Loving an Old Olympus

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had received an Olympus OM 300mm lens, and was about to send it away for cleaning and adjustment. Mike Gammill responded that he'd like to see some images from the lens when the work had been completed, and now I'm happy to oblige. Here's a pic of the lens; it's full title is 300mm Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-T f/4.5.

300mm Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-T f/4.5

The lens was part of the great Olympus OM camera system, and is built and finished to the usual very high Zuiko standards. The tripod collar is removable for for hand-held use, and the lens features a deep retractable lens hood and a wide textured focusing ring. All movements are very precise and smooth, and the glass is well coated. It's no lightweight, weighing in at 1000g ( 35.3 oz) and measuring 230mm (8 1/4 ") with the hood extended. Here's a diagram of the optical construction, courtesy of Mir.com.

Formula

I'm a lover of telephoto lenses. Novice photographers think of telephoto lenses in terms of just "bringing things closer" and assume that the usual uses are for wildlife or sports photography. Similarly, wide angle lenses are for "getting more things in the picture". However, hopefully there is a progression to discovering the ability of non-standard lens to compress or extend distance and alter perspective, creating a whole new world unobtainable to the naked eye. Suddenly, a boring tree in a paddock can become dramatic with a distant cliff looming behind it, and even in the urban locations humble objects can take on a hitherto un-noticed beauty of their own. I get quite drawn into this world when working with long lenses, as some of the samples I'll post may show. While I'd love to use lenses like this Zuiko more frequently on film cameras, the advent of mirrorless digital technology has enabled me to explore their qualities in an affordable fashion, and has extended the possibilities of hand-holding big lenses in a variety of lighting situations. The samples I'll post below were shot with a full-frame Sony ILCE 7R, using shutter speeds of no less than 1/1000th. I really enjoyed my afternoon with this classic lens.

Late June

Ducati

Stone and Steel

Slipping Away

Winter Light

Waiting

Wine Country

Karamu Coffee

Glitz

Willow

Mike Gammill said:

An outstanding performance, Rick. And a beautiful example. Thanks for posting.

Thanks Mike, my pleasure.

Beautiful images, Rick, as always. Thanks for sharing them. And the lens looks gorgeous, too.

If I may ask a couple of questions about the lens itself, I'm curious as to where you sent it off to, for cleaning and adjustment. And what it cost for that service, if you don't mind sharing that information.

Since you didn't mention it, I assume yours does not have the F.ZUIKO designation, but just the ZUIKO, making it a later example, with multicoating.

@Chuck : Yes, I like wideangles, too, but I seem to have more of a struggle to find suitable subjects, compared to the longer lenses.

@Davecaz : I'm pleased you liked the images, Dave, and yes, it is the later Zuiko model, multicoated as you pointed out. Regarding the repairs, I'm fortunate enough to have the acquaintance of a retired Leitz technician here in New Zealand who is willing to take on some of my more complicated equipment problems, but I'm unaware as to how much work he wants, in his retirement. I don't know where you reside, but freight to and from NZ is rather prohibitive. Mail me if you want to discuss this further.

@Davecaz : I'm pleased you liked the images, Dave, and yes, it is the later Zuiko model, multicoated as you pointed out. Regarding the repairs, I'm fortunate enough to have the acquaintance of a retired Leitz technician here in New Zealand who is willing to take on some of my more complicated equipment problems, but I'm unaware as to how much work he wants, in his retirement. I don't know where you reside, but freight to and from NZ is rather prohibitive. Mail me if you want to discuss this further.

No worries. I figured that would be the case, but it was worth asking.

Great shots as always Rick! I'm always impressed by the way you make ordinary subjects look like photographic masterpieces.

Andy

"Great shots as always Rick! I'm always impressed by the way you make ordinary subjects look like photographic masterpieces.

I agree 100% with this and all the other positive comments. Fabulous work.

Rick - as usual, informative accompanied by imaginative well executed performance examples. Thanks for sharing. Inspires me to shoot my OM2N a little more often than every year or 2.

Steve