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Olympus 50mm F1.4 - Impressions
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:45 pm    Post subject: Olympus 50mm F1.4 - Impressions Reply with quote


This lens came with the OM-2N I purchased. Serial is 291952 and I don't see any labeling to indicate it was a MC lens? I believe you can find these lenses for very cheap nowadays.

I shot it using a NEX-7. It has very interesting rendering characteristics over the normal Zeiss lenses I'm used to. It has much less of a heavy touch in terms of global contrast and it has smoother bokeh.

At F1.4 there is quite a bit of spherical aberrations and is generally soft with a bit of haze. There appears to be more resolution for distant to infinity objects at this aperture. If you were going to take my portrait, I would want it at this aperture since it gives a sort of dreamy feel and not every nuance of imperfection on my face would be revealed. The bokeh is a bit crazy with hard rings. There is also a strong amount of chromatic aberrations on dark light edge borders.

At F2, the bokeh calms down a bit from F1.4 and smooths out. It looks almost eggy. The aberrations also are dramatically reduced at this aperture and things start looking a bit sharper and more resolved. Highlight bokeh on the borders start becoming a bit shaped.

At F2.8, additional sharpness and resolution is added. The borders also sharpen up quite a bit more.

At F4, we start seeing the optimal peak of this lens. It's quite sharp across the frame and when you can induce bokeh, it's not bad.

At F5.6, we see more of the same.

At F8, we start seeing the effects of diffraction on the NEX-7.

Overall, it's a quite a different lens than a Zeiss normal but it's just as nicely made. It takes a lighter hand in global contrast but starting at F2.8, we see a healthy amount of micro-contrast. It's also physically very small which is a nice bonus when using it with a small mirrorless camera.

It's hard to believe this lens costs so little. I'll be exploring more of the OM line as I think they're very undervalued. It does seem to perform better at infinity to far distances than closer up.

The F1.4 and F2 settings lend themselves well to a dreamy look that you can take advantage in post if you want to apply a lot of effects.

All vignetting was added in post. Perhaps it's greatest weakness is that the bokeh circles are almost never perfectly circular in specular highlights. It has a mostly neutral color profile with it leaning towards warmer tones.

No color shift in stepping down, all color changes were from post.

F1.4


F2


F1.4


F2.8


F1.4


F2


F1.4


F2


F1.4


F2


F1.4


F2


F1.4


F2


F2.8


F1.4


F2


PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very nice looking at f/2.0 and down


PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I got one with an OM1, and I've only run a couple of films through it. But I'm impressed. An OM adapter for my NEX is my next purchase.
I like your pictures a lot, very sharp and well done.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Zuiko lenses are some of the best-performing Japanese lenses ever made. This one is typical of fast 50mm lenses, with a somewhat soft rendering wide open.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Many thanks for nice detailed report ! I made one of my best shoot with this lens. I think too Zuikos are one of the best Japanese made lenses ever. They have very stable quality all pieces in every focal length are excellent.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sometimes F1.4 really adds to the charm, on others wider DOF is a must. Interesting post-production.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 12:46 am    Post subject: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
Hi!

I like all of the Olympus OM Zuikos I have, even the lowly 35-70/3.5-4.5. I have no idea why they are priced so low, and overlooked so often. Aside from a couple of Konica AR lenses (50/1.4 and 135/3.2), they are my favorites. They are generally small and light--which suits m43 cameras well--and they are almost uniformly high quality, with some truly excellent lenses. I think my overall favorite of them is the 100/f2.8, which regularly gets confused with 50mm lenses, since it is so small.

Cheers!


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 12:48 am    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
glasslover wrote:
Hi!

I like all of the Olympus OM Zuikos I have, even the lowly 35-70/3.5-4.5. I have no idea why they are priced so low, and overlooked so often. Aside from a couple of Konica AR lenses (50/1.4 and 135/3.2), they are my favorites. They are generally small and light--which suits m43 cameras well--and they are almost uniformly high quality, with some truly excellent lenses. I think my overall favorite of them is the 100/f2.8, which regularly gets confused with 50mm lenses, since it is so small.

Cheers!


The light weight is unfortunately accompanied by some structural shortcomings.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:04 am    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
Hi!

Oreste wrote:
The light weight is unfortunately accompanied by some structural shortcomings.

Would you mind detailing some of the structural shortcomings? This is so I can know what to look out for in potential acquisitions and what to avoid in my own treatment of OM lenses.

Thanks!


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:15 am    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
glasslover wrote:
Hi!

Oreste wrote:
The light weight is unfortunately accompanied by some structural shortcomings.

Would you mind detailing some of the structural shortcomings? This is so I can know what to look out for in potential acquisitions and what to avoid in my own treatment of OM lenses.

Thanks!


Well, to save size and weight, the focussing rings are thin and bind easily. You can stop them cold with only gentle pressure (other brands are very hard to bind with just finger pressure). The filter rims are also thin and of soft metal, easily dinged.

This lens can be squeezed quite hard and it will not bind at all:

http://www.meister-camera.com/hamburg/typo3temp/pics/fa4c1b9f93.jpg

The filter ring is also quite robust and not easily dinged.

Compare that to the Zuiko:

http://www.rockycameras.com/ekmps/shops/rockcameras/images/-1.4-olympus-auto-s-om-system-g-zuiko-50mm-f-1.4-white-nose-fast-prime-lens-59.99-36901-p%5Bekm%5D499x374%5Bekm%5D.jpg

The rubber focussing rings also tend to deteriorate and tear easily.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The OM's are an engineering marvel, if you've ever taken one apart to clean, you know what I mean, most lenses have the focus ring attach to the outer helicoid in some way, the OM's combine the two into one unit, which saves space permitting a more compact lens.

Ive been testing a bunch of lenses for night shots, and my multicoated OM's seem to be the best for coma and spherical aberrations, Canon's are probably the worst(other than my SSC 24/2.8 ).

Your lens has a very different color palette(mainly reds and greens) going from 1.4 to 2, I don't recall that happening with my multicoated version.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think Oreste must have fingers far stronger than mine . . . Very Happy Perhaps the Zuiko lenses get weak with the passage of time - I sold the OM system lenses both new and used when I was in the photo retail business (more than 20 years) and never had anyone complain of this problem. But, age may make a difference, I suppose.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Are the variations in colour between similar shots at different apertures caused by changing aperture or by PP?

I have two Zuiko lenses, a 1.8/50 and a 4/75-150 zoom. Both are great performers and the zoom is the best I have used, much better than my Tamron 28-70 and Sigma 100-200 zooms.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
skida wrote:
Are the variations in colour between similar shots at different apertures caused by changing aperture or by PP?


My guess, and I'm quite sure the variation is due to PP, I had 3 copies of the OM 50/1.4. Those differed between them (the early version so called "silver nose" is quite soft wide open and lacks contrast, also has a warmer tone) but in no way they did by changing aperture.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:27 am    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
Oreste wrote:
The light weight is unfortunately accompanied by some structural shortcomings.


I recently found out the hard way that while having the aperture ring out by the filter is great for ergonomics, it doesn't take much of a drop to dent it.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hey folks, I updated my blog post to include non-post processed images at F1.4 followed by the step down image.

This will give you a better impression of sharpness at F1.4

http://www.jaegraphy.com/blog/archives/561


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
theart wrote:
Oreste wrote:
The light weight is unfortunately accompanied by some structural shortcomings.


I recently found out the hard way that while having the aperture ring out by the filter is great for ergonomics, it doesn't take much of a drop to dent it.


Yes, this is true. It needed to be made of a harder metal.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
scsambrook wrote:
I think Oreste must have fingers far stronger than mine . . . Very Happy Perhaps the Zuiko lenses get weak with the passage of time - I sold the OM system lenses both new and used when I was in the photo retail business (more than 20 years) and never had anyone complain of this problem. But, age may make a difference, I suppose.


No, this was true when they were new. It is due to the way the lens focussing system is constructed, as mentioned by another in this thread. Optically they are good lenses, but mechanically they are less robust than others. So, a little care in handling is necessary. Definitely more for the amateur concerned with weight than for the pro concerned with durability and taking rough treatment.

Last edited by Oreste on Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:25 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
FlyPenFly wrote:
Hey folks, I updated my blog post to include non-post processed images at F1.4 followed by the step down image.

This will give you a better impression of sharpness at F1.4

http://www.jaegraphy.com/blog/archives/561


It is evident that stopping down from f/1.4 to f/2 improves the image quality dramatically. But that is hardly unexpected.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just ordered the Olympus 35-70 F3.6 lens.

I heard it performs at close to the level of the C/Y Zeiss 35-70 Vario Sonnar F3.4 but it's 1/6th the cost.

Hopefully the rumors are true!


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
FlyPenFly wrote:
I just ordered the Olympus 35-70 F3.6 lens.

I heard it performs at close to the level of the C/Y Zeiss 35-70 Vario Sonnar F3.4 but it's 1/6th the cost.

Hopefully the rumors are true!


The 75-150 was decent. Makes a nice pair.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 7:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You have 2 lenses in one.

At 1.4, this is a different lens and there are applications for it, such as portrait.

From f2, it's IQ is really very good !


PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 10:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
Oreste wrote:
glasslover wrote:
Would you mind detailing some of the structural shortcomings?


Well, to save size and weight, the focusing rings are thin and bind easily. You can stop them cold with only gentle pressure (other brands are very hard to bind with just finger pressure). The filter rims are also thin and of soft metal, easily dinged.

This lens can be squeezed quite hard and it will not bind at all. The filter ring is also quite robust and not easily dinged:
http://www.meister-camera.com/hamburg/typo3temp/pics/fa4c1b9f93.jpg

Compare that to the Zuiko:
http://www.rockycameras.com/ekmps/shops/rockcameras/images/-1.4-olympus-auto-s-om-system-g-zuiko-50mm-f-1.4-white-nose-fast-prime-lens-59.99-36901-p%5Bekm%5D499x374%5Bekm%5D.jpg

The rubber focussing rings also tend to deteriorate and tear easily.


That Summilux looks lovely! And I've heard many times that they make very good images as well. That said, it also looks like a 50/1.4 made by Leica would cost at least 7x, and perhaps more than 20x, the cost of an OM lens in similar (EX+) condition. That's a big multiplier, especially given that the OM optics are known to be very good, even if not quite up to Leica standards. Frankly, I'm happy that there are so many options to choose from. Excellent--though not absolutely superlative--optical performance in a small, light and relatively inexpensive package that handles well in my hands is the right combination for me. Others clearly have different experiences, priorities and budgets.

Cheers!


PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:20 am    Post subject: Re: Three cheers for Olympus OM lenses! Reply with quote
glasslover wrote:
Oreste wrote:
glasslover wrote:
Would you mind detailing some of the structural shortcomings?


Well, to save size and weight, the focusing rings are thin and bind easily. You can stop them cold with only gentle pressure (other brands are very hard to bind with just finger pressure). The filter rims are also thin and of soft metal, easily dinged.

This lens can be squeezed quite hard and it will not bind at all. The filter ring is also quite robust and not easily dinged:
http://www.meister-camera.com/hamburg/typo3temp/pics/fa4c1b9f93.jpg

Compare that to the Zuiko:
http://www.rockycameras.com/ekmps/shops/rockcameras/images/-1.4-olympus-auto-s-om-system-g-zuiko-50mm-f-1.4-white-nose-fast-prime-lens-59.99-36901-p%5Bekm%5D499x374%5Bekm%5D.jpg

The rubber focussing rings also tend to deteriorate and tear easily.


That Summilux looks lovely! And I've heard many times that they make very good images as well. That said, it also looks like a 50/1.4 made by Leica would cost at least 7x, and perhaps more than 20x, the cost of an OM lens in similar (EX+) condition. That's a big multiplier, especially given that the OM optics are known to be very good, even if not quite up to Leica standards. Frankly, I'm happy that there are so many options to choose from. Excellent--though not absolutely superlative--optical performance in a small, light and relatively inexpensive package that handles well in my hands is the right combination for me. Others clearly have different experiences, priorities and budgets.

Cheers!


The Summilux in various versions of mount design sells for $1000-1500 or so. The second optical design sells for about $3000. The robustness of the construction means that such as lens will average out to a pretty minor sum per year over 20 years.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=50mm+summilux-r&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Optically the Zuiko (later versions) is a fine lens, but less robust. I believe the Zuiko went through several revisions; the Leica had just two optical formulas, the second of which was not produced in very large quantities.
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