Jacques;
Welcome.
You are lucky in that you ran into an honest salesman. Everything he
told you is correct.
The 70-210 is made by cosina, and is very light and a reasonably good
performer, but not up to Zuiko standards.
The Zuiko zooms in this range are : 50-250/5; 85-250/5; 100-200/5 and
65-200/4. Of these, the 50-250 seems to be the most highly regarded.
The 85-250 and 65-200 are also great lenses, while the 100-200 is good ,
but not quite as good as the others. Unfortunately, none are available
new, but there is a thriving used market on the net and on ebay. Look
here: http://members.aol.com/olympusom/lenstests/default.htm for lens
tests, altho you must extrapolate a bit, as the tester has found that
results are surprisingly better when tested with an OM-4 than an OM-1
because the -4 self-timer prefires the mirror AND stops down the
aperture. So check to see which camera the tests were done with and you
can probably safely ad about 1/2 grade if done with OM as an
approximation. Approximate prices can be found here:
http://www.datasync.com/~farrar/zuiko.html
A 50-250/5 in excellent condition sold on ebay recently for $406. These
are the hardest to find of the 4.
If it were me, I'd get the best lens I could afford, even if I couldn't
afford it! You won't be sorry for the xtra $ spent. The 65-200 might
be the best bang for the buck. It's a nice range, is 2/3 stop faster
than the others and has a 1:7 macro at 200mm. It's a solid lens. I've
had one for about 15 years, always a great performer.
Hope this helps
George
PS: I have a 100-200/5 and a 65-200/4 that I'd be willing to sell with a
MBG if you're interested.
Jacques Leonard designer wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I am new to the Olympus list (I subscribed this week) and I would
> appreciate your input on a subject that I am quite sure has already been
> discused in this group.
>
> I owned a venerable (...) OM-1 I bought new in 1974. I always liked this
> camera and still do.
> I have a 50mm f1.8 wich has been my prime lens with the OM-1. Over the
> years, I made superb pictures with it, and this lens would justify buying
> another Olympus body if mine was lost.
>
> A few years later, I bought a 200mm f5 (for it's size) and later on a 28mm
> f3.5. I don't use the 200 and very seldom the 28.
>
> Now here is my problem. Two weeks ago, I went to an event where a zoom lens
> would have been very usefull. I never had one. So,I decided to buy one. My
> main requirements would be lens quality and size. Price of course is to be
> considered.
>
> The OM line is quite limited in zoom lenses. Looking in Shutterbug
> magazine, I saw an add for a Tamron 28-200mm f3.8-5.6 Super now available
> for manual cameras. I went to a camera store near home, to see this lens. I
> had my OM-1 with me. First impression was... plastic. In the '70 lens were
> not made of plastic. I asked the salesman if this lens was good. He was
> probably honest by saying it wasn't bad, that it was a good lens for 4x6.
> My first question is regarding this lens. Is it good or not? If I use a
> tripod with it, could I get pictures good enough to make fairly large
> prints or would it still be of insuficient quality? The lens has the
> advantage of being small, light and I think practical with it's 28-200
> span.
>
> Inquiring about the Zuiko lenses (none in stock but he can order) the
> salesman told me that they would probably be better in quality and also
> give better results than the Tamron.
> Now, to cover approximately the same focal length, I should buy two Zuiko
> lenses, the 35-70mm f3.5-4.8 and the 70-210 f4.5-5.6.
>
> What do you think of all this? Would I be better with the 2 Zuiko lenses
> instead of the Tamron? He also told me the 70-210 was made by Cosina. So is
> this as good as a Zuiko or as a Cosina? Is it better, similar or worse than
> a Tamron?
>
> As you can see I am quite mixed up in all this! Checking in a few
> magazines, I also saw listed in a buyer's guide a 65-200 and a 50-250 made
> by Olympus. Are these lenses still available? How do they stand compared to
> the other ones?
>
> Can some of you help me in this jambalaya?
>
> Thanks for reading me and have a great weekend (here it is rainy today...)
>
> Jacques Leonard
> designer
> ===============
> j.leonarddesigner@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
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