Best Third Party Zoom Lenses Ever for Olympus OM?

<p>What are your favorite Third Party zooms ever made for Olympus OM and why?</p>

<p>Hey folks, just for fun, list your top favorite 3rd party zoom lenses in Olympus OM mount only list! This list can be as long or as short as you want, is purely subjective and there is no wrong or right answer…although if you choose a JCPenny zoom lens as your #1 zoom lens of all time I may question your photography experience ! Most people would agree that Olympus OM Zuiko primes are superb, however when it came to zoom lenses most Olympus OM Zuiko zooms were just really "average" - <em>the exception of course was the state of the art Olympus OM 35-80mm f2.8 ED zoom lens.</em> Many hi end 3rd party zooms actually surpassed the OM Zuiko zooms in quality and lens performance (see my list below) which is why many photographers went with hi end 3rd party zooms.</p>

<p>The zooms can be ANY third party brand zooms with a original Olympus OM mount such as Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Vivitar...ect. They can be cult lenses. They can be lenses you own or want to own or a mix. You may post a photo if you like of your favorite 3rd party zoom. No modified lenses or custom made adapters with a modified Olympus OM mount. Tamron interchangeable mounts OK! No prototypes. Again ZOOMS only NO PRIMES!</p>

<p>Open to both Olympus OM and Olympus 4/3rds both film and/or digital photographers.</p>

<p>Here is my list:</p>

<p><strong>Angenieux 70-210mm f3.5 Macro 1:2.5 zoom in Olympus OM mount <br />Angenieux 35-70mm f2.5-3.3 zoom in Olympus OM mount (this lens later based for Tokina ATX zooms)<br />Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5/5.6 MC Series I or II Macro 1:3 zoom lens Olympus OM mount*<br />Tokina 80-200mm f2.8 AT-X zoom lens Olympus OM mount <br />Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 zoom Olympus OM mount</strong><br>

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<em>*My favorite 3rd party zoom and why? Out of the list above I have owned the above Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm and shot with the Olympus OM-3 camera. These are high quality 3rd party zoom lenses made by Sigma of Japan designed and licensed by Carl Zeiss in 1980's to 1990's. These were underrated zoom lenses as these hi end zooms were all MC (multi-coated) and some even had APO/ED glass! In fact many of the CZJ Jenazoom lenses were identical to Sigma APO zooms often renamed ED (Extra Dispersion glass) for CZJ Jenazoom lenses.</em>

<p>Here is a photo of one of the best 3rd party zooms ever made...</p><div></div>

<p>I still love my Tamron 80-200mm 2.8. I can use it on my Nikons , OMs , Konicas and E-510. The Vivitar Series 1 35-85mm 2.8 OM mount is another favorite even if it is a varifocal.</p>

<p>Bob, your Tamron 80-200mm f2.8 zoom is a fast lens! What I love about the Tamron lenses are their interchangable mounts. The Vivitar Series I lenses are legendary! Your Vivitar Series I 35-85mm f2.8 is also fast and perfect for walk around. Is the f2.8 a constant aperture? I have wanted try a Vivitar Series I zoom for a while now as I hear nothing but praise for Vivitar Series I lenses. For me varifocal is no big deal, I believe most lenses are varifocal anyway especially because of AF they become close to parfocal.</p>

That 35-70 zoom may be a good lens, but its size kinda goes against the grain, against the plusses of the OM system. It looks more to me like a 150, or 200mm should. ( I know its a fast lens ) What does that lens weigh?

 

 

 

As to your question, I know its another kind of heavy lens, but the Tokina 24-40 / 2.8 is a great lens with an interesting and useful (to me) zoom range.

 

 

I also like the mentioned Vivitar Series 1 lineup for OM.

<p>George, your Tokina 24-40mm/2.8 sounds like a fantastic lens too. It reminds me of the little known mini-zoom Olympus made, the Olympus OM 28-48mm F4 zoom lens, I hear lot's of praise about this mini zoom lens. I actually saw one at a camera dealer once but passed on it because of it's slow f/4. IMO your Tokina 24-40mm/2.8 is actually better, more fast and more UWA. As for the French made Angenieux zoom, yeah it's not as compact as a OM Zuiko zoom, but the quality is outstanding from what I read, it has APO glass, it's fast at f2.5 and smooth focusing. The only downside is it's price one of the most expensive zooms ever made and many compare this Angenieux zoom to Leica zooms. Speaking of Tokina, it is a little known fact that they based their AT-X series zooms from these Angenieux zooms one of the very few 3rd party Europeon zooms!</p>

<p>George here are the specs on the Angenieux 35-70mm f2.5-3.3 according to one source. Not too much info on the specs of this lens. Weight is at 525 grams (over a pound!). They also made these Angenieux zooms in Leica mount for Leica cameras! Angenieux sold lens design to Tokina for the Tokina ATX Pro 28-70mm 2.6-2.8 in 1980's.</p>

<p>The Angenieux 35-70mm f2.5-3.3 zoom lens has separate control rings for<br />focusing and setting the focal length.<br /><br />Maximum aperture: f2.5 at 35mm, f2.8 at 50mm, f3.3 at 70mm<br />Minimum aperture: f22<br />Optical construction: 11 elements<br />Min focusing distance: 1 meter at 35mm, 46 cms from 50 to 70mm<br />Macro: 1:5.6<br />Length: 136mm<br />Weight: 525 grams<br />Max diameter: 71mm<br />Supplied items: Removable square hood, 58mm UV filter, intermediate<br /> filter holder</p>

<p>I listed some of these in response to another posting. For OM mount I have the following fixed mount zooms not make by Olympus: 35-70/2.5-3.5 Soligor C/D, 35-70/2.8-4 Sigma, 35-70/2.8-3.8 Vivitar, 28-90/2.8-3.5 Vivitar Series 1, 28-85/2.8-3.8 Vivitar Auto Variable Focusing, 70-150/3.8 Vivitar 1-touch, 70-150/3.8 Vivitar 2-touch, 70-210/4-5.6 Sigma. In addition to these I have Vivitar T4 and Tamron Adaptall II lenses which will fit the OM cameras. I actually prefer to use single focal length lenses but there are many nice non-Zuiko zooms available in OM mount. My two favorite zooms for OM camera are probably the 28-90 Vivitar Series 1 and the 35-70 Soligor C/D. </p>

<p>For compactness there's the Tamron Adaptall 70-210 f4-5.6. While not as good a performer at extremes of zoom as the well regarded f2.8 Tamron tele zooms, stopped down a bit it does well. It goes well with the compact OM bodies. On the wide end the Tamron 35-80 SP f3.5 is good, or if on a budget the 35-70 CF f3.5 isn't bad either.</p>

<p>I quite like my Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/3.5 (Kiron) but it is quite hard to hand-hold with the tiny OM body. Those Angenieux and the Jenazoom lens look amazing, but incredibly pricey too.<br>

Any suggestions for best *cheap* 3rd-party OM zoom? :) Anyone with experience of the Vivitar Series 1 24-70mm or 24-90mm?</p>

<p>Jeff, thank you for sharing your amazing arsenal of 3rd party zooms with us! As I said before, I read lots of praise for Vivitar Series I zoom lenses on every photography forum on the internet. The Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f2.8-3.5 zoom lens that you have is legendary, a perfect example of just how state of the art many of the Vivitar Series 1 zoom lenses are. I read a Vivitar S1 28-90/2.8-3.5 sales brochure (see photo) apparently that lens has <strong>rare-earth elements.</strong> It's not dangerous or anything as the radiation (if any) is so low. This was common in early zooms/primes to put rare-earth elements in the glass, the OM Zuiko 55mm f1.2 is a perfect example of this as it is famous for having rare-earth elements. As for your Vivitar S1 28-90/2.8-3.5 they put tantalum and lanthanum in the glass to minimize aberrations. How well does your Vivitar S1 28-90/2.8-3.5 perform with portrait photography at the 90mm tele end?</p><div></div>

<p>Jonathan, I think you are referring to the Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f2.8-3.5 zoom lens - the one that Jeff has (see sales brochure above). A Vivitar Series 1 24-90mm zoom lens does not exist. If you are looking for the best cheap 3rd party Vivitar Series 1 zoom lens then this Vivitar S1 28-90/2.8-3.5 is the zoom for you, I have seen these sell on Ebay used under $50 which is dirt cheap fo a zoom lens of this quality and provided the lens is in good shape of course from the seller.</p>

Wow. 136mm and weight of 525g....... I'll keep my Zuiko 35-70 f 3.5-4.5, at 51mm length and weight of 191g!

 

 

Yes, I also forgot about the Viv Series 1 28-90mm. I used to own it and sold it the (first time) I sold off my Olympus gear! D'OH!

<p>George, lol :) yeah the Angenieux 35-70mm f2.5-3.3 zoom lens is a heavy beast! But that lens is about the weight of many of the Olympus OM Zuiko's top of the line primes and zooms in the similar focal length. For me the weight issue is a small price to pay for high IQ, APO or ED glass, a fast aperture, smooth focusing... ect. This Angenieux is actually a lightweight compared to one of the finest zooms ever made of all time, the Olympus OM Zuiko 35-80mm f2.8 ED zoom lens weighs at a whopping 650g!</p>

Oh yeah, Rob, I'm not denigrating the Angenieux at all, I have heard of its reputation and don't argue that it's not deserved. Just having some fun pointing out that its 2 1/2 times the weight and almost 3 times the length for that extra speed. I also don't recall seing more than 2 or 3 examples of them thru the years. (but then again I wasn't actively looking either) Do you know just how rare they are?

<p>Hey George, I know you were having fun! These Angenieux lenses are pretty rare but for us Olympus OM photographers it's actually a double rarity as the OM mount is the least common mount available...figures lol! In the USA they are extremly rare so you have to go to Europe, specifically France where these were made. Do a search on Ebay and you'll see. Expect to pay anywhere from $1000-$2000 for these lenses!</p>

<p>Sigma 70-210mm f/2.8 APO. Extremely sharp, even wide open, not a terrible size, though not small and a good focal length for sports, portraits, etc. Also excellent hood and tripod collar.<br>

Not very common, but I see 3 or 4 up on Ebay every year.</p><div></div>

<p>Rob H > Sorry, my mistake - it was the 28-90mm I was referring to.</p>

<p>Matthew that Sigma 70-210mm f/2.8 APO zoom is a awesome zoom! It has APO glass and like you mention very fast at f2.8 and sharp wide open. These are the hi end 3rd party zooms I am talking about that outperformed most OM Zuiko zooms in IQ, color saturation and sharpness.</p>

<p>I am also familiar with Sigma APO zooms. I have shot with the Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 in Olympus OM mount and a Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 MC ED IF AF in Canon EF mount. Very very rare versions of CZJ in ED/APO glass do exist in Olympus OM AF mount! It would work on a manual Olympus OM camera in "manual mode" there is a tiny manual/AF switch on the lens (see photo). <strong>Aside minor cosmetic differences,</strong> <strong>basically the CZJ Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 AF MC ED was a EXACT replica of the Sigma 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 AF APO zoom!</strong></p><div></div>

<p>Any of the original Vivitar Series 1 lineup would be included in this list. Of those, the two I have used are the 35-85mm f2.8 and the 90-180mm f4.5 Flat Field Macro.</p>

<p><a href="http://cameraquest.com/viv90180.htm">http://cameraquest.com/viv90180.htm</a></p>

<p>Greg, I agree and thats why I put the Vivitar Series 1 on my list of the best 3rd party zooms, they really made outstanding zooms, so good they have become "cult lenses" too many though to list.</p>

<p>Here is photo of Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 zoom lens in Olympus OM mount (manual film camera). EDIT: the Carl Zeiss Jenazoom zooms AF versions in Olympus OM mount (see lens above) actually only work for Olympus OM AF cameras. However those Olympus OM AF film cameras did accept manual OM mount lenses in manual mode and AP modes same as today's digital cameras.</p>

<p>Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 zoom lens in Olympus OM mount</p><div></div>

<p>Regarding the Vivitar S1 24-70 it was my favorite walk-around lens. I went through a couple and could not find them anymore. It was very sharp at the 24mm end, and contrasty at the long end.<br>

As to the Carl Zeiss Jenazoom 75-300mm f4.5 5.6 ED IF AF for Olympus, all of my Olympus AF lens have a large piece of plactic that has the electronic contacts that prevent mounting on the regular OM bodies. I don't know how this would work. <br>

One of my personal favorites which hasn't been mentioned here is the Vivitar/Phoenix 19-35 zoom. Very sharp and very light due to all the plastic used. The second zoom not mentioned here is the Tamron 35-105/2.8. I find mine sharper than the S1 35-85.<br>

I second the recommendations on the Tamron 80-200/2.8 and the Vivitar S1 35-85 as well as the Vivitar S1 28-90. </p>

<p>W.Xato, yeah it looks like more votes for Vivitar Series 1 zooms! There are two versions above of the CZJ Jenazoom: one in AF and one in manual zoom both are the same focal length 75-300mm. On the Carl Zeiss Jenazoom AF I made a edit above, you are correct that for the CZJ Jenazoom AF versions with Olympus OM mount they only work for Olympus OM AF cameras like OM-707/ OM-77 cameras. However the CZJ Jenazoom (manual zoom lens version) , see photo above, does indeed work with all Olympus OM manual cameras.</p>

<p>Another vote for the Vivitar Series 1 35-85 f2.8 varifocal. Although to be honest it's the only 'zoom' for the Olympus I ever owned. In fact, I've still got it if anyone in the UK wants to buy it.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Alan</p>