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[OM] Re: ?? Mid-tele zoom w/49mm filters??

Subject: [OM] Re: ?? Mid-tele zoom w/49mm filters??
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 15:23:58 -0700
John A. Lind wrote:

>Regarding the OM 75-150 and 70-210, my benchmark "comparator" for their 
>optics (and other mid-tele zooms) is the Tamron Adaptall 80-200/2.8 
>ED........  Nevertheless, it provides 
>an example of what is possible in a mid-tele zoom without being an 
>"elephant tusk" and a standard against which the compromises made for 
>smaller size, lower weight and less cost can be measured.
>  
>
Seems a little unfair. The Tamron SP 80-200/2.8 was designed at least 10 
years later then the Zuiko 75-140/4 during a period of rapid advancement 
in zoom lens design. The Tamron uses ED glass, which simply didn't exist 
when the 75-150 was designed. I agreee that the Tamron is one of the 
great lenses, but don't find it as hand-holdable as you do. It is also 3 
1/2 times the weight of the 75-150 and feels about 3 times as big. The 
comparison seems to me to be apples to guavas.

The 75-150 could not have been an 'S' type for the simple reason that it 
was the first zoom Oly ever made for OM mount, so there were no other 
Zuiko zooms for it to be less 'pro' than. It is also built to exactly 
the same standards as the other Zuikos of the time. I think it was the 
best they could do with the technology of the time, which is probably 
why it is still a decent lens so much later. Great, no. Fully usable, 
certainly. Not fast enough when separation from background by DOF is 
needed, it is otherwise a great portrait lens. The slight softness and 
moderate contrast wide open are quite flattering without looking oof and 
the focal range is perfect.

As to front element rotation, did anybody make zooms without that in the 
early days? Of the too many OM mount zooms I have, the only one I can 
think of is a Tamron 28-200 IF lens that is really a design derived from 
AF. Non rotating front element zooms really are a result of the 
requirements of AF that led to internal focusing.

Moose




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