Getting back into the swings of things...

33L

33L

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Lee
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Im no stranger to film but im no expert,

Ive lost all my mojo recently when it comes to photography and im now rekindling my love affair with photography.

Ive mostly shot on canon DSLR's and dabbled with the EOS 3 SLR as well. With the EOS 3 i had canon glass to use and to be honest the EOS 3 was like a DSLR with a film back, point, half press to focus, shoot. No issue with IQ at all etc... but it didn't feel like shooting film. It was too clinical. I like retro and manual operations to cameras.

I bought an om2n off the classifieds before my trip to Italy and the results have woken me up and i enjoyed the experience of manually focusing, winding the film on using an aperture ring etc... Now I like the body even though it maybe restrictive to 1/1000s shutter.

My main thing that i want to get is some lenses in the focal lengths im used to. I have 28mm and 50mm, i prefer the 35mm, 85mm & 135mm combo and maybe a wider lens as well. so the lenses i am looking at are:

24 f/2.8
35 f/2
85 f/2
135 f/2.8

Are there anything i need to know about these lenses or are there 3rd party OM mount lenses that maybe good performers that im not aware of? Im not looking at getting them all at once but certainly building the system and being confident with the glass im using.
 
Well you could play safe and get Zuiko lenses and it costs what it costs and would think there is less copy variation in manufacture...with 3rd party lenses you have missed the boat when the digi guys found that they can use old lenses with adapters and the prices shot up..but still a small problem with copy variation and a hidden gem mentioned as "a must get" but another person would disagree. Also what to look out for is a lens in mint condition OK it could be great, but on the other hand it could be mint because it wasn't worth using......at the other end a well used lens could be great and that's why it was well used, but it could be bad because it was abused....confusing ain't it ;)
Anyway for 3rd party among my 24mm lenses that I consider are very good are Ensinor and Sigma superwide II and the Vivitar f2 (Komine version) looking promising......................I have different lenses for different cameras so it takes a while to really test them out over time for different conditions\subjects etc.
For 35mm I'd use Canon or 30mm Flektogon so no help there
For 85mm no help there as I would use a zoom or Fuji 100mm
!35mm you can't go wrong as it was common and most are very good among all makes but I have a soft spot for the Vivitar 135mm f2.8 (Komine ver)
enjoy you hobby with film and old lenses.
 
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A good choice to avoid the premium prices of Olympus is to go for the Vivitar series 1 lens and the first two numbers of the serial number tell you who made them.

22= Kiron
28= Komine
37= Tokina
47= Chinon
09= Cosina

There are others,but,not as well performing as these,my own preference and I own several for Nikon and Rollei fit is Komine followed by Kiron.

Good hunting.
 
looks like i have got some researching to do, appreciate all the help!
 
A forum that is mainly about lenses and a few film users there is:-
http://forum.mflenses.com/
They also have a soft spot for M42 (screw) lenses but your OM can't take them....I have a M42 to OM adapter and with a screw lens only about up to 2ft can you focus, after that it is blurred.
 
I've got the 24mm f/2.8 and the 85mm f/2. The only point I'd make about them is that if you don't use a lens hood, the 85mm can be prone to flare. I'm happy with the resolution wide open - and that, to be honest, surprised me.

My 35mm OM lens is the shift one, so I can't help; and I haven't used a 135mm in years - for the OM system it's covered by the 65-200mm and 75-150mm zooms.
 
StephenM said:
I've got the 24mm f/2.8 and the 85mm f/2. The only point I'd make about them is that if you don't use a lens hood, the 85mm can be prone to flare. I'm happy with the resolution wide open - and that, to be honest, surprised me.

My 35mm OM lens is the shift one, so I can't help; and I haven't used a 135mm in years - for the OM system it's covered by the 65-200mm and 75-150mm zooms.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the hood for the 85mm, Its probably going to be my next lens, If i find that i am constantly wanting more reach then i'll look at the 135mm
 
I've just uploaded a sample with the lens wide open of the Palace Pier Brighton taken in windy conditions. See here.
 
StephenM said:
I've just uploaded a sample with the lens wide open of the Palace Pier Brighton taken in windy conditions. See here.
Click to expand...

Is that the 85mm? Its really quite good. What was that mounted to? film?
 
Well it looks like i have been a good boy, the wife has just got me a zuiko 135 2.8 as a present. Thats one less lens to get :banana:
 
33L said:
Is that the 85mm? Its really quite good. What was that mounted to? film?
Click to expand...

85mm wide open. Hand held, but at 1/8000th second I don't think there would be a lot of shake. It was actually on a Sony a7r for that photo; I think that that's the best way of showing what the lens is capable of because it skips scanning the film and cutting down the detail. What impresses me about the photo is the detail in the railings along the pier, even at the edge of the frame. I did also try it stopped down, but as it performs like this wide open, I think that's good enough as a sample :).

I haven't got any a7r photos with the 24mm, but if it would help I can easily go out and take some.

The other OM lenses I have are the 21mm, 28mm, 50mm f/1.4, 55mm f/1.2, 35-70mm; I also have a Vivitar 90mm macro, Tamron 17mm, Tamron SP 300mm and a cheap 500mm mirror lens and 2x converter.

Edit to add: I did start with the OM system back in 1974 with my OM1, so I've had a little time to collect...
 
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Wow that is a good collection. Don't think i want to have that much glass for one system, who knows?

You might be able to help with some FOV shots across the 21, 24 & 28mm. I struggled with the 28mm and not 100% sure if the 24mm is wide enough or would i appreciate the 21mm more.
 
I think that there may be sample photos to illustrate the angle of view of the various lenses in the lens booklet that came with the cameras. I'll have a look tomorrow at mine (I think I know where they are). There's also a simulator here for Nikon, but the angles of view should be the same if you pick a full frame camera (although full frame is less than the nominal size of a 35mm frame).

Otherwise, I'm happy to set up a tripod and run through the lenses for you.
 
so the 135mm has arrived, its so diddy compared to my canon 135mm I used to have..

I will have to get a pic up of it. Ot is near mint and its the multicoated version so I'm happy.
 
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