Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

RE: [OM] 135mm/2.8+2xA

Subject: RE: [OM] 135mm/2.8+2xA
From: "Wayne Harridge" <wayneharridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 21:47:43 +1100
I'm quite pleased with my 135/2.8 (MC), seems a bit more contrasty than
the 135/3.5.  I haven't tried it with the 2XA (or any other 2x
converter) as I would normally use the 300/4.5 to cover that focal
length.

I do recall taking some shots of whales from a small boat (10-15m) using
OM-1, 135/3.5 & a cheap 2x converter & K64 many years ago and I was
reasonably impressed given the equipment, film and weather conditions
(just about everyone else but me was sea sick).

...Wayne


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
> petertje@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Wednesday, 19 March 2003 7:59 PM
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [OM] 135mm/2.8+2xA
> 
> 
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I'm Peter Leyssens and I just re-re-resubcribed to this 
> Olympus mailing list.  I think I first joined in 1996 (might 
> be earlier) with the remnants of an interest in astrophoto, 
> but moved on to general photography soon after that.  I've 
> got 2 pictures on TOPE, and you'll always find me defending 
> OM gear on photo.net.
> 
> My equipment has stabilised on my trusty OM-3, a great 
> OM-4Ti, and 28/2.8, 50/1.8 (sticky diaphragm), 50/1.4, 90/2.0 
> and 75-150/4.0 lenses.  Of these, I've recently only used the 
> 90/2.0, though the 50/1.8 and the 28/2.8 have been used a lot 
> in the past.  I got the 50/1.4 (MC) almost for free when I 
> bought some other stuff but I didn't really try it yet.  I'm 
> not a very big fan of the 75-150/4.0.
> 
> That leaves me a bit lacking in the telephoto range.  I'm 
> planning a long trip this summer, and I think I need to solve 
> this problem !  There's absolutely no connection to my spasms 
> I get everytime I think about how long it's been since I've 
> bought new Zuiko glass.  I expect I'll be doing city and 
> nature photography and probably some close-up work, as well 
> as more people shots than I do on average.  I can do most 
> things with the 28-90mm lenses, except possibly for some 
> people shots and nature photography.
> 
> I've done my homework and looked at eSIF, Gary Reese's lens 
> tests and the 2nd hand price list.  I've also taken a glance 
> at TOPE submissions and John Lind's portfolio (thanks) for 
> the results of the lenses I'm considering.  Finally, I've 
> scanned through this mailing lists' archives for answers to 
> my questions.  The OM community keeps amazing me with the 
> amount of information that's available.  Another very good to 
> stick with OM !
> 
> These were some of the options I was looking at:
> 
> 75-150/f4: I already have this lens, but I don't really like 
> the results.  It's a very long time since I've used it, but 
> I've checked with some TOPE results and find the pictures 
> rather flat.  Having gotten used to the 3D look of the 90/f2, 
> I may have gotten spoilt :-)  The lens also overlaps with my 
> 90/f2, and it doesn't extend a great deal beyond it.
> 
> 180/f2.8: the mailing list archives tell me that this lens 
> suffers from coma.  Somehow, I'm not looking forward to this 
> lens knowing that.  I like doing night photography in cities.
> 
> 180/f2: Hey, I don't want to break my back, nor my bank account :-)
> 
> 200/f4: The discussion still seems to be open: I've seen rave 
> reviews as well as hate-mail about this lens.
> 
> 200/f5: seems a bit of a weird choice if I would be able to 
> find & afford a 200/f4.
> 
> 300mm lenses are quite far away from the 90mm I already have, 
> so I also considered this option:
> 
> 135/f2.8 + 2xA teleconvertor:  Gives me 2 focal lengths, 
> going up to 270mm.  The 2xA is officially compatible with 
> this lens.  Gary Reese's lens tests tell me the 135/2.8 MC is 
> quite a good lens, and I liked the shots on John Lind's 
> homepage.  I haven't seen any shot with the 2xA and this 
> lens, but Gary's site tells me the results will probably not 
> be spectacular, probably about the same as my 75-150.  
> 
> So here's a string of questions:
> 
> 1) Any experience with the 135/f2.8 ?  Is my impression about right ?
> 2) Any experience with this lens and the 2xA TC ?  Pictures I 
> can take a look at ?
> 3) I've found a thread about the 90/2.0 and the 2xA TC.  
> Officially, these don't go together, but I got the impression 
> some people got it working.  If it involves disassembling my 
> 90mm, I won't do it !
> 4) Other options I should consider ?
> 5) Tripod work with this setup: from the eSIF, I learn that 
> only lenses of 300mm and up have a tripod mount.  Hints ?  
> I've got a decent Gitzo.
> 6) Photography from a train or a ferry.  I'm planning on 
> taking the infamous Moscow-Beijing train, as well as a 2-day 
> ferry from China to Japan.  If I'm lucky, I can take some 
> pictures with the horizon and infinity being sharp, and I 
> don't care if there's motion blur in the foreground (it's a 
> moving vehicle !)  How can I best achieve this ?  Can a 
> tripod work from a train, or would that just pass through all 
> little humps to my camera ?  From a ferry, I guess a short 
> shutter speed is the only option ?
> 
> Film I plan to take: SensiaII 100 (maybe Provia), and 
> Portra800 in a small point&shoot (for fun pictures, fixed 28mm/3.5).
> 
> 
> Thanks for all your help !
> 
> Peter.
> 
> 
> 
> < 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 >
> 



< 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 >


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz