I'm just getting into Olympus lenses and have been extremely impressed by the two that I own so far.
Olympus 24mm f2.8 MC
Olympus 100mm f2.8

I hear that the Olympus 28mm f2 is one of the highest resolution optics at that focal range and a superstar in the Olympus lineup. I personally prefer the 24mm/35mm focal length combo otherwise I would get the 28mm.

The other nice thing about Olympus lenses is that the Olympus/EOS adapter is one of the thickest made, about the thickness of a Leica/EOS adapter ring, so there are not really any infinity focus issues with cheap ebay adapters and they are pretty solid based on the one that I have.

Nice post. I should look one day for some these lenses. Oly is good in lens design.

Hi.

There are a couple more links I forgot to include:

Olympus hardware resource page
http://olympus.dementia.org/Hardware/

Peter Gilbert's Olympus OM Photography Site
http://www.zuikoholic.com/omlibrary/

Olympus VisionAge Magazines Index
Classic
http://www.zuikoholic.com/omlibrary/vIs … index.html
Modern version
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/cp/olympus/index.jsp

The Unofficial Olympus Sales/Technical Information File - Excellent sites - A+++
http://vanveluwen.nl/eSIF/
http://esif.cjb.net/

OM links
http://www.xs4all.nl/~wiskerke/html/olylinks.html

Photodo Lens rating
http://www.photodo.com/products.html?ma … me=Olympus

If you prefer a hard copy of the lens guide like me, then you will have to keep an eye for this book in eBAY. Sometimes you can get it cheaper than this advert.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Olympus-OM-System-Le … dZViewItem

Enjoy,
Simon

Last edited by stingOM (2007-04-21 11:36:18)

Thanks for the great links!

Mark.

My 28-48mm is an underrated keeper. I like the 28-50 range without a lens swap. Needs light, but isn't too shabby for the money.

1) I have not mentioned 21/3.5 nor 28/3.5.
2) I used for several years a 24/2.8 and I found it good but not stellar. Sorry if it doesn't match with the test results but this a real world experience.

I've just added a 55/1.2 to mine!
Still looking for a 24mm and if i'm lucky a 21mm....

Mark.

Some more Zuiko Data:

http://brashear.phys.appstate.edu/lhawk … s.faq.html

L1) How do Olympus Zuiko lenses compare to the competition?

    When introduced in the 1970s, the Zuiko lenses were
    state-of-the-art.  Today, they are still on a level with competing
    Leica, Nikon, and Zeiss designs of that era.  Third-party
    competition (e.g., Vivitar, Sigma) is much stronger than it once was,
    and some third-party lenses now equal Zuiko lenses in optical
    performance.
   
    The last Zuiko prime from Olympus was introduced in 1989, while
    1995 saw the introduction of a new lens (a zoom) for the first
    time in 5 years.

    Zuiko lenses for the OM series often have somewhat fewer elements than
    newer third-party lenses.  This makes them smaller and lighter and
    reduces the risk of internal reflections.  The letter in front of
    Zuiko stands for the number of elements (E=5, F=6, G=7).
    [Note: The letter/element designation on Zuiko lenses was
    dropped sometime in the late 70's, so not all Zuiko lenses have
    it --Ed.]

    Here are some published test results from Zuiko lenses and
    competitors.  All are from Modern Photography magazine (abbreviated
    MP).  Resolution is in lines per mm.  Quality ratings, which depend on
    type of lens, are: Exc = Excellent; VG = Very Good; G = Good; Acc =
    Acceptable.

Lens            Resolution        Resolution        Distortion     Source
                wide open         at f/5.6          (pincushion
                center  corner    center  corner    or barrel)

Zuiko lenses:

Zuiko 24/2.8    50 VG   45 Exc    80 Exc  50 Exc    ?              MP 6/75
Zuiko 28/3.5    56 Exc  44 Exc    50 VG   50 Exc    ?              MP 4/73
Zuiko 35/2.8    56 Exc  44 Exc    50 VG   50 Exc    ?              MP 4/73
Zuiko 35-70/3.5-4.5
   at 35mm      56 Exc  50 Exc    63 Exc  56 Exc    0.45% barrel   MP 6/86
   at 50mm      56 Exc  50 Exc    56 Exc  50 Exc    ?              MP 6/86
   at 70mm      57 Exc  51 Exc    57 Exc  51 Exc    0.95% pincsh   MP 6/86
Zuiko 35-105/3.5-4.5
   at 35mm      63 Exc  50 Exc    70 Exc  56 Exc    0.7% barrel    MP 2/86
   at 70mm      64 Exc  51 Exc    72 Exc  57 Exc    ?              MP 2/86
   at 105mm     63 Exc  56 Exc    70 Exc  56 Exc    1.37% pincsh   MP 2/86
Zuiko 50/1.4    55 VG   49 Exc    69 VG   62 Exc    0.9% barrel    MP 11/85
   same         55 VG   49 Exc    69 VG   62 Exc    0.9% barrel    MP 6/87
Zuiko 50/1.8    57 VG   40 Exc    90 Exc  40 VG     ?              MP 4/73
   same         55 VG   49 Exc    69 VG   62 Exc    0.93% pincsh   MP 7/85
   same         50 G    45 Exc    70 Exc  56 Exc    <1%            MP 4/86
Zuiko 100/2     55 Exc  49 Exc    69 Exc  62 Exc    0.45% pincsh   MP 6/86
Zuiko 100/2.8   55 Exc  49 Exc    55 Exc  44 Exc    ?              MP 4/73
Zuiko 135/2.8   50 Exc  32 VG     50 VG   35 G      ?              MP 6/75
Zuiko 180/2     55 Exc  49 Exc    69 Exc  62 Exc    <1% pincsh     MP 10/86
Zuiko 200/4     42 VG   37 Exc    37 G    37 Exc    ?              MP 4/73

Representative competing lenses:

Soligor 28/2.8  54 VG   30 Acc    76 Exc  30 Acc    ?              MP 4/73
Nikon 28/2.8    54 VG   43 Exc    54 G    48 Exc    ?              MP 6/75
Zeiss 28/2.8    56 Exc  50 Exc    63 Exc  56 Exc    0.5% barrel    MP 1/86
Canon 50/1.4    50 G    45 Exc    70 Exc  63 Exc    0.46% barrel   MP 7/86
Nikon E 50/1.8  52 VG   33 VG     66 VG   46 G      <1%            MP 1/83
Leica 50/1.4    54 VG   38 Exc    76 Exc  48 G      0.47% barrel   MP 9/87
Zeiss 50/1.4    45 G    40 Exc    72 Exc  64 Exc    0.92% barrel   MP 1/88
Zeiss 50/1.7    50 G    45 Exc    70 Exc  63 Exc    0.9% barrel    MP 1/86
Vivitar 75-200/4.5:
  at 75mm       46 VG   41 Exc    58 Exc  46 Exc    1.95% barrel   MP 6/89
  at 200mm      39 VG   28 VG     44 Exc  31 VG     1.67% pincsh   MP 6/89
Sigma 90/2.8 macro:
  at 1:49       69 Exc  62 Exc    87 Exc  78 Exc    0.68% pincsh   MP 6/89
  at 1:2        57 Exc  29 VG     72 Exc  40 VG     same?          MP 6/89

    Thanks to Michael Covington

    Here are some lens tests from European magazines:
   
    According to a special issue of "Photargus" 1984:
    Zuiko 24mm f/2.8 : distortion 1.22 % barrel
    Zuiko 28mm f/2.0 :  "  "      0.17 %  "     (!!)
    Zuiko 28mm f/2.8 :  "  "      0.53 %  "
    Z. Shift     35mm f/2.8 :  "  "      0.55 %
    Zuiko 50mm F3.5         No distortion
    Zuiko 100mm f/2.8: distortion -0.9 % pincushion
    "     135mm f2.8  : "   "     -0.52 %
    "     135mm f3.5  : "   "     -0.86 %

    Thanks to Henri de Feraudy <100630.225@compuserve.com>

    Zuiko 21 mm f/2
    Source: MP 5/81
    Resolution
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    49 VG     31 VG             87 Exc   39 Exc.     0.9% barrel

    Zuiko 35-70 f/4
    Source: MP 5/81
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    Resolution at 35 mm
    62 Exc    44 Exc            62 Exc   49 Exc      2.5% barrel         
    Resolution at 50 mm
    64 Exc    45 Exc            64 Exc   51 Exc        ...
    Resolution at 70 mm
    51 Exc    45 Exc            57 Exc   45 Exc      <1% barrel
   
    Zuiko 85-250 f/5
    Source: MP 5/81
    Wide Open                    11                  Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    Resolution at 85 mm
    49  Exc   49 Exc            55 Exc   49 Exc      <1% barrel       
    Resolution at 150 mm
    51  Exc   45 Exc            57 Exc    57 Exc       ...
    Resolution at 250 mm
    44  VG     45 Exc           45 VG     45 Exc     <1% pincushion
   
   
    Zuiko 24 mm f/3.5 Shift
    Source: MP 1/85
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    55 Exc   44 Exc.            62 Exc   49 Exc.     1.09% barrel       
    [at f/8 the resolution was 69/Exc./49 Exc.]
   
    Zuiko 35 mm f/2
    Source: MP 6/84
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    54  Exc   30 VG             60 VG    54  Exc       ...
   
    Zuiko 50 mm f/3.5 Macro
    Source: MP 6/84
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    60 Exc   43 Exc             60 VG    54 Exc        ...
   
    Zuiko 50 mm f/3.5 Macro at 1:4
    Source: MP 6/84
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    70 Exc    50 Exc            79 Exc   50 Exc.       ...
   
    Zuiko 75-150 f/4
    Source: MP 7/94
    Resolution at 75 mm
    Wide Open                    5.6                 Distortion
    Center    Corner             Center    Corner
    58 Exc   32 VG              58 Exc   41 Exc        ...
    Resolution at 100 mm
    54 Exc   34 Exc             60 Exc   38 Exc        ...
    Resolution at 150 mm
    48 Exc   30 Good            56 Exc   30 Good       ...
   
    Thanks to Warren Kato (wkato@aol.com)

And some more data here:
http://www.geocities.com/maitani_fan2/zuiko_wide.html

Last edited by stingOM (2007-10-23 23:07:31)

The 24mm/2.8 is one of the most contrasty lens I've ever seen. I remember it vividly the first time I saw the picture from it.  It just pop.

I love to use it on my E-300, it becomes a fast 48mm lens.  This is an example from it:

For me, it's simple. 

What I consider to be a contrasty lens renders colors or greyscale tonality in high contrast.  What I remember in the scene as being colorful, was rendered just as vivid in the picture.  If I use a so-so lens in terms of contrast, the picture did not stick out so much in my eyes.

Now, the flatness could also be caused by the film, so let's take film out of the equation.
When I mount different OM lenses on my E-300, I can see the differences in contrast when shooting pictures in similar lighting conditions.

That's how I found that the 24mm/2.8 lens is one of the most contrasty lenses
I haven't use in in a while (due to my current addiction to Zeiss lenses ) but I'll get around to take more pictures with the lens.

HTH.

Gelios, it means the bright areas are close to white, and the darker areas are close to black.