At 01:02 12/22/01, Les Clark wrote:
On 12/21/01 at 07:53 PM, Larry Woods said:
> It seems to be mandatory lately on this list to mention the serial
>number of one's 50mm 1.4 Zuiko. Mine is an MC, 1076xxx. Is this new
>enough to be deemed good, or am I doomed because it's below 1100xxx?
>Y'know, I have been perfectly happy with my silvernose 50mm 1.8 since I
>got it in 1975, but all this talk about the "Made in Japan" version
>lately is starting to give me an inferiority complex!
The saga begins...
---------------------------------------------
les clark / edgewater, nj / usa
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And so it does . . .
I have four 50mm "body caps," three of which are 50/1.4 MC lenses. One of
each falls into the S/N ranges: <1M, >1M but <1.1M, and >1.1M. The first
of the three is easily distinguishable from the other two by its
multi-coatings. It appears that Olympus only multi-coated some of its
elements, not all. Other than the S/N, the only distinguishing feature
between the other two is >1M but <1.1M has the "MC" marking on the lens
ring; >1.1M does not (made after Olympus dropped the marking). In
performance, the <1M does not quite have the crispness, but it is still
very good. I cannot tell between the other two.
I'm certain Gary Reese, if he hasn't dropped of for the holidays will weigh
in on this.
The best among them all is the fourth, a 50/1.2, which IMO is the overall
best of Olympus' 50mm OM lenses. All four are, overall, better than the
50/1.8 F.Zuiko I used to own.
Caveat:
Definition of what "better" and "best" means are very dependent on the
user. There are many factors involved in evaluating a camera
lens: astigmatism, pincushion/barrel distortion, chromatic aberration,
resolving power, contrast, flatness of field, flare resistance, bokeh,
size, weight, and durability.
I believe someone asked in a different thread to list what there is in
addition to lens MTF (a measure of resolution and contrast). There's my
take on it in the "caveat." When Zeiss Ikon went head-to-head with Leitz'
Leica, the Carl Zeiss lenses Zeiss Ikon used were designed for technical
excellence. Many of the coated ones are still world-class
performers. However, adherents of Leitz' lenses prefer them, not because
of pure MTF, but for other less tangible factors that are difficult to
measure on a bench in a laboratory.
-- John
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