E.Zuiko Auto Macro 1:3.5 f=38mm (PEN FT lens) on a NEX

taunusreiter · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

E.Zuiko Auto Makro 1:3.5 f=38mm (PEN FT lens)

Concerning performance as well as compact size, one of the best choices of manual lenses on the SONY NEX are the vintage Olympus Pen F/FT lenses. They all were designed in the 1960's, so they coming close to modern lenses in sharpness and contrast. Optical calculations were made according to the (nearly) exact image circle of the NEX, so you won't miss center sharpness like with some "full format" lenses.

Even the "normal" lenses (38/1.8 and 40/1.4) - both very strong performers - gave more close distance imagery (0.35m) than usual SLR standard lenses (0.45m) except the "pancake" (38/2.8 ) which just can be focussed to 0.8m. However the Makro lens, which appeared late in the Pen FT series (probably 1970; in 1972 the whole series was soon discontinued) offers 0,156cm or 1:2 ratio. According to the late start and the "niche" status of a half fram makro lens, this lens is rare and not quite cheap.

Optical design is a bit mysterious, because in most brochures it isn't mentioned and Olympus missed to publish a diagram obviously. It can be argued that it is a classical Planar type like the Rolleiflex lens (5 elements/ 4 groups) which was kind "state of the art" for SLR macro lenses from the 1960's until well into the 1980's. The Makro-Nikkor 50/3.5 is a well reputated example of that group. This assumption is also based on the fact that Olympus launched a (reversed) Loupe lens for the OM series in 1972 with the same focal length, speed and raw data (5 elements/ 4 groups), which diagram shows a nice classical Planar, which Mr. Paul Rudolph would have been very glad to see.

In the next pictures you can see that the "bokeh" is also Planar-like (but not so harsh as some more modern ultra-corrected lenses)
All pic's are made @ f/3.5

(the infamous 42/1.2 - mine is a bit foggy, but usable as a soft focus lens - on the rare PEN FV)

RTI · Joined: 15 Jul 2011 Posts: 282 Location: Moldova, Chisinau

Thank you, I like the your samples;

I've been hunting for a PEN FT 38/1.8 for some time, but the prices on these lenses are high lately, and they are quite scarce.
(even won a great deal, but the seller proved to be not very honest, he sent the item to a wrong address, and agreed to refund the money without questions)

convert1 · Joined: 05 Aug 2008 Posts: 100 Location: Germany

Thanks for showing the samples from that rare lens.
You have a great web with usefull information , I like it
Best regards

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Were nice indeed. But I guess "the secret's out" since some time as those got quite expensive already, even in Japan!

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

above wide open
below @ 2.8

f/8

this is a near perfect optically copy, which as you can see is flat out spectacular in performance from 1.2 to f/8--wildly underrated because of its one flaw:

wirery bokeh in some situations---note portraits above are perfectly fine, but you do get this with high detail backgrounds and close shots. Much better than the ZM 35/2 made today, though Smile

In fact the Pen 42/1.2, of which about 14,000 were made, is by far the smallest, lightest superspeed for the Nex E mount, and a good copy is probably unbeatable in sharpness at any aperture by any other superspeed. I have 5--none is sharper. None are even close at f/8.

Mine has been temporarily supplanted in the bag by:

which is a very different lens with disguised sharpness, superb bokeh and classical renedering. Perhaps is worth a shot for contrast:

Both the Pen and the Nokton are a joy to shoot with compared to the 50/1.2s and 1.1s. In real life they are far faster. You can shoot much slower shutters and your DOF is huge by comparision. The Nokton has the same DOF as a 50/2. So for practical low light shooting its just incredible.

I've also bought the Pen 25/2.8 and 20/3.5, which have very impressive centers but suffer from pretty severe SA

The 25 has utterly sick centers, and also works fine indoors

The 20 is no slouch

but is unusable for landscape work because of OOF edges (they are not at all soft when you focus on the edges)

I need to experiment with f/8 to f/16 to perhaps mitigate the SA.

Smile

@taunusreiter thank you for your great website and wonderful collection of resources. Too often I find myself there drooling over exotic old glass Wink

taunusreiter · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

Thanks, uhoh7! Maybe I should send my 42/1.2 to a repairman to remove the fogging? It looks like it is in the inner side of the 2nd (front) element... when I do this, I will publish a report of it on my website afterwards. If you look on the market, foggy 42/1.2 are very common (whereas fogging in any other Pen FT lenses seems to be uncommon!). Probably a fault of lubricants from factory (then cleaning should be possible) or non-durable coating of certain elements or degrading glass surfaces (then cleaning should be impossible).

From your highspeed lenses, is the Canon FD 55/1.2AL included in your collection? I was very happy with it on the NEX, but it's MUCH bulgier of course!

Most high speed lenses don't have the best reputation, but more often than not the photograph blames the lens for own faults (focussing errors, too small DOF for subject etc.) High speed lenses need to be excellently corrected to reach high speeds and therefore, excellent sharpness at middle apertures are no fluke.

In case of OLYMPUS PEN lenses, this leads to the general oppinion that the 38/1.8 is the best lens, which from my experience isnt't true. It's a very good lens, but the 40/1.4 is a bit better. The Macro 38/3.5 is better yet, by a big margin.

I found these MTF charts somewhere on the web and think about publishing them on my PEN F/FT pages. Don't know if they measured "Center=Mitte (M)" and Corner=Rand (R)" performance or what. Could be also tangential/ radial resolution. Not the Zeiss/Leica style MTF charts anyway.

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

Himself · Expire: 2013-05-30

Guys, I've always wanted to ask, how do you focus with that Nex?
Carrying a tripod all the time?
I find it cumbersome working with a manual lens, one hand on the camera, another one on the lens, everything kept at distance to look at the display. What do you do if you handle a zoom? Pulling out a 3rd hand?

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

Abbazz · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 1098 Location: Jakarta

Thank you taunusreiter for this very informative post and for the nice pictures.

taunusreiter · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

got some Pen-F lenses for my new NEX too, and it was you, Taunusreiter, who gave me the idea, thank you!

the 1.8/38 at close focus distance, a Sushi-Soya dip, wide open on a NEX5N

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

Those little gems are amazing!!! Shocked

Phenix jc · Joined: 19 Dec 2009 Posts: 398 Location: France

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

Wow, the 38 looks to have quite good corners as well. I was looking for one after seeing a number go at reasonable prices in the spring, but during the summer they were harder to find.

Then out of the blue a 20/3.5 came up on ebay, near perfect--as I had seen often go for 300ish. I put a bid in my gixen for 215, never thinking I had a chance and won it for 175---nice little case too Smile

The poor Pen FT collectors are beside themselves at the Nex---they already were dealing with strong pricing. There is a nice half frame forum at RFF, as many of you know.

here is the 20:

check out the center on the full size
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6052/6336623098_4e789f2110_o.jpg

this one is interesting, it's at 3.5 and shows the edges are not soft, but simply on a different focal plane--not chrome on pickup bed and follow it to edge on the full
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6105/6301558700_e94cd4536a_o.jpg
note as well the spectacular center--I focused on "4 Wheel Drive" and this shot after sunset Smile

taunusreiter · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

Impressive pics, from the 38/1.8! Of course the edges are cutted off with a M4/3 camera, but the center performance seems at the level of the SONY NEX... Very hig center resolution, a typical Ultron behavior. Seems that the optical designers deeply studied A.W. Tronnier's patents on that...

Most amazing there is also no color fringing (CA in unsharpness areas) in the pic with the white flower. Very important for a Macro lens!

If you need a 38/1.8, buy a camera with it (PEN FT). They are just sweet cameras.

For the prices initially sold, they got quite expensive. And don't be gutted if the lens you've bought is a bit wobbly (usually just the outer focus ring): they weren't made up to Leitz (or early Pentax) standards! What means, there aren't really bad either!

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Just some pics of the 3.5/20mm I just got shot @f3.5...

quite amazing little lens.

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Sorry for the deviation, but here is my 3.5/38mm macro lens:

scherfjack · Joined: 17 Sep 2014 Posts: 3

Really the pictures here done are awesome.and this will be probably good in all aspects.