I've spent endless hours testing all of them on a FF 14MP digital camera
(Kodak SLR/c). At close/macro distances there is no doubt. The Vivitar
90/2.5 S1 delivers greater detail and is the best overall performer
consistently. The 90/2, 50/2, and 50/3.5 are all great lenses (had them all,
and the 100/2). They are excellent at normal and close focus, but as they
approach their closest focus distance at 1:2 macro, the performance drops
off. From wide open to stopped down, I tested all apertures. The Vivitar is
sharper and has a flatter field of focus, and less CA at all apertures. It
even has great bokeh. The Zuiko 90/2 has nice bokeh, but it's not the best.
If you want great bokeh from a Zuiko I think the 100/2 is better. I've also
tested the Kiron 100/2.8 and similar Vivitar 105/2.8 macro - the Vivitar S1
still came out ahead. If you want top quality macro from a Zuiko you need to
go with the "real" Zuiko macros that Olympus made for the job.
Unfortunately, the require bellows/tubes and don't work at normal distances.
The "contrast issue" with this lens only happens under certain lighting
hitting the front of the lens at infinity distances. even at infinity, this
lens outperformed the Zuiko 90/2 and 100/2 in most tests. Using a lens hood
helps considerably at those times at infinity when there is a strong front
light. That's why I am including the one I was using. It never happens at
close focus distances. In fact, that 's one place where this lens shines
above all others. Besides the extreme detail, this lens clobbers most other
for it high contrast, even in difficult backlight, at macro distances. This
lens will take extension tubes, TC's, and close up filters much better than
any other macro I've tested - which show more obvious loss of details and
contrast. It also has a much needed tripod mount for 1:1 and beyond macro
work. I took this same picture, directly into the sun with the Kiron macro
and it was washed out (sorry, tossed the Kiron version):
http://www.imaginenature.com/FL2H4976.jpg
The there is this one I already posted. Just look how well the lens held the
detail at the harsh contrast gradient between the whites and blacks, and the
complete lack of any ghosting. Impressive!:
http://www.imaginenature.com/FL2F0180.jpg
I'm not writing all this to sell it, as it appears to already be sold. I've
spent endless hours looking for the best macro and this one repeatedly came
out on top for sharpness, color, flat field, lack of CA, bokeh...
The only Zuiko "macro" I have kept is the 50/3.5. Unfortunately, using it
with the OM 25mm extension tube for 1:1 shows loss of detail. I've also
tried it with the excellent Vivitar 2x macro TC, but the corners sharpness,
CA, and Bokeh don't come close. Overall, the Zuiko 50/3.5 is a nice little
lens though:
http://www.imaginenature.com/zuiko50macro_1.jpg
http://www.imaginenature.com/zuiko50macro_2.jpg
Regards,
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
Philippe Le Zuikomane
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 9:47 AM
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [OM] Re: FS: Vivitar S1 90/2.5 Macro
Higher resolution than the very latest Zuiko 90/2, 50/2 and 50/3.5? Just
wondering. - Phil
On 02:01, Paul Martinez wrote:
>The OM 50's and 90mm macro's are nice, but don't go to 1:1, and
>don't capture the extreme detail this lens does.
==
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