Seeking opinion on Olympus OM 50mm versions

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Joel_L

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I have the 50mm in 1.8 and 1.4, I like the 1.4 for that little extra in low light or DOF control. I also have the 90mm F2 macro, it's a nice piece of glass. If you look and wait, a clean example comes up for a good price once in a while.

I had always wanted an OM3Ti took a couple years of looking and waiting but finally got one, luckily the 90mm F2 followed in short order.

If you are patient, you can find nice items for a good price.
 
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stam6882

stam6882

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The OM3Ti is so much more expensive these days is out of my reach for me. I normally shoot black and white negative which does not require very accurate metering. My OM-1n is sufficiently good for traveling and outdoor shooting with its simple metering. Having said that OM-3Ti would be the final upgrade for sure.
 
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stam6882

stam6882

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Very nice, the 50mm f2 macro is definitely my next lens on my OM. It will replace my f1.8 as general traveling
 

bimmey

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I use it as my main walk around lens. It's a little large, but it handles well. I also have the 50mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.8 that are both good performers. I need to add a 35mm 2.0 to my stable.
 

jonty

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I've used extensively all of the 50mm Zuikos besides the f2 macro and I agree with others that the f1.8 is something of a sleeper.

I tested many, many copies (over twenty) of them side by side and an F.Zuiko came out the winner thanks to its rendering of shadows and corner-to-corner sharpness. A hair less contrasty than later versions, but its rendering mattered more to me (shadows in later versions were mushy by comparison). Note that there is significant sample variation that I couldn't correlate with model versions, so you may have been lucky or unlucky to various degrees with your copy.

The f1.4 I tested some ten copies of, and later copies were indeed significantly sharper and more contrasty than G.Zuiko versions, but I don't give any credence at all to the ">1 mio" or ">1.1mio" serial number mythology that has arisen around these lenses. An 850,000 lens was the best performer in my comparisons. A good f1.4 is indeed a better performer than a good f1.8, but not by a long way. It's better wide open than the f1.8, but the gap is closed by around f5.6. A good f1.8 is better than a good G.Zuiko f1.4 (and an average probably better than an average).

The f1.2 is a very special lens for me, largely because of the glowy halation it gives wide open, combined with decent resolution there. This disappears somewhere between there and f2, at which point it is decently sharp, and it keeps improving until f8 or so, where it is really stunning. There isn't much to separate it from a good f1.4, but my copy (only tested one) is a hair better at resolving fine details than the f1.4 and has better contrast in such regions.

The f3.5 macro is a fantastic little lens, and without doubt the most versatile of the lot, I suspect including the f2 (considering macro, infinity, compactness and light weight), but it isn't up to the standards of a good f1.8, f1.4 or f1.2 at medium to long distances in terms of absolute resolution, although it still does a very good job in these ranges. Absolutely fantastic as a macro lens. Also, for me, it has the best colours of all the 50s: rich and warm. The f1.4 (non-G.Zuiko) and f1.2 are more neutral, and the f1.8 is somewhere in between.

Personally, as a user and not a collector, I'll probably only keep the f1.8 (travel) and f1.2 (everything else) in the long term, since the 90 f2 outdoes the 50 f3.5 for macros, as good as the latter is, and the f1.2 is better than the f1.4 for when weight and bulk don't matter.

If absolute maximum sharpness at longer ranges and low-light performance can cede to having a do-it-all lens, the f3.5 is a clear winner, and if you don't care about macro, or get that elsewhere, the f1.4 is the best jack of all trades. If you already have the f1.8 though, I wouldn't bother with the f1.4---it isn't enough of a step up in any department.
 
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bimmey

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This is a crop of an image I took under flouresent lights on T-Max 400 with the zuiko 50mm1.8.

1711373913094.jpeg
 
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stam6882

stam6882

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I've used extensively all of the 50mm Zuikos besides the f2 macro and I agree with others that the f1.8 is something of a sleeper.

I tested many, many copies (over twenty) of them side by side and an F.Zuiko came out the winner thanks to its rendering of shadows and corner-to-corner sharpness. A hair less contrasty than later versions, but its rendering mattered more to me (shadows in later versions were mushy by comparison). Note that there is significant sample variation that I couldn't correlate with model versions, so you may have been lucky or unlucky to various degrees with your copy.

The f1.4 I tested some ten copies of, and later copies were indeed significantly sharper and more contrasty than G.Zuiko versions, but I don't give any credence at all to the ">1 mio" or ">1.1mio" serial number mythology that has arisen around these lenses. An 850,000 lens was the best performer in my comparisons. A good f1.4 is indeed a better performer than a good f1.8, but not by a long way. It's better wide open than the f1.8, but the gap is closed by around f5.6. A good f1.8 is better than a good G.Zuiko f1.4 (and an average probably better than an average).

The f1.2 is a very special lens for me, largely because of the glowy halation it gives wide open, combined with decent resolution there. This disappears somewhere between there and f2, at which point it is decently sharp, and it keeps improving until f8 or so, where it is really stunning. There isn't much to separate it from a good f1.4, but my copy (only tested one) is a hair better at resolving fine details than the f1.4 and has better contrast in such regions.

The f3.5 macro is a fantastic little lens, and without doubt the most versatile of the lot, I suspect including the f2 (considering macro, infinity, compactness and light weight), but it isn't up to the standards of a good f1.8, f1.4 or f1.2 at medium to long distances in terms of absolute resolution, although it still does a very good job in these ranges. Absolutely fantastic as a macro lens. Also, for me, it has the best colours of all the 50s: rich and warm. The f1.4 (non-G.Zuiko) and f1.2 are more neutral, and the f1.8 is somewhere in between.

Personally, as a user and not a collector, I'll probably only keep the f1.8 (travel) and f1.2 (everything else) in the long term, since the 90 f2 outdoes the 50 f3.5 for macros, as good as the latter is, and the f1.2 is better than the f1.4 for when weight and bulk don't matter.

If absolute maximum sharpness at longer ranges and low-light performance can cede to having a do-it-all lens, the f3.5 is a clear winner, and if you don't care about macro, or get that elsewhere, the f1.4 is the best jack of all trades. If you already have the f1.8 though, I wouldn't bother with the f1.4---it isn't enough of a step up in any department.

very good insight
 

jonty

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very good insight

I'm glad!

I should add that my tests were full-on pixel peepery on a 5D mkIII. Viewing at moderate sizes or medium prints, sharpness differences are essentially indiscernable, and bokeh and rendering considerations become more important, alongside weight, bulk and macro of course. I would agree that the f3.5 macro is probably the best complement to your f1.8, retaining the OM portability ethos while adding gorgeous macro.
 
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JPD

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Another 50mm? Really?

I'm a 40-year OM shooter, but sorry... I never use 50mm lenses. I have a 50/1.8 I haven't mounted in decades. I'm just not a fan of the "normal lens" 50mm angle of view. I never use my Nikkor 50/1.4 on my F2 or Nikkormat either.

The Zuiko lenses that get the most use on my OM-2n are the 35/2 - my preferred "normal" lens - and the awesome 100/2.8. I sometimes go wider with the 24/2.8. All great lenses that, IMHO, produce more interesting images than a 50mm.

You know, if they weren't stratospherically priced these days, I'd be interested in the tiny Zuiko 40/2. That looks like a very cool normal lens!

I'm a fan of normal lenses and used the 1,8/50 most of the time on my OM-20 or OM-1, and my Kodak Retinas and Rollei TLRs have normal lenses. Wide angles and their perspective have never felt right to me, but others feel normal lenses are "boring"...

I agree with you that the 2,8/100 is awesome, and I got one, and if you didn't mention the 2/40 I would. It's almost a pancake lens, and 40mm about as wide I would go, and it's still considered a normal lens. But the prices today... 🥵
 
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I should clarify that I do use 50mm lenses if they're permanently mounted, like the Tessar on my Contaflex S. But I'm much more of a slightly-wide-lens (35-45) or slightly-long-lens (55-105) shooter by preference with my OMs and Nikon gear.

Gotta love that Zuiko 100/2.8!

PHLZOO1.JPG OM2-SuckerFalls.jpg OM2-Reeds+Ice.jpg INDBRKRD.JPG

My first OM camera was an OM-G/OM20 back in 1983. I haven't used it since I got my OM-2n, but I recently checked it since it's supposedly my backup OM body. Its light meter is dead, so auto mode doesn't work... but the manual shutter speeds still do. Hmm, I think I need to look for a nice OM-1 body...
 
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