I'm sure you've noticed Ken's moniker "AG Schnozz" which translates to
"silver nose". He has assumed this name since he loves the qualities of
the older silver nose lenses. Silver nose refers to the front of the
lens barrel being silver color rather than black. Silver nose lenses
were the style for early Zuikos and it tends to correlate with single
coating. Later lenses had their noses painted black and the later
lenses tend to be multicoated. The correlation is not perfect, however.
A multicoated lens will perform better than a single coated lens when
placed in a situation where flare could be a problem, such as a wide
angle pointed in the general direction of the sun. Of course, point it
close enough and multicoating won't help you either. The multicoated
lens may also have a bit better contrast at all times but it's probably
quite dependent on the individual lens and shooting situtation.
In addition to multicoating, a later lens may perform better by virtue
of having gone thorough one or more redesigns during its life so it's
tough to differentiate the effect of multicoating alone. The 50mm f/1.8
is probably the best known case in point. It has been through some 5 or
6 versions with the final one referred to as the "MIJ" lens. It is the
only one of the multiple versions which says "Made in Japan" on the name
ring. As a caution, note that others may say "Japan" but only the last
one says "Made in Japan". When you want to know about performance your
best bet is to refer to Gary Reese's tests at:
<http://members.aol.com/olympusom/lenstests/default.htm>
Some of Gary's tests also point out serial number breaks where it is
known that Olympus changed the design of the lens.
Now then, as the Schnozz will be sure to point out, none of this stuff
means the early 50mm f/1.8 Zuiko is a throwaway. The older, single
coated lenses have a character all their own. Resolution and contrast
are the only things that get measured by modern MTF tests but resolution
and contrast are only two characteristics of a lens. Lenses can be cold
or warm in their color rendition. They can have beautiful or ugly
bokeh. They can render skin as soft and lovely or harsh and ugly.
So, as a good Zukoholic you are required to obtain all of them for their
individual characteristics. :-)
Chuck Norcutt
Darin Rhein wrote:
> So, how important is MC really, to an hobbist?
>
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