Albert Yang proclaimed:
>The 50mm is probably the sharpest lens I've ever seen in
>my life!! The color balance is very good (although I think Leica has
>the best color balance) but this lens for like $20 is the best
>bargain on the planet. If I knew someone who wanted to get started
>in photography, and Om-1n + 50mm had got to be the best bang for the
>buck..
The OM-1n + 50/1.8 is a very powerful, very overlooked tool. I don't travel
without that combo regardless of whatever else I might have along. I've
often argued that if local photography teachers really wanted their
students to learn, that they would recommend this inexpensive combo over
perennial favorites like the Pentax K-1000, and Canon Rebel (yuk!).
>The 28mm is decent, but a slight disappointment. I don't know if the
>24mm would have faired better or not, but the 28mm has a bit of
>distortion, and the sharpness was horrible compared to the 50mm and
>the Tokina.
This surprises me, very much. I've shot many, many images with my 28/2.8
and blown them up to 8"x10" and they are sharp to the edges, with tough
things like wood grain and hair appearing well defined and with no
distortion. It is my favorite lens. I've tried a Vivitar 28 and a Zuiko
28/3.5. Both of those were soft and mushy, but I've got nothing but praise
for my Zuiko 28/2.8. Now I'm not at all suggesting that it's as sharp as
the 50/1.8 but it's pretty darn good compared to others I've used.
I wonder if there isn't something wrong with yours. Alternatively I also
wonder if you got the focus just right. I found that when I was first
learning to use wide angles, I had a terrible habit of failing to fine
focus, since they give the illusion that one can simply set them on
infinity and fire away. At close range, (where wide angles excel), it's
darned easy to assume focus, when in reality that's where paying close
attention to critical focus is crucial.
I'd highly recommend that before you dismiss this lens as being soft, you
perform some very controlled experiments to determine if you can force it
to perform better. If you just can't get it to perform to your needs, maybe
you have a bad one and wish to try another, or maybe you would like to try
a 28/2. But don't give up on that focal length. It's one of the best
available for indoors, city scenes, museums, barns, photojournalism, etc. etc.
Mike Swaim
Horse's Ass Photography
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