Ah, perfection.
I just happened to have used the 35-80 on the OM-3Ti with Motordrive 2 and
T45 flash about four hours ago.
It's really wierd shooting with that configuration because it represents the
"best" of each component in the OM system: In that configuation I am able to
shoot in manual mode with the OTF-TTL flash, have about the most usable
focal-length range with a lens that has awesome bokeh characteristics and
sharpness and take up to five frames per second while the flash is able to
keep up with it. (non full-dump, ISO 400 at average shooting distances).
As a few of us have stated before, the 35-80mm F2.8 lens has a very unique
way of "drawing" which tends to create a 3D-like imaging quality to the
pictures. This is a lens you can shoot wide-open and it is not only sharp
wide-open, but the bokeh is smooth with a very gentle penumbra. Except for
the issue with the 2-series screens with wide-angle lenses, this lens is
very easy to focus and has that "snap" to it.
One aspect that sets this lens apart from the majority of Zuikos is the
short-throw focusing. From infinity to 2 ft (0.6m), the focus ring rotates
only about 90 degrees. The ever so important one-body-length focus point is
halfway between the two extremes. If you want to prefocus the camera by feel
to this critical distance, you just rack the focus back and forth to the
extremes and then adjust to the middle. This short-throw focusing does have
one minor drawback, however, as the focus ring tends to be a little stiffer.
The zoom ring is also a bit stiff as that is also short-throw. This has been
my complaint with some of the DZ lenses because the focal-length ring has so
much travel that you can't go from one extreme to the other without having
to twist twice. The 35-80's rings may be stiff, but they don't creep.
The 35-80 F2.8 is not my usual "walk-around lens" because of the weight and
size, but for event shooting, it's an incredible tool. This lens has not
only the convenience of covering the "money focal-lengths" but does so with
style. Today's lenses tend to make the pictures look a little stark--they
are just too accurate. The 35-80 has some nasty distortion and flare
characteristics, but it is a lens that just makes the pictures look
wholesome and inviting. It's not the first lens I'd grab for most landscape
photography, but for people and event photography it REALLY comes into its
own.
The 35-80, OM-3Ti, MD2 and T45 are in a class of their own. Combine all of
them and the latest/greatest digital wonderwidget just doesn't seem all that
exciting.
AG
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