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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

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testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:35 pm
Post subject: testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:35 pm
Post subject: testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:43 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:43 pm
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NIce clear images, looks to me a very good zoom.


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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:48 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:48 pm
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yes it is, only thing is it needs good light to perform, otherwise for it's range is not too large lens

this is my only "lost" lens from ebay so far. bought it in november it never came from the States... payed around 100$ for that one... but couple of weeks ago one specimen showed up in local website for 300 kuna (about 55$) so i jumped at the chance and bought it


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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 3:22 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 3:22 pm
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55 USD Shocked was a good deal really, good light is essential for most lenses.


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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:18 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:18 pm
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You are much better with your test series than I am in my blog.
I am several weeks behind! Work has just chained me to my desk... Sad


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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:33 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:33 pm
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LucisPictor wrote:
You are much better with your test series than I am in my blog.
I am several weeks behind! Work has just chained me to my desk... Sad


well, i started this series a long time ago. every weekend i try to take a few different lenses out with me to take pix and make some representative samples


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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:26 pm
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:26 pm
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new samples using Olympus E-M5











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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:17 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:17 am
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WolverineX wrote:
LucisPictor wrote:
You are much better with your test series than I am in my blog.
I am several weeks behind! Work has just chained me to my desk... Sad


well, i started this series a long time ago. every weekend i try to take a few different lenses out with me to take pix and make some representative samples


Now i know, how you handle all that huge collection:) couldnt agree more


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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 4:05 am
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 4:05 am
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Just got an "as is" copy of this lens for 5 dolllars plus shipping. Came in and is in surprisingly good shape save one flaw which was identified by seller. It only goes to 220ish instead of 250. Anybody know what might cause that and maybe a simple fix? I bought it primarily thinking the tripod ring might fit my 135mm macro. I didn't even research to see what the lens IQ was like. The quick samples I tried this evening look pretty good and other than the zoom constraint seems good both functionally and optically. The zoom "end" feels like a factory stop. That is, it feels solid and sudden, not like a slow tightening that you might get with a bent tube.


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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 8:56 am
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 8:56 am
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jamaeolus wrote:
Just got an "as is" copy of this lens for 5 dolllars plus shipping. Came in and is in surprisingly good shape save one flaw which was identified by seller. It only goes to 220ish instead of 250. Anybody know what might cause that and maybe a simple fix? I bought it primarily thinking the tripod ring might fit my 135mm macro. I didn't even research to see what the lens IQ was like. The quick samples I tried this evening look pretty good and other than the zoom constraint seems good both functionally and optically. The zoom "end" feels like a factory stop. That is, it feels solid and sudden, not like a slow tightening that you might get with a bent tube.


Guess it has been opened and reassembled, then a zoom limit was not placed correctly. As the usual method is to mark and reassemble to the mark you are going to need a lot of time for this, or just accept a shorter zoom range.


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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 10:57 am
Post subject: Re: testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 10:57 am
Post subject: Re: testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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WolverineX wrote:












For me it seems missing a little bit of micro-contrast but it is a old -1982- computation .
I think that is the best that can be achieved at that time from a long relatively cheap zoom

Plase find here a complete descriptionof the lens
http://www.marcocavina.com/articoli_fotografici/Olympus_OM-Zuiko_85-250mm_5/00_pag.htm[/url]


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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 4:30 pm
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 4:30 pm
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Interesting article! Thanks for that. The article, unfortunately for me, does not address changing the focus range stop.


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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 8:58 pm
Post subject: Re: testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 8:58 pm
Post subject: Re: testing my lenses - part 20 - Olympus 85-250mm/5
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PBFACTS wrote:

For me it seems missing a little bit of micro-contrast but it is a old -1982- computation .
I think that is the best that can be achieved at that time from a long relatively cheap zoom

Plase find here a complete descriptionof the lens
http://www.marcocavina.com/articoli_fotografici/Olympus_OM-Zuiko_85-250mm_5/00_pag.htm[/url]


From the above article, translated to English, citing a MTF test published in the early 1980s in the Italian magazine Tutti Fotografi:

Quote:
The graph at the bottom of the test relates the optical quality of the 85mm, 135mm and 200mm zoom with f/8 aperture to that of famous corresponding fixed focal lengths - always at f/8 - already tested with the same method, and it should be noted that the values ​​of the Zuiko 85-250mm f/5 zoom at 135mm exceeded those of all the fixed focal lengths, including the Sonnar 135mm, while at 200mm it was on the same level as the Nikkor 200mm f/4 and Zeiss Tele-Tessar 200mm f/3.5 T*.


That's an observation I quite often make myself as well: Many of the common 80-200 or 70-210 zooms from the early 1980s at f=135mm are really, really good: Canon nFD 4/80-200L, Zeiss CY 4/80-200, Minolta MD 4/70-210, Nikkor AiS 4.5/80-200, Mamiya CS and E 3.8/80-200, to name a few.

S


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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 10:17 pm
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 10:17 pm
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I had no idea. So it seems my five dollars was well spent.


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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2025 6:45 pm
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2025 6:45 pm
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Pleasing looking images. Nice lens so it seems!


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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2025 11:53 pm
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2025 11:53 pm
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jamaeolus wrote:
Interesting article! Thanks for that. The article, unfortunately for me, does not address changing the focus range stop.


Exploded lens diagram here @ archve.org:
https://web.archive.org/web/20231129013453/http://olympus.dementix.org/Hardware/PDFs/85-250mm_f5.pdf

Should be useful!

S


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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2025 4:08 am
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2025 4:08 am
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Thank you! I'll look closely and see if I can figure out what the deal is. It isn't critical, as the lens seems fine from 85 to 220 and I spent very little on it, but it would be nice to have a good copy to add to my extensive OM collection.
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