From: Jim Nichols <jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
... I ordered a used Olympus
50-200 SWD lens, which arrived this morning from KEH.
Congratulations! That’s one of my favourites.
It works extremely well with the EC-14 teleconverter, which is noticeable
mainly for the stop of light it steals, rather than reduced image quality, as
most of us have come to expect from teleconverters. That will give you 283mm on
the long end. And it costs considerably less than the EC-20, which *does*
noticeably affect image quality!
This Downy Woodpecker was caught with the
Takumar and manual focus.
http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20190313-P3137837.JPG.html
<http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20190313-P3137837.JPG.html>
The 50-200 arrived at my door, so I mounted it in the same spot and,
using Autofocus, caught this group at the breakfast bar.
http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20190314-P3147844.JPG.html
<http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20190314-P3147844.JPG.html>
There is an impressive difference between the two lenses in these shots, but I think
it’s too early to blame the Olympus.
Did the lighting change? I note the Takumar was at 1/500th, but the Oly was at
1/100th. That could be enough to show motion blur, or even tripod vibration. Or
perhaps you used flash or additional lights with the Takumar? I note strong
front-lighting highlights on the Tak image that isn’t on the Oly image.
It’s been a long time since I used an E-1. Does it have a mirror/diaphragm
prefire or lockup? At 1/100th, you may be seeing mirror/diaphragm vibration. I recall
ditching my first Great White OM 350/2.8 when it gave disappointing results on a early
E System body, as did the OM 600/6.5. Now, both those lenses perform very well on the
OM-D E-M1 Mark II with electronic shutter.
I recall being very frustrated with the OM 600/6.5, using two tripods, sandbag
dampers, weights hung from the tripod, etc. and still seeing characteristic
mirror-slap motion blur.
That 50-200 SWD was one of the best E-System lenses in its day, before the SHQ
line came out. I think it should equal the Takumar, once you get used to it.
But it will want a high shutter speed. Shoot it at least as fast as the Taukmar
and keep the aperture wide open before writing it off.
Jan
