At 02:15 PM 7/3/1998 +0100, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>a friend asked if he should go for the Zuiko Zoom 2,8 / 35-80mm or
>instead buy a 2.0/35 (or even 2.0/28) and a 2.0/85. This together with a
>OM4Ti would make his start with OLYMPUS equipment....
>Any suggestions?
>
>Carsten
>
Hi Carsten,
Hmmm, zooms and primes. Which is better. Oh well. Once more into the breech.
Your friend's does not exactly seem like a "starter kit," so I'm going to
assume that you are really asking "Since the zoom and the primes mentioned
are about equally fast, which is intrinsically better?" The
penny-in-the-slot consensus is that the convenience and versatility of
zooms is paid for in a loss of speed and resolution in most cases. (No loss
of speed however in this case. Perhaps no loss of resolution.) While this
is probably true in an absolute sense, for me it is more significant how
one uses them. Zooms can perform very well, but it is often harder actually
to make them perform well because one sometimes tries to make them do
things they can't really do. I bought my first zooms expecting to walk
around making as sharp hand-held pictures at 105 or 200mm as at 35. Ain't
gonna happen.
Knowing the little I now know, I would wish to have both the primes and the
zoom if possible. (I have other, cheaper, slower zooms which I am
satisfied with, so I will not myself actually purchase the 35-80/f2.8.)
Again, knowing what I now know, I would recommend starting with the two
prime lenses you mention. If your friend is not hampered by walking around
with a camera bag and changing lenses, he may never need much else. If he
hikes or climbs or needs the compositional versatility of a zoom, I would
recommend adding the zoom later when he has the understanding and skill to
take advantage of it, and can also deal with its limitations. Or he might
consider getting a good OM-1 or -2 instead of the -4 and reallocating the
difference toward purchase of the zoom.
As far as the choice between the faster and slower primes, the somewhat
slower wide-angle primes are a terrific value. One pays dearly for one stop
of speed in a lens and most of us, after lugging a tripod to the vantage
point, would not as a matter of principle use that stop very often anyway.
Joel
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|