Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: RogerW on April 21, 2008, 03:04:55 pm
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Having read some fairly lukewarm reviews of Olympus' 50mm macro lens I wonder if anyone has any observations to make about this lens and/or any possible alternatives for the Olympus E3 dslr?
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Having read some fairly lukewarm reviews of Olympus' 50mm macro lens I wonder if anyone has any observations to make about this lens and/or any possible alternatives for the Olympus E3 dslr?
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I love the 50mm macro Zuiko lens. It is very sharp, though you do need to get close to the items as they get smaller and you zoom closer. I like to put that lens on and just make myself use it for a day or two. I get some amazing photos out of it when I do this.
Some people like to use the 50-200mm lens with the 1.4 extender. You can get some nice macro ability out of that combo.
Aaron
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Most of the reviews I've read have noted the 50mm macro as one of the sharpest lenses they've ever tested on a DSLR, so I'm not sure where that comes from... it certainly outresolves a 10mp sensor. As a macro lens, though, AF is less than thrilling.
For most practical macro work, however, one of the biggest drawbacks of the 50mm is the working distance; you have to get pretty close to the subject. At the moment, Sigma offers a 105mm 2.8? macro that has a good reputation, and the 150mm 2.8 macro I currently lust over. Both are known to be very sharp, and fairly well built (though not sealed like the Oly glass). As macros, of course, AF is still iffy, but focus limiter switches help.
Looking to the future, there's an Olympus 100mm macro (either f2 or f2.8) on the lens roadmap, expected to be announced in September this year. It will no doubt be a very capable lens.
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Thanks for your reply - very helpful.
It was adverse comments about focussing that had made me a little concerned about the lens.