I agree with Gary's assessments of the 35mm lenses-- both the 35/2 and
35/2.8 are fine lenses, but easily equalled with other brands.
when I said that a 21/2, 35/2, 50/2 macro and 90/2 macro would be
hard to equal, it is the other 3 lenses that no other camera brand
can touch. nobody else even makes an f/2 lens in the 20/21mm focal
length to my knowledge, and the two macros are absolutely state of
the art. Nikonk, Contax, Leica and others might be able to
match their performance, but none are f/2. These are floating element
lenses that maintain sharpness from infinity to macro region and thus
really are generally purpose lenses as well, whence the f/2 aperture is
quite useful, esepcially with the 90mm one, both for portraiture work
and for use on teleconvertors, where the speed is helpful.
one point not mentioned in comparing the 35/2 and 35/2.8 is that
the 35/2.8 is more flare resistant. It is one of the most flare resistant
lenses I've used actually. even the single-coated 35/2.8's can be
pointed at the sun and create images without ghosting of the aperture
blades. I don't know if this would work at high noon, but any sort of
composition where one would have the sun in the frame should be fine,
at least from my own experience. I have some shots of sunsets over
a large lake and the sun itslef and rays of the sun are all imaged
quite well.
re: John Prosper's comments about the Nikon 62mm diopters not fitting on
the vivitar 35-85/2.8... I agree about that, and it is part of the reason
I prefer the 35-70/3.6 Zuiko. lighter weight of the 35-70 zuiko being
the larger reason.
The 35-70/3.6 zuiko is a superb lens. about the only time I would ever
prefer a prime over it is for flare control, eg when doing one of
the shots like I described above with the sun in the frame. a specular
light source will flare in the 35-70/3.6, but otherwise it has sharpness
and contrast rivalling a prime lens at all focal lengths.
Ciao,
Joseph Albert
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|