Question for Olympus Pen F/FT/FV users...

[Hibbs]

My Pen FV is with John right now. I expect it to be home in a few weeks. John replied to my e-mail quickly and was easy arranging a repair.

I'd heard only good things about him and I am glad I sent it to him. I'll let you all know once I've got the FV back.

 

[raid]

I have the FT with the 38mm/1.8 lens, and also a zoom lens (50-100?). The most important adapter I ahve is the OM-M42 adapter which allows me to use my Pentax lenses on the FT with full focusing function but with added focal length. My SMC 85mm/1.8 becomes more like a 135mm/1.8, using the central (sharp) portion of the lens.

Raid

 

[Doug]

I have the FT with the 38mm/1.8 lens, and also a zoom lens (50-100?). The most important adapter I ahve is the OM-M42 adapter which allows me to use my Pentax lenses on the FT with full focusing function but with added focal length.

Yes, the zoom is a 50-90 f/3.5... What do you think of its performance? That's a pretty old-tech zoom, but then it only has to cover half-frame, about the same sensitive area as a typical dSLR.

I too have the Pen-Pentax M42 adapter, opening up a whole wider world of compatible lenses of excellent quality. But I find it frustrating to use, though probably no more-so than dSLR users fitting the very same lenses! I keep forgetting to stop-down the lens before tripping the shutter, resulting in overexposure. But then manual, pre-set, and even semi-auto diaphragm lenses have always bugged me too.

One sly solution is to just leave the lens stopped down, but at a relatively wide aperture like f/2.8 to ease focusing. Of course then it's tough to find a shutter speed to achieve proper exposure, especially when limited to a maximum 1/500th! Pen F lenses are more convenient, though they can be hard to find. Kevin's Cameras usually has a nice selection on hand.

 

[raid]

Doug: Yes, it is a 50-90 lens. In which sense do you view it as "old tech" ?

I wouldn't mind getting a Pen F 20mm lens one day to give me a wide angle lens. I mostly used the 85mm lens with the FT. The lens is super sharp.

raid

 

[Doug]

Doug: Yes, it is a 50-90 lens. In which sense do you view it as "old tech" ?

Just that it was designed and made about 40 years ago, and a lot of technical progress since then has improved modern zooms considerably.