to other cameras. Indeed when Canon brought out the ground breaking EOS 5d I was aware that you could buy an adapter to fit Olympus lenses to the body. But the experience was to me somewhat dismal. DSLRs really aren’t made to use manual lenses. It’s like expecting to find meat in a chicken McNugget. A disappointing experience. When Panasonic and Olympus announced the birth of micro four thirds in 2008 one of key features was the jettisoning of the mirror box found in SLRs. This has a couple of benefits. Firstly it means that a much shorter flange focal distance can be used. In ordinary speak this is the distance between the sensor/film plane and the lens mount on the camera body. Micro four thirds has a distance of 19.25mm which meant it was ideally suited to adapting lenses. I talked about this in April 2013 and again in April 2016. The second benefit was the provision of focus peaking. Focus peaking had long been found on video cameras by dint of them having an electronic viewfinder, it was quickly added to the feature list of mirrorless cameras. I first used it with the EM10 and was very happy with it. But there was a fly in the ointment. My carefully considered lens collection had been altered by virtue of the crop factor, basically a 50mm lens on m4/3 gives an angle of view equivalent to a 100mm lens on a 35mm sensor. Bugger! So apart from video use I put the old lenses away again.
A little while later Sony heralded the launch of their A7 series of full framed mirrorless cameras and initially my interest was piqued but the reality of buying into another camera system (I was already running Olympus m4/3 and Canon EOS) was just not an option. So I feigned disinterest. But an interesting thing happened, Sony update their models with incredible speed and that meant the prices of second-hand A7 and A7r dropped faster than an Essex girl’s knickers. All of a sudden my beautiful OM lenses were restored to their full frame glory.
Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f1.4 at f8.
To test the lenses I shot a standard scene which was composed of a book shelf in my sitting room. Mounting the camera on a tripod I then framed up so that the complete height of the shelf filled the frame. The shots were taken wide open and then stopped down to f8. To see more detail in the test shots just click on the image and it will open in a new browser. This will be an evolving series of articles about using various OM lenses.
Olympus OM Zuiko MC 50mm f1.4
Olympus OM Zuiko MC 50mm f1.4
The first lens most people whack an adapter on is a fast standard. The 50mm f1.4 was one of the original lenses that was introduced when the OM system was launched at Photokina in 1972. The original silver nosed (a term referring to chromed front mount ring) had a single lens coating and was 36mm in length.The newer MC version was introduced in 1984. Along with the new improved lens multi coating the design was changed resulting in a length of 40mm with a weight of 280g. The lens construction is seven elements in six groups. Despite being a fast lens it has a modest size and has a 49mm filter thread.
Shooting my test subject one of the very first things I noticed is that the image displays very slight barrel distortion. This is where image magnification decreases with distance from the optical axis and makes parallel straight lines look like the edges of a wooden barrel. This phenomenon is usually associated with wide-angle prime lenses or the wide end of standard zooms. It does happen in standard primes lenses but usually only at close focussing distances so it was surprising to see it here. Wide open lateral chromatic aberration (CA) is perceptible and at f8 cannot be seen. In terms of sharpness at f1.4 the image is universally soft and lacking in contrast. Stopping down to f8 improves the image and the lens is sharp across the frame. The lens renders beautifully with a gentle fall off in tones and the bokeh is a delight being soft and smooth. The lens is quite resistant to flare and I haven’t felt any great need to put on a lens hood.
A street sign on Avon Terrace in York, Western Australia. Taken on a Sony A7r with Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f14. Shot at f1.4.
Al fresco at Henry Saw in Grand Lane in Perth WA. Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm f1.4
In conclusion – well I always thought that it was a very good lens when I shot film and now having had the opportunity to mount it on a high megapixel digital camera I am not disappointed. If adapted lenses are your thing I would definitely recommend you to acquire a copy.
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