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[OM] Re: olympus Digest V2 #106

Subject: [OM] Re: olympus Digest V2 #106
From: "John A. Lind" <jalind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 00:38:18 -0500
At 11:45 PM 4/16/2005,
ScottGee1 wrote:
>  - Focuses to .7m/2.3ft vs. 1.6m/5.2ft for the Oly and results are
>remarkably good in close.
>  - Tamron is multicoated and apparently very few if any of the Oly 
> examples are.

[snip]

>FWIW, I initially planned to get an Oly 85 or 100 but realized that in
>practical use a zoom is far more handy in this range, so . . . .

If you get into focusing closer . . . 1:4 and higher mag macros . . . 
you'll find primes easier to set up and work with.  The 85/2 is a marvelous 
lens with 49mm ring.  Small and light, it's one of the "forgotten," 
overshadowed by the stellar 100/2 and 90/2 Macro.  The performance of mine 
belies the two Gary Reese tested (maybe I was lucky ??).  Not the top of 
the line (that goes to the 50/1.2) but definitely well above average . . . 
and its bokeh has proven decent (has 8 blades).  I've gotten some photos 
with it using fine-grain chrome film that can be greatly enlarged without 
showing loss of resolution anywhere.  Combined with extension tubes, it's a 
"poor man's" 90/2.  If the OM auto-tubes are too much for the budget, 
Vivitar made a slightly longer and much less expensive auto-tube set that 
works very well with it.  The OM tube lengths were designed specifically 
for 1:1 macro with a 50mm (46mm total), hence their shorter length.  The 
Vivitar lengths (68mm total) should get at least very close 1:1 with an 
85mm.  Never measured it to see if they actually do.  Seems to have 
sufficient field flatness for most macro work . . . but very rarely do flat 
copy work . . . my macro subject material typically has some depth and the 
challenge is getting enough diffused light to allow stopping down for 
sufficient depth of field at high magnification using slow film.

-- John Lind


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