Olympus Lenses are Awesome

[jjj]

Now I am going to go into the medium format forum  (for a system I don't own or want to own) and tell them all that they are fools for carrying such heavy gear and that they will have bent-over backs in their old age and that their pixels are too big and their lenses too wide.  Gosh there really aren't enough super telephoto lenses in medium format gear.  They really need to hear about that. 

Nah they just shoot at 100Mp and crop. 

[Telecaster]

Nah they just shoot at 100Mp and crop. 

Hah, there's truth in that! I thought about getting a Big Long Lens for my Big Blob Pentax, but after seeing what I could do with the modest 200/4 (available used BTW for under US$200...I recently had to replace a broken one) and a healthy crop I dropped the idea.

The Format Wars have more to do IMO with identity issues than the merits/demerits of any particular system. People wrap themselves up in the gear they use to the point where critique of the gear becomes a critique of them. The trick is not to become emotionally invested in your tools. You can like them, of course, but if it gets to the point of "I can't imagine taking photos without X, Y or Z!" (and its inevitable corollary: "I can't imagine how you can take photos without X, Y or Z!") then there's a problem.

-Dave-

[jjj]

The Format Wars have more to do IMO with identity issues than the merits/demerits of any particular system. People wrap themselves up in the gear they use to the point where critique of the gear becomes a critique of them. The trick is not to become emotionally invested in your tools. You can like them, of course, but if it gets to the point of "I can't imagine taking photos without X, Y or Z!" (and its inevitable corollary: "I can't imagine how you can take photos without X, Y or Z!") then there's a problem.

There is certainly truth in that. Some people do not get that other people may have different needs and get in a tizz for no real reason.
But my first digital camera was a crop sensor and I never really liked it, used it for a few months and then got a FF camera, which I loved. Don't mind my pocket cameras with much smaller sensors though and I am tempted by the MFT cameras as overall kit size is greatly reduced and they could replace my pocket cameras.

[BJL]

There are all sorts of gradations between the D800 and the m4/3, the a7 and a7r included.

But as far as lenses (see the thread title!) an A7R is not an intermediate gradation at all: same sensor size and resolution as the D800, so same lens size needed for a given situation. The A7 is in one respect even worse off, due to its lower resolution (lp/mm) reducing its cropping latitude compared to the D800 and so sometimes needing a longer focal length than any of the other options.

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

When I go for a walk with my MF equipment (Hasselblad V + P45+ 5 lenses, I also put a DSL in the bag, normally a Sony Alpha 99 SLT with a 24-80/2.8 plus a 70-400/4-5.6 zoom and an 1.4X extender. On long walks the MFD equipment stays in the car. Very clearly, if choice is to make DSLR comes with me and MFD stays at home. A few great pictures are better than no really great pictures!

MFD can be nice and has good image quality at base ISO, the DSLR/zoom combos offer flexibility and in many senses better performance.

Best regards
Erik

Hah, there's truth in that! I thought about getting a Big Long Lens for my Big Blob Pentax, but after seeing what I could do with the modest 200/4 (available used BTW for under US$200...I recently had to replace a broken one) and a healthy crop I dropped the idea.

The Format Wars have more to do IMO with identity issues than the merits/demerits of any particular system. People wrap themselves up in the gear they use to the point where critique of the gear becomes a critique of them. The trick is not to become emotionally invested in your tools. You can like them, of course, but if it gets to the point of "I can't imagine taking photos without X, Y or Z!" (and its inevitable corollary: "I can't imagine how you can take photos without X, Y or Z!") then there's a problem.

-Dave-

[fike]

I'd be interested to see samples that others have taken with other four thirds lenses on the E-M1, particularly the legendary 12-60 zoom.

[Telecaster]

I have a photo trip out west (US) set up for next spring. (Gotta arrange these things well in advance sometimes.) I'll be taking the Pentax 645D rig with me, along with probably the E-M1, 12–40mm, 50–200mm & cool little 7.5mm Rokinon fisheye. At first my intent was to use the smaller system, with kit zooms, just for location scouting. But having used these two high-end zooms over the past few weeks I think this'll be a side-by-side deal instead. I might even leave my longest Pentax lens, along with the macro, at home. I can see throwing video into the mix too. Hello excess baggage fees!

-Dave-

[tom b]

I've just been checking out Olympus lenses on B&H site, saw two lenses for US$6000. These are seriously priced lenses for MFT cameras, it would be good to bring the conversation back to just how good the lenses are.

Cheers,

[fike]

I'd like to see some work from that 300 f/2.8 and 90-250 f/2.8.  Those look like pricey gems.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

Samples please?

[John Camp]

Hah, there's truth in that! I thought about getting a Big Long Lens for my Big Blob Pentax, but after seeing what I could do with the modest 200/4 (available used BTW for under US$200...I recently had to replace a broken one) and a healthy crop I dropped the idea.

Just saw a guy walking around in Santa Fe today with a 645D over his shoulder. It wasn't any bigger, at least in the impression it made, than my D800.

[tsjanik]

Just saw a guy walking around in Santa Fe today with a 645D over his shoulder. It wasn't any bigger, at least in the impression it made, than my D800.

They are not dissimilar in size, althougth the Pentax is deeper.  The Pentax 645 lenses aren't any larger than Canon equivalents either.

Tom   

http://camerasize.com/compare/#211,291

[Telecaster]

Just saw a guy walking around in Santa Fe today with a 645D over his shoulder. It wasn't any bigger, at least in the impression it made, than my D800.

Yeah, which goes to show how bloated 35mm SLRs have become. This is one of the reasons why I chose the Pentax over the D800 (I already had some 645 FA lenses too)...if I was gonna go bigger I wanted more of that bigger to apply to the sensor. The 645D is sized about right for the dimensions of its reflex mirror and the girth of its lenses. The Oly E-M1 actually isn't that much smaller than a Contax Aria (my all-time favorite 35mm SLR). It too is sized about right IMO for a handheld SLR-ish camera.

As for m43 lenses, I haven't had the 12–40mm off my E-M1 since the day it arrived. They seem made for each other...size & weight are so nicely balanced. Optical performance is very good (40mm) to excellent (all other FLs), better than I expected.

-Dave-

[BJL]

The Pentax 645 lenses aren't any larger than Canon equivalents ...

One irony is that the Pentax 645D (along with most recent DMF cameras) has slightly smaller pixels and so slightly higher resolution in lp/mm than any Canon 36x24 format camera, so can in fact use the same focal lengths with a crop and get at least as much resolution on the same subject. This is one of the few cases where the old canard that "a smaller format camera just gives a crop of what you would get with a bigger format" is somewhat true.

Aside: MF lenses of the same focal length tend to be a bit shorter, I guess, because of the extra body depth from lens mount to focal plane.