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
