Bill Marsh
Newbie
I'm excited to be using my C-Sonnar 50/1.5 with an adaptor on a mirrorless micro 4/3 Olympus OM-D E-M10. It's like they were made for each other!
The micro 4/3 system uses a smaller sensor, so the 50 mm focal length on o full frame camera becomes effectively a 100 mm point of view on the E-M10. This isn't a bad thing. It's a perfect portrait lens with all that creamy smooth bokeh. Consider that you now have a short telephoto with the compact size of a 50 - and an already compact 50 at that.
The lens does not interact electronically with the body, so it is manual focus only with no focus confirmation indicator other than what you see in the viewfinder. BUT the built-in electronic viewfinder and the monitor are both wonderfully clear and accurate, providing through the lens focusing like an SLR. Technically you aren't viewing TTL but are seeing what the camera sees on its sensor through the lens. Exposure is also done manually. Nothing new there for RF users. It can be done in full manual mode or on aperture priority, using the camera's meter. The beauty of this combination is that the E-M10 is a real camera that is at least as compact as a RF - probably more so. Control wheels are mounted on the top plate, so there is finger tip control of shutter speed while composing. And the shutter is incredibly quiet - quieter than my ZI.
The other lens in my 2-lens kit is an M.Zuiko 17/1.8 (35 mm effective FL), a beautiful little lens in its own right. I have to give Olympus credit. This is not just any old AF lens. It can be focused in the traditional way at the lens (extremely smooth focus collar) AND it comes with a DOF scale engraved on the lens like any other manual focus lens. Clearly this lens was designed to be pre-focused for street shooting although it can also be used as a totally automatic AF lens.
Final note is that RF lenses of 50 mm and longer work extremely well on a micro 4/3 body. That's what makes the combo with the C-Sonnar so special. The classic sonnar lens design could only be built for RF cameras and could not be adapted to SLR bodies. By eliminating the mirror box and substituting live view, micro 4/3 has reduced the flange distance from lens to sensor that allows RF lenses to be mounted closer to the body as they were designed to do. OTOH, wide angle lenses while workable, are not as sharp as when they are used with film. However, I don't have a 17 mm RF lens anyway, which is what I'd need for a 35 mm equivalent. So, the M.Zuiko 17/1.8 and the C-Sonnar 50/1.5 are now my 2 lens kit on the E-M10. Although I'm not using a RF to focus, in every other way, this compact kit has very much the feel of RF shooting with the ability to go for "grab" shots and to be very unobtrusive in doing so.
I'll post some photos when I get a chance.
The micro 4/3 system uses a smaller sensor, so the 50 mm focal length on o full frame camera becomes effectively a 100 mm point of view on the E-M10. This isn't a bad thing. It's a perfect portrait lens with all that creamy smooth bokeh. Consider that you now have a short telephoto with the compact size of a 50 - and an already compact 50 at that.
The lens does not interact electronically with the body, so it is manual focus only with no focus confirmation indicator other than what you see in the viewfinder. BUT the built-in electronic viewfinder and the monitor are both wonderfully clear and accurate, providing through the lens focusing like an SLR. Technically you aren't viewing TTL but are seeing what the camera sees on its sensor through the lens. Exposure is also done manually. Nothing new there for RF users. It can be done in full manual mode or on aperture priority, using the camera's meter. The beauty of this combination is that the E-M10 is a real camera that is at least as compact as a RF - probably more so. Control wheels are mounted on the top plate, so there is finger tip control of shutter speed while composing. And the shutter is incredibly quiet - quieter than my ZI.
The other lens in my 2-lens kit is an M.Zuiko 17/1.8 (35 mm effective FL), a beautiful little lens in its own right. I have to give Olympus credit. This is not just any old AF lens. It can be focused in the traditional way at the lens (extremely smooth focus collar) AND it comes with a DOF scale engraved on the lens like any other manual focus lens. Clearly this lens was designed to be pre-focused for street shooting although it can also be used as a totally automatic AF lens.
Final note is that RF lenses of 50 mm and longer work extremely well on a micro 4/3 body. That's what makes the combo with the C-Sonnar so special. The classic sonnar lens design could only be built for RF cameras and could not be adapted to SLR bodies. By eliminating the mirror box and substituting live view, micro 4/3 has reduced the flange distance from lens to sensor that allows RF lenses to be mounted closer to the body as they were designed to do. OTOH, wide angle lenses while workable, are not as sharp as when they are used with film. However, I don't have a 17 mm RF lens anyway, which is what I'd need for a 35 mm equivalent. So, the M.Zuiko 17/1.8 and the C-Sonnar 50/1.5 are now my 2 lens kit on the E-M10. Although I'm not using a RF to focus, in every other way, this compact kit has very much the feel of RF shooting with the ability to go for "grab" shots and to be very unobtrusive in doing so.
I'll post some photos when I get a chance.
Darshan
Well-known
Thanks for sharing your experience. I like the Sonnar character and would love to see some photos from your combo.