eleskin
Well-known
I have a good friend who just bought an E-Pl1 and he is interested in using old SLR lenses for the camera. There are many great old lenses (I used to have Minolta before I moved to Leica and I loved the 35mm f1.7 Rokkor X) and I am wondering what would be the best and cheapest for him for a wide angle, a 50mm, and a telephoto? What are the favorites of RFF members for Olympus Micro 4/3?
raid
Dad Photographer
I often use the old Canon FD mount SLR lenses on my EP-2.
My favorite lenses are not cheap; Zeiss lenses that I used with the Rolleiflex SLR system.
The focal length gets "doubled", so it is not easy to find good wide angle lenses at a low cost. Olympus lenses for the EP camera may be best. Go with a digital wide angle lens.
Almost any 50mm SLR lens will make a great portrait lens on your camera.
You may need a 28mm SLR lens for a "normal lens".
It gets tricky when you want a real wide angle lens.
How about a Canon FD 17mm/4? It is an overall excellent lens,and it will give you the perspective of a 34mm lens, with the depth of field of a 17mm lens.
My favorite lenses are not cheap; Zeiss lenses that I used with the Rolleiflex SLR system.
The focal length gets "doubled", so it is not easy to find good wide angle lenses at a low cost. Olympus lenses for the EP camera may be best. Go with a digital wide angle lens.
Almost any 50mm SLR lens will make a great portrait lens on your camera.
You may need a 28mm SLR lens for a "normal lens".
It gets tricky when you want a real wide angle lens.
How about a Canon FD 17mm/4? It is an overall excellent lens,and it will give you the perspective of a 34mm lens, with the depth of field of a 17mm lens.
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raid
Dad Photographer
Exakta lenses can be very expensive, even these days.
A Tessar 5cm 2.8 is not costly, but a wide angle lens would be expensive.
A Tessar 5cm 2.8 is not costly, but a wide angle lens would be expensive.
OlliL
Well-known
The usual suspects would be Canon FD and Minolta MD mount lenses.
Just because both aren't supported anymore.
I used the FD 50mm f1.4 on the E-P1.
Wide open it's very difficult to focus precisely (DOF comparable to a 100mm f2.8) but a very good performer.
Bobby Portrait @ 1.4 von oliverleschke auf Flickr
It's quite huge though.
Just because both aren't supported anymore.
I used the FD 50mm f1.4 on the E-P1.
Wide open it's very difficult to focus precisely (DOF comparable to a 100mm f2.8) but a very good performer.
Bobby Portrait @ 1.4 von oliverleschke auf Flickr
It's quite huge though.
raid
Dad Photographer
I make use of the 10X magnification when I focus wide open on the EP-2.
OlliL
Well-known
Sure that works.
Fast moving subjects, unlike my dog, are hard to catch though.
Hands down, that was what Sony did great, with their peaking mode thing.
Fast moving subjects, unlike my dog, are hard to catch though.
Hands down, that was what Sony did great, with their peaking mode thing.
cliffpov
Established
Hexanon SLR lenses are very good and very inexpensive.
greyelm
Malcolm
A good Jupiter-8 50mm f/2 with a low cost adapter makes for a very reasonable package. The earlier j-8s are better made but even the later black ones can be ok. If you want a shorter focal length then the Pentacon 35mm m42 mount produces fine results.
rbelyell
Well-known
i have an olly ep2 that ive used almost exclusively with legacy glass over the last 18 months. my thought was to try glass that could be used both on the olly and on film or dslr's as well, thus cutting down my cost and allowing crossover. that is why i didnt start down the fd glass route--its great glass, but really only adaptable to fd film and m4/3. for other systems the adapters need glass in them which to me degrades the lens quality.
russian m42 or m39 glass is both inexpensive and well-performing on the olly, and can also be used on film, dslr or rf's (not m42). the m42 plus adapter can present a bit bulky of a package, where the m39 plus adapter are much more compact. but the results are very good with either group.
ive tried contax glass, like the 50 and 85 planars, but have been disappointed with the m4/3 results, though obviously they are great on film and FF dslr's. so i wouldnt go this route. though m4/3 performance is better with the yashica 'ml' series of lenses...
actually the best performing lenses ive found on m4/3 are the dkl mount schneiders made for the kodak retina reflex iii and iv. the color and resolution are absolutely outstanding, and the lenses are still comparatively very inexpensive compared to most alternatives. if your friend picks up a kodak film cam, as i did, he will get much enjoyment from that as well. there are easily available adapters for dkl>m4/3 as well as dkl>eos, so they can be used on other systems as well. because most of this series are slow, i recommend starting off with the 50/1.9, which is both the fastest of the series and an excellent performer.
konica ar lenses--all of them--are also great m4/3 lenses, relatively inexpensive, and pretty compact for slr lenses. these can only be used on konica film or mirrorless digicams.
if your friend does not care about compatibility with other camera systems, he should give c mount lenses a try. these are the most compact legacy glass one can get and really fit well cosmetically and weight-wise with the ollys. i highly recommend the meopta openar 40/1.8 as a stellar performer--a tiny, fast portrait with the 2x crop factor. do not buy any c mount lens wider than 25mm as that FL exhibits very mild vignetting which turns disturbingly worse at any wider angle. the wollensak 25/1.9 is very small, cheap and a good performer. the zeiss tevidon series is really a standout series of c mounts, but more expensive and in order to achieve infinity focus must be mated to a modified c mount>m4/3 adapter,but are worth the trouble. i actually have a 25/1.4 so properly mated that i am selling if there is any interest. its a wonderful lens.
hope this helps!
tony
russian m42 or m39 glass is both inexpensive and well-performing on the olly, and can also be used on film, dslr or rf's (not m42). the m42 plus adapter can present a bit bulky of a package, where the m39 plus adapter are much more compact. but the results are very good with either group.
ive tried contax glass, like the 50 and 85 planars, but have been disappointed with the m4/3 results, though obviously they are great on film and FF dslr's. so i wouldnt go this route. though m4/3 performance is better with the yashica 'ml' series of lenses...
actually the best performing lenses ive found on m4/3 are the dkl mount schneiders made for the kodak retina reflex iii and iv. the color and resolution are absolutely outstanding, and the lenses are still comparatively very inexpensive compared to most alternatives. if your friend picks up a kodak film cam, as i did, he will get much enjoyment from that as well. there are easily available adapters for dkl>m4/3 as well as dkl>eos, so they can be used on other systems as well. because most of this series are slow, i recommend starting off with the 50/1.9, which is both the fastest of the series and an excellent performer.
konica ar lenses--all of them--are also great m4/3 lenses, relatively inexpensive, and pretty compact for slr lenses. these can only be used on konica film or mirrorless digicams.
if your friend does not care about compatibility with other camera systems, he should give c mount lenses a try. these are the most compact legacy glass one can get and really fit well cosmetically and weight-wise with the ollys. i highly recommend the meopta openar 40/1.8 as a stellar performer--a tiny, fast portrait with the 2x crop factor. do not buy any c mount lens wider than 25mm as that FL exhibits very mild vignetting which turns disturbingly worse at any wider angle. the wollensak 25/1.9 is very small, cheap and a good performer. the zeiss tevidon series is really a standout series of c mounts, but more expensive and in order to achieve infinity focus must be mated to a modified c mount>m4/3 adapter,but are worth the trouble. i actually have a 25/1.4 so properly mated that i am selling if there is any interest. its a wonderful lens.
hope this helps!
tony
Benjamin Marks
Veteran
Ditto for Konica and Pentax screw-mount lenses. Absolutely fantastic glass at reasonable prices.
Joe Vitessa
Well-known
+2
Konica SLR lenses are some of the best glass out there. And the prices are ridiculously low--at least for now!
Konica 50/1.7 is one of the best of the inexpensive 50's, and is inexpensive as it is "orphaned". The 40/1.8 is good, also inexpensive. The 28/3.5 is worth trying.
raid
Dad Photographer
Wouldn't a 40mm lens give the perspective of an 80mm lens with additional depth of field?
I stated that the Tessar 50mm lenses are cheap. A 40mm lens does not not differ much from a 50mm lens when you multiple by 2 its magnification. A true wide angle on the EP must be shorter than 20mm.
raid
Dad Photographer
I agree with what you have said above. I tried using 7.5mm and 21mm SLR lenses, but the images appear to be soft and unsharp, compared to what I get with a film camera. I bought the EP-2 to mainly use it for portraits of my children. I see differences between the many 35-90mm lenses that I have used on the EP-2.
The Summicron-C 40mm/2 is very sharp on the EP-2. The images pop out at me. Another winner is the Zeiss 85mm/1.4 for the Rolleiflex 35mm SLR camera. The sharpness and the bokeh are amazing. The CZJ 5cm/1.5 does better on my film cameras than on the EP-2.
I mentioned the wide angle lenses for completeness of the discusison here.
The Summicron-C 40mm/2 is very sharp on the EP-2. The images pop out at me. Another winner is the Zeiss 85mm/1.4 for the Rolleiflex 35mm SLR camera. The sharpness and the bokeh are amazing. The CZJ 5cm/1.5 does better on my film cameras than on the EP-2.
I mentioned the wide angle lenses for completeness of the discusison here.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Go tele.
I bought a diminutive 200mm 1:5.6 Pentax Takumar not long ago for $30 at a camera show. That lens becomes an unbelievably hand-held -friendly 400mm lens when used on my E-620 (I just moved and can't find my m4/3rd adapter, otherwise I'd be using it on my E-P2 also).
I bought a diminutive 200mm 1:5.6 Pentax Takumar not long ago for $30 at a camera show. That lens becomes an unbelievably hand-held -friendly 400mm lens when used on my E-620 (I just moved and can't find my m4/3rd adapter, otherwise I'd be using it on my E-P2 also).
intense
Member
I think M39 rangefinder lenses are better that M42 for m4/3. They are smaller and the adapter for M39 is more than twice smaller than this for M42.
anderslars
Newbie
E Pl 1
E Pl 1
- bought an e pl 1 recently. And a contax/yashica converter. Have some old yashica ml lenses. a 28mm (which I have packed away again, since i discovered fungus on it) I have a 35mm and I like it on the pl 1. And I have the ML 42-75 mm zoom. Both lenses perform very well, I think. But they are heavy. (the attached picture is taken with the 42-75 zoom) Just got a zeiss planar 50mm 1.7 v e r y cheap. Wow - I will take some nice pics with that lense. I really love it on the e pl 1.
[FONT=courier new,monospace]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uxAMQP-G7v4/Tuc0KTjeAaI/AAAAAAAAAcM/5KTIsAgDkwo/s1100/Starred%252520Photos.jpg[/FONT]
E Pl 1
- bought an e pl 1 recently. And a contax/yashica converter. Have some old yashica ml lenses. a 28mm (which I have packed away again, since i discovered fungus on it) I have a 35mm and I like it on the pl 1. And I have the ML 42-75 mm zoom. Both lenses perform very well, I think. But they are heavy. (the attached picture is taken with the 42-75 zoom) Just got a zeiss planar 50mm 1.7 v e r y cheap. Wow - I will take some nice pics with that lense. I really love it on the e pl 1.
[FONT=courier new,monospace]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uxAMQP-G7v4/Tuc0KTjeAaI/AAAAAAAAAcM/5KTIsAgDkwo/s1100/Starred%252520Photos.jpg[/FONT]
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Benjamin Marks
Veteran
A Pentax 50/1.4 Super Takumar (Pentax screw-mount) is currently $109 from KEH in EXC condition of $69 in BGN. All metal construction, multi-coated. If you had to make this lens today it would be $1000 easy. A 28/3.5 is also well under $100. A Konica 57/1.4 EE lens seems to run about $72, 50/1.4 = $42 and 50/1.8 = $23. This is basically free in photographic terms. The lenses would have been tippity-top performers in their day, perhaps a shade less in IQ than the Summicrons of their day (although I am sure there are some who would say they were equal or better). The fact that they have been orphaned means they are currently cheap. Got a m-4/3 camera? Go nuts!