At 11:48 AM 14/11/2001 -0500, David Matteson wrote:
>Hey Guys:
>I am very new to this list, less than one week, and this may be an amateur
>question but can you tell me the significant differences between the 50mm
>Zuiko lenses? I am speaking of three different apertures that I have seen,
>1.2, 1.4, and 1.8. Any help would be appreciated.
Welcome, David.
Well, that's an interesting question. It's *somewhat* covered in the FAQ,
which you'll find at
http://brashear.phys.appstate.edu/lhawkins/photo/olympus.faq
but there's also aesthetic judgments involved.
The 1.8 is available, I believe, in no less than seven different designs over
its lifetime, the earlier ones being single-coated, the latter ones being
multi-coated. Most are considered world-class performers in terms of their
resolution and contrast abilities. The very latest design, identifiable by the
fact that it's the *only* one with the words "Made in Japan" around the outer
front lens element's retaining ring, is considered the "creme de la creme" of
the group, though its underlying construction involves plastic in a few areas
where some would have preferred the metal (brass?) of earlier versions. It can
be had used, in good condition, for around $25.00 to about $40.00 U.S.
The 1.4 has both single and multi-coat versions, with the multi-coat being
generally considered a superior performer to the single-coat, especially with
serial numbers above 1,100,000. This one is surprisingly rare, IMHO. It seems
to have been, historically, an attempt to provide a bright lens in the 50mm
range just after the 55mm 1.2 went out of production, though my memory may be
confused.
The 1.2 is the brightstar of Oly's 50mm line-up, and has good performance,
although it's a bit soft and has some vignetting wide open (but it's
indispensable when shooting low available light situations). It's also
relatively expensive, has *very* few used examples floating around, and can be
hard to focus with unless you're using a coarse matte screen.
I own all three designs, and like them all, but in terms of sheer
bang-for-the-buck, a good used 50mm 1.8 "Made in Japan" lens is almost
impossible to beat.
Garth
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