All issues of lens quality aside, I find it very interesting that (on
internet forums) people continue to propogate that Olympus OM lenses
are somehow "larger" than Leica M lenses, simply because the Leica
enthusiasts that make these claims are generalising in terms of other
SLR systems.
Now, this may apply to certain optics in the standard-to-medium-wide
category (usually slow aperture ones) but one of the most telling
examples is at the 21mm focal length. Naysayers continue to post that
rangefinder optics "do not have to be retrofocus" (and no, they don't
- look at the Mamiya 7 lenses, for example) but the Leica 21mm f/2.8
(a thoroughly modern design) is indeed a retrofocus lens, and at f/
2.8, it's a full stop slower than the Zuiko 21mm f/2.0, yet it's
larger and heavier in all respects. I wonder why this is?
Sure, it's a lens with higher optical quality (but probably "just")
but the genius of the Maitani team really is apparent when looking at
the remarkable 21/2.0.
== Leica 21/2.8 ASPH ==
Length: 59mm
Filters: 55mm
Weight: 317g
== Zuiko 21/2.0 ==
Length: 44mm
Filters: 55mm
Weight: 250g
Coupled with the fact that an OM-1 body is smaller (volume-wise) than
an M body (it's only higher at its highest point because of the prism)
I would say that, apart from noise and possibly higher shock caused by
the Mirror, for low-light, wide-angle shooting, an OM body beats the
pants off any rangefinder, especially because of, for the 21mm focal
length, the superiority of a accurate 0.91x reflex finder vs. a
fiddly, external finder (which admittedly will be brighter, but
doesn't help with focusing).
I would imagine anybody using a 21/2.0 on, say, an OM-3Ti would be a
very happy camper indeed, and the envy of our rangefinder brothers.
Does anybody here use this combination? I would love to see some
images...
In fact, I would in general like to see some more OM images from you
lot! Film images! B&W images!
<lordHelmetVoice>What's weeth you mon?</lordHelmetVoice>
Dawid
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