At 01:56 2/10/03, you wrote:
Generally, two opinions exist on this lens. Among those who've used it,
it's regarded as a legendary perfomer and conveys a supernaturally beautiful
dimension to images created with it. It ranks with the finest Zeiss and
Leitz lenses.
Indeed, it does . . . and it's exceptional for macro work . . . however . . .
Among those of us with budgetary concerns, a "sour grapes" position is the
most common. These posts (my own for example) opine that it couldn't
possibly be 4-9x better than more affordable alternatives.
I don't do that much macro work to justify having that much money tied up
in dedicated macro lenses, especially a 90/2. Instead, I use extension
tubes for making macros and one of my favored lenses for 1:2 to 1:4 macros
"in the field" is the 85/2. It's an excellent combination and much less
expensive.
I have two sets of tubes, the Oly set and a longer set of metal Vivitar
auto-tubes. The Oly tubes are exceptionally well made but their lengths
were designed primarily for use with a 50mm lens. The AT-21 set of Vivitar
tubes aren't as finely made, but still very sturdy (no lens wobble). The
entire set cost less than a single Oly tube. Works with longer lenses
until both higher magnification and greater standoff distance are required
which requires a lens longer than 50mm. The longer Vivitar tubes are used
for higher magnifications with the 85/2. If you use a 135/2.8, all three
Oly tubes stacked are usually not enough extension.
-- John
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