Legacy Macro Lenses

[petrovich]

Does anyone have a link to the old Olympus SLR Lens range and any suggestions on a good manual Macro lens from then who everbmake that can be adapted to work on an E-1.

Many thanks.

[mike_j]

Does anyone have a link to the old Olympus SLR Lens range and any suggestions on a good manual Macro lens from then who everbmake that can be adapted to work on an E-1.

Many thanks.

http://www.datasync.com/~farrar/zuiko.html

A couple of us like the Tamron 90mm f2.5. Sells for about £70 on ebay.

[Xpres]

I have the Tamron - which is excellent - but if you want a zuiko it has to be the 90/2... or the 50/2. Both as good as it gets but horribly expensive. :(

[petrovich]

Thank you for the responses I am looking at the 90mm to see what is available...

[oly_om]

The Zuiko 50mm f3.5 is very, very sharp and not as expensive as the 90 f2 or 50 f2 - and based on the sample I had, sharper than the Tamron SP 90.

Andy

[JohnGG]

As others have stated, the OM 50mm f/2.0 and 90mm f/2.0 are superb lenses but come at a price. The 50mm f/3.5 will be a cheaper way to a true macro lens while still, I'm told, giving very good results. There are a couple of alternative routes into the macro world. You could invest in an OM 50mm f/1.8 and a set of extension tubes for a modest outlay or even get the 50mm f/1.8 along with a 49mm/49mm reversing ring and an OM 28mm f/3.5, also available for peanuts, to mount on the front.

If you don't already have one, the OM to four thirds adaptor might well be the most expensive part of the rig.

Cheers,

JohnGG

[mike_j]

If you don't already have one, the OM to four thirds adaptor might well be the most expensive part of the rig.


The ebay adaptors are fine, you really don't need to pay Oly prices for a simple adaptor which I think should be supplied as standard anyway. I get my adaptors from this supplier, no problems and very quick.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Olympus-OM-Lens-to-Olympus-E520-E510-E420-E410-Adaptor_W0QQitemZ350183339344QQihZ022QQcategoryZ30 059QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1 262

One thing worth remembering is that the lower focal length macro lenses have a very short working distance and even on static subjects this can cause problems with lighting. On live subjects it can be very difficult.

[David M]

The Zuiko 50mm f3.5 is very, very sharp and not as expensive as the 90 f2 or 50 f2 - and based on the sample I had, sharper than the Tamron SP 90.

Andy

Having used/owned three copies of the Zuiko 50mm f3.5 I found significant sample variation between them. The first was outstanding but was stolen.

The replacement was mediocre with either barrel or pin-cushion distortion, I forget which as it is nearly 25 years since I last used it.

My personal copy is very good, but so is my Tamron SP 90 which is my go to lens for the increased working distance.

[oly_om]

I think, try to find the 50mm f3.5 later multi-coated version (not the silver nose) - these are generally better of the lenses of this type. Even matched with a 2x teleconverter, it was still very sharp.

Examples using the 50mm f3.5 with a Hama 2x TC:

http://picasaweb.google.com/elliott.aje.andy/Macro#

Andy

[crimbo]

How legacy do you want to get.....

http://e-group.uk.net/gallery/data/500/macro-kit.jpg (http://e-group.uk.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/13837)

135mm M42 lens with Russian bellows and the E400 on an adapter. Lens to object around 8" at full magnification

I aint that up on macro (pointers for beginners greatly received) but this is a Q+D result

http://e-group.uk.net/gallery/data/500/macro-result.jpg (http://e-group.uk.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/13838)

BTW ...anyone got a good way to remove the E400 amplifier noise/bloom?

[gphemy]

The online bible for all parts of the OM system is the Olympus eSIF, being an online expansion of the Olympus Sales Information File.

Take a look at it here: olympus.dementia.org/eSIF/om-sif.htm

The link to "Lens Group" will take you to a listing of every OM lens made. Most of the macro lenses are listed together under the heading "Bellows" - exceptions are the 50/2, 50/3.5 and 90/2, none of which require use of bellows. If you want an excellent lens for use at around 1:1, the 80/4 is hard to beat. For work from infinity up to 1:2, consider using the 135/4.5 on the 65-116 variable extension tube. The 20mm and 38mm macro lenses will give huge magnification, but are not easy to find, and are not cheap either.

The link to "Macrophoto Group" will take you to the various non-lens macro accessories for the OM system, but has a link (bottom LH corner) to the 60-page OM Macrophoto manual, which is HIGHLY recommended - it covers the specific magnification range of each lens, as well as providing a good intro to macrophotography.

The homepage of the site olympus.dementia.org/ has links to plenty more OM information if you are interested.

[ianinsuffolk]

These are two more useful links;

http://www.datasync.com/~farrar/zuiko.html
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/shared/zuiko/index.htm

Whilst it's an 'interesting' combination, I have had some good results with 135mm, f4.5 + 65~116 auto tube on an E510.

Ian

[Brollex]

Hi folks, for my first post I would like to point out a very special and unusual macro lens: Vivitar 90-180mm f4 flat field zoom ! It is the most fantastic hand-held lens to put on a captor stabilised body for macro pics. :)


I'm lucky: mine has the sunshade. :cool: