Olympus macro lenses

pmath · 01-02-2012

First post!

I have an Olympus e500 SLR (I don't think I am stretching its boundaries!) and would like to get hold of a macro lens.

Any experience or recommendations would be gratefully received.

Peter

Dirk · 01-04-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmath

First post!

I have an Olympus e500 SLR (I don't think I am stretching its boundaries!) and would like to get hold of a macro lens.

Any experience or recommendations would be gratefully received.

Peter

Hi Peter As Mod of the other slr sections i have moved your thread here in hope that you will get the best of help , welcome here at PC and share some work.. cheers Dirk

korman · 01-04-2012

Peter,

from Olympus you have the 35mm f/3.5 and 50mm f/2.0. I tried both for a short time to finally get the 50mm f/2.0. This one is a really great portrait lens, sharp even wide open and I'd say one of the best lenses available for the 4/3rd system. The 35mm f/3.5 was a nice lens, but I found it too short for my taste.

That's all there is. If you need more, there's also the Olympus macro extension tube, but that was it. It's one of the drawbacks of the 4/3 system. The few lenses you can get are usually very nice, but your choice is very limited.

The rest are just manual lenses with an adapter to the 4/3 mount. Here you can get pretty much any second hand lens or bellow system, just make sure you get the right 4/3 adapter for it too. If your camera has live-view (I'm not sure if the E500 already had it), manually focussing isn't that much of a problem as the camera is on a tripod anyway. Depending on what kind of macros you make, this might be the best option or the worst.

There are also some lenses you can add in front of your regular lens. I got one of those with the 14-54mm for free and can't really say that it worked. Perhaps the macro filter lens just happened to be of bad quality, but I never was able to get really satisfactory results with it. I too bundled it with the lens when I sold my 14-54mm.

Korman

Don Kondra · 01-04-2012

The 70-300mm is also considered to be acceptable as a macro lens in that it's minimum focusing distance is 38".

ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.6

Cheers, Don

pmath · 01-15-2012

Thank you for your responses. I will look for a 50mm F2 I think.

Peter

kenwae · 01-16-2012

There's also the Sigma macros: 105mm and 150mm in 4/3 mount. Not sure if they are available new anymore, but you can find them used now and then. I have the 105 and like it a lot.

studiozahzah · 01-16-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmath

Thank you for your responses. I will look for a 50mm F2 I think.

Peter

Peter -- love my 50mm. It is clear & crisp and fast! Here's a quick sample. Miss Prudence.

Renata

01-02-2012	#1
pmath Alpaca Posts: 2 CamelKarma: 10 Gallery \| Blog	Olympus macro lenses First post! I have an Olympus e500 SLR (I don't think I am stretching its boundaries!) and would like to get hold of a macro lens. Any experience or recommendations would be gratefully received. Peter __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member of PhotoCamel to open up the site's many benefits and features.
pmath Alpaca Posts: 2 CamelKarma: 10 Gallery \| Blog

01-04-2012	#3
korman F1 Camel Location: Central Europe Posts: 3,218 CamelKarma: 177510 Editing OK?: Yes Gallery \| Blog	Re: Olympus macro lenses Peter, from Olympus you have the 35mm f/3.5 and 50mm f/2.0. I tried both for a short time to finally get the 50mm f/2.0. This one is a really great portrait lens, sharp even wide open and I'd say one of the best lenses available for the 4/3rd system. The 35mm f/3.5 was a nice lens, but I found it too short for my taste. That's all there is. If you need more, there's also the Olympus macro extension tube, but that was it. It's one of the drawbacks of the 4/3 system. The few lenses you can get are usually very nice, but your choice is very limited. The rest are just manual lenses with an adapter to the 4/3 mount. Here you can get pretty much any second hand lens or bellow system, just make sure you get the right 4/3 adapter for it too. If your camera has live-view (I'm not sure if the E500 already had it), manually focussing isn't that much of a problem as the camera is on a tripod anyway. Depending on what kind of macros you make, this might be the best option or the worst. There are also some lenses you can add in front of your regular lens. I got one of those with the 14-54mm for free and can't really say that it worked. Perhaps the macro filter lens just happened to be of bad quality, but I never was able to get really satisfactory results with it. I too bundled it with the lens when I sold my 14-54mm. Korman
	__________________ HDR is for photography what MSG is for cooking.

01-04-2012	#4
Don Kondra Llama Location: Canada Posts: 667 CamelKarma: 134805 Editing OK?: No Gallery \| Blog	Re: Olympus macro lenses The 70-300mm is also considered to be acceptable as a macro lens in that it's minimum focusing distance is 38". ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 Cheers, Don
	__________________ Don Kondra - Furniture Designer/Maker Product Photography Olympus E-30/E-5 ZD 50 ~ 7-14 ~ 14-35 ~ 14-54 ~ 12-60 ~ 35-100 ~ 50-200 ~ ec 20

01-15-2012	#5
pmath Alpaca Posts: 2 CamelKarma: 10 Gallery \| Blog	Re: Olympus macro lenses Thank you for your responses. I will look for a 50mm F2 I think. Peter
pmath Alpaca Posts: 2 CamelKarma: 10 Gallery \| Blog

01-16-2012	#6
kenwae PhotoCamel Supporter F1 Camel Location: Maui, Hawaii Posts: 3,155 CamelKarma: 170186 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Olympus macro lenses There's also the Sigma macros: 105mm and 150mm in 4/3 mount. Not sure if they are available new anymore, but you can find them used now and then. I have the 105 and like it a lot.
	__________________ "The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven" - John Milton, Paradise Lost ____ -Ken www.mauiislandportraits.com www.facebook.com/mauiislandportraits www.kenfieldsphotography.com www.facebook.com/kenfieldsphotography

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