Zuiko 90mm f/2 VS. Summicron 90 APO

As much as I love my M6 and will never sell it, I was tempted by a

Olympus OM1n and Zuiko 50mm f1.4 MC on the weekend for

US$100 in excellent condition. I've been researching Olympus

gear for a while and used it (om4-Ti) for a short period of time in

the past. The OM 4 was the best manual body I've ever used.

 

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Anyway I'd like to know everyone's opinion on the much praised

90mm f/2 from Olympus. Particulary it's performance wide open

and compared to the Summicron 90 APO or any other

comparitive lenses. The advantages are obvious being a 90mm

f/2 and MACRO!

 

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Please advise

 

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Thanks

Don't even start me with Olympus!

 

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Olympus were the best(for the price) cameras ever made.Superb lenses

and great little bodies.I have 4 OM1's and 2 OM4ti's.As a bedfellow

to the M system you can't beat them.

 

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I don't know the stats on the 90mm,but I say just buy and try.

Karl, that's what this forum is about. Someone like yourself with

extensive knowledge on the OM system should be getting

started. Come on, share your knowledge. What is you

experience with the 90mm?

Well,just look at the OM4ti.

An M4/6 with a 35mm 1.4/50mm 1.4 and an Olympus OM4 with a macro and

a zoom......what a perfect combo'! Small,light,quiet,fast....my

opinion?

Last year I consigned my Olympus outfit, OM2, 2 OM4s, 21, 24, 28,

35, 50, 50 macro, 75-150 zoom, 135. I had withdrawals from doing it

but I have R Leica, M Leica and EOS. As it is I can't use them

nearly as much as I would like. I wish Leica had made the OM cameras

or at least patrnered with them. They are small, quiet and light

with large bright viewfinders. They have the feel of a Leica M in an

slr. The lenses are very good, particularly the 24, 50 macro (they

have a great 3.5 and a 2.0), and the 75-150 is about the best little

zoom I ever used for its size and weight. They are very neutral in

color not as warm as the Nikons. I just finally sold the last OM4 a

month or so ago. Never heard of the 90. I would guess that it is

pretty good but not nearly as sharp as the Leica 90 AA in the 2.0 to

4.0 range. A good look at work from the Olympus system can be found

in two of Dennis Stock's books - Provence Memories and New England

Memories both with Camera, Lens, film and aperture/shutter documented

for the pictures in the back. Good luck.

FWIW a number of photojournalists at Magnum use (used) Olympus and

Leicas.From my experience not very hardy cameras...one

photographer,Ian Berry,dropped his bag when arriving into South

Africa.The Leicas were OK,but all the others were outa action...

The price though is good.I beleive Olympus now into digital and the

OM system finished.I have used Olympus and its OK.Not great!I

preferred the look of my Takumar lenses on Spotmatic.Indeed they were

all flare free,unlike the much vaunted 75mm Summilux photo shown here

recently.Full of flare.Only Leica demons like us could see the beauty.

The olympus system is as small and quiet as you are going to get in

an slr. the size and noise level is not significantly higher than my

m3. it is a nice camera to throw in your trunk or backpack. it is

generally well known that other camera manufacturers passed them by,

but what is less well known is that even today their lineup of macro

lenses is unsurpassed. i believe that they offer 9 different lenses

many in lengths and speeds that are offerred no where else. in my

opinion they are still the camera to beat in macro and an excellent

travel camera.

Great deal on the OM-1n. You can often pay about $200 for the camera

and $100 for that 50 mm 1.4. I've never used that 90 mm macro, but

macro became something of a specialty for Olympus. I'm sure that the

lens in question will perform well.

FWIW, photodo.com have a review of this lens. It has quite a bit

more distortion than you'd find on a leica prime of this type

(apparently 1.34%) but seemingly pretty good sharpness, wide

open. The 85 f2 is the more usual lens to be seen knocking

about, and the one Jane Bown habitually uses/has used.

Kristian

 

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Unlike others here I like the Olympus OM bodies but think the optics

are perfectly ordinary (from past experience). So my prejudice would

be that the difference would be crystal clear between the APO 90mm and

the Zuiko 90/2. One would of course expect this because the Leica lens

is much more pricey. I am sure the Zuiko is a good deal -- but I

seriously doubt it can approach the APO at any aperture below about

f8. Are there really any "legendary" Zuiko lenses?

I have had this baby for a year which I purchased from B&H used.

I don't even know where to begin! I had read a post (probably on

photo.net) that said in a test the 90/2 turned out to be better than

a 90/2 summicron and equal to the 90/2.8 summircon. I haven't used

either of the two so I can't really tell. I just know I have had

some darn good results with it. Infinity performance is only adequate

(which is not surprising for such a specialized lens)but at short

distances(upto closest focus)and between f/5.6 and f/11 its

performance is nothing short of eye-popping. What sets the Olympus

macros apart from the crowd is that Olympus does

not believe in the 'one lens does it all' philosophy, like

Nikon/Canon. The Micro Nikkor 105/2.8 goes from inf. to 1x, probably

optimized for somewhere in between. The Zuiko 50/2 (another gem) and

the 90/2 go from infinity to 1/2x, the 80/4(bellows) from 1/2x to 2x,

the 38/2.8(bellows) from 2.3x to 6.7x, and finally the 20/2(bellows)

from 5.3x to 13.6x - each producing superb results!

Olympus is the undisputed king of photomacrography. Oh, not to forget

that they started out as a manufacturer of microscopes, having built

Japan's first mircroscope, and is today a world leader in that field.

 

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For more info, search the archives of

http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright/olympuslist.shtml

I was under the impression that Olympus has discontinued or is

phasing out their manual focus OM line due to insufficient market.

The OM4Ti is a neat camera with its multispot feature. And my

recollection is that the light meter can measure down to EV-4 or so,

even better than the Leica M7, which itself goes down to EV -2.

 

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But the OM 90/2.0 macro has been around for quite a long time,

whereas the 90/2.0-APO-ASPH is a very recently designed lens. I

can't imagine there being much doubt about the 90/2 APO Summicron

being a better lens, probably the best short tele in the business.

I've had a lens test comparison posted for quite some time at: <a href=http://members.aol.com/olympusom/lenstests/default.htm>Olympus OM System Lens Tests</a>.

Dang Gary, you beat me to the post.

 

Garry D. Lewis