Within their class (fast, wide angle lenses made for 35mm film in the
1970s to 1990s) the OM wide angle lenses (28mm, 24mm, 21mm, 18mm)
were, in my opinion, masterpieces of design. The 24mm f/2.0, for quite
some time, was one of my favourite and most-used lenses. It
never let me down.
For making analogue prints I have never been disappointed, only
delighted
at the results - at any aperture. Beyond the optical qualities, the
remarkable
compactness and solid build quality are what make these lenses
pleasurable to
use.
These lenses, however, have no place on a camera with a super-high
resolution
sensor a mere quarter of the area they were designed for - it's
extremely
silly and wasteful. I am sure the el cheapo and not-highly-regarded
Zuiko Digital 25mm f/2.8 Pancake will perform much better even than the
24/2.0.
Think about it - how good would the 24/2.0 look wide open on a 40
megapixel
full-frame camera? Most Leica and Zeiss lenses for 35mm would not even
cut
it. The problem is compounded in that the OM wide angle lenses are not
at
all telecentric, looking much worse on a digital sensor than on film due
to the oblique angle the rays hit the sensor at, and compounded by all
sorts
of issues with large-aperture lenses and the smal mirror-box of your
E-510,
etc.
Pleasure is shooting the 24/2.0 on an Olympus OM film body (which is,
of course, even smaller than your E-510). For wide-angle work on a tiny
digital sensor, you really will be better off with the correct lenses,
even the plastic fantastic ZD 9-18mm is vastly superior in all respects.
Want *fast* wide-angle lenses? No real options, the gigantic 14-35mm f/
2.0
at the wide end (28mm equiv) is the closest you'll get.
Dawid
On 13 Apr 2011, at 4:42 AM, Ch. Zhou wrote:
> I often heard that this lens is an outstanding performer, even wide
> open.
>
> I saw mixed wide open pictures by this lens, some are really
> outstanding, some are mediocre.
>
> I recently acquired one. Mounted on my Olympus E-510 digital camera,
> it
> does not perform well enough wide open to meet my expectation. I am
> wondering what your experience is with this lens. Do I happen to get a
> bad copy?
>
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