My eyes have just been opened to what exactly is possible at f/2.0.
Yes, I am the new owner
of John's 250mm f/2.0.
I first thought about describing the joy of actually receiving this
lens, and it's physical
attributes. I *really* used to think that Canon's L-series primes were
"it" in terms of build
quality, but the Zuiko is something else. Wow.
The lens, as well as metal case, is honestly a bit smaller than what I
expected. It's still
a beast, but it's a very, very dense, and thus not huge, 4kg beast.
The photographs on John's
site also did not do it justice. Apart from the couple of paint nicks
on the hood, it's spotless.
It's unlike anything I've ever seen or held before. The glass is
gorgeous, and impossibly
large - perhaps because it's a shorter, stubby lens that the front
element(s) "look" so much
bigger than a 500mm or 600mm f/4 lens'.
But in anyway, what such an object is really about, of course, is not
collecting for
beauty or rarity's sake, but for using! (I will *never* collect!)
So this morning I set out with my OM-1 loaded with a roll of FP4, and
took a couple
of images.
I currently do not own a workable tripod, and the monopod was at home,
so I hand-held all
the way. It's very heavy, and will certainly build muscles, but I can
take it. I did used
to walk around with a C*non 1D Mk IIN and a EF 28-300 L, the
combination having a
not-too-dissimilar weight.
These are two random ones which I printed in the darkroom a couple of
minutes ago (5x7in)
and prints scanned with a V700. I refuse to scan 35mm black+white film
ever again, it absolutely
sucks - so the other images will be slow in the coming when I get time
to print again.
Both images taken at f/2.0 and 1/1000s:
http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/317/c/e/Bert__s_Tub_by_philosomatographer.jpg
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs50/f/2009/317/9/d/Patched_and_Scraped_by_philosomatographer.jpg
On the first image "Bert's Tub" every last detail of the tyre tread
and chains, in the
very bottom left corner, is crisply rendered. The Zuiko 90/2.0 Macro
is good (and I can't
say anything about drawing character yet after so few images, and the
Macro's drawing character
is gorgeous) but there is no question that the 250/2.0, even wide
open, is probably as good as
any lens I have ever seen (at any aperture).
But the best part about using it? The smoooth and well-damped internal-
focusing system. I absolutely
hate handholding the 300mm f/4.5 with its kludgy focusing, it's better
on a tripod. The 250/2.0
is an ergonomic joy to use, boat-anchor-weight notwithstanding.
This lens and I are going to become good friends.
John Hermanson, thank you for making a very long-term dream of mine
come true, by
offering it for sale at a reasonable price. I won't lie, the price
still hurt,
but opportunities like this only come along ... oh wait, never - and I
am prepared
to have a lean month or two for this sort of long-term joy.
It's quite nice to cover focal lengths from 24mm to 250mm at f/2.0. To
be honest,
I was looking for a 180/2.0 [John's sold extremely quickly] but,
weight apart, I
am happy with my choice.
I do not yet have enough evidence to wax lyrical about this lens like
I can about the 90/2.0,
and we shall still see if it has the *soul* of the 90mm, but boy, this
lens sure has everything
else - it's mind-blowing-ly, staggeringly amazing - image and build
quality.
Now to figure out how to eat for the rest of the month... :-)
--
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