Hi, Hal, and welcome,
Since I'm responsible for some of the confusing lingo I'll try to clarify.
Can-not-an-OM-on: A camera whose name resembles a field artillery piece but
which is Not An OM. (My usual camera gear, tho' not necessarily my
preferred gear - merely habitual.)
I coined this term in respect for unofficial policy to avoid littering the
list with names of camera equipment other than Olympus. ;)
The "L" series glass refers to Can-not-an-OM-on's most expensive,
professional line of lenses. Olympus has never officially made any such
distinction between their lenses, which I believe is commendable. While some
Zuikos are superior to others, it's not because Olympus chose to make
certain lenses to "amateur" standards and others to "pro" standards (other
than the Cosina-made lenses under the OM label, which is a whole 'nuther
kettle of worms).
In fact, if you check the archives and either ask around or hang around and
'listen' you'll find many serious amateur and pro photographers who use
Olympus gear prefer certain Zuikos for the light weight and compact size,
even if it means a small compromise in optical performance.
Which brings us 'round to part of your original question. I'd bet few folks
here would have serious disagreements with limiting your arsenal to just a
35-70/3.5-4.5 zoom (the tiniest) and the 75-150/4 zoom. At least until the
addiction starts! Of course, I'm a lifelong fan of the 'normal' lens for
any film format, so my 35mm camera must include a 50/1.8 or 50/1.4 lens.
And I've never seen a tinier, lighter normal lens for an SLR than the Zuiko
50/1.8.
If I didn't absolutely need certain lenses for a project I'm working on I'd
be perfectly content with the above choices - the 35-70/3.5-4.5 and 75-150/4
zooms. I'd *want* to add a normal lens and a wider angle lens, but I know
from experience I really wouldn't absolutely need them. I'd just have to
adjust my shooting style a little.
Lessee, what else ... oh, the shift lens ... it's designed to correct the
perspective distortion that usually results from photographing relatively
tall subjects such as buildings. Sometimes this distortion is called
keystoning, altho' the keystone is reversed - the building appears to almost
collapse inward and fall over backward as the effect becomes more
exaggerated. When it is desirable to correct this distortion a shift lens
literally shifts the front part of the barrel (upward, in most cases) to
realign the image to a normal perspective. Older style view cameras
accomplish the same thing by shifting either the entire lensboard at the
front or the filmback at the rear. The shift lens was developed to give
35mm and medium format photographers the same control.
And the Vivitar flash you're thinking of is probably the 283 and 285 units.
They're popular because they're relatively inexpensive (believe me, $75-$100
for a new electronic flash unit is cheap - check the prices of Norman and
Quantam units and you'll see), reliable workhorses with good power (light
output) for the money. They don't have a lot of bells and whistles, but
they do offer certain features not commonly available in flash units at this
price range.
From: Hal Landvoigt <hal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [OM] FAQ Additions
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 09:02:45 -0700
Being new to the list and having just unloaded my Nikon gear to get an om-4
and 50/1.4, I'm interested in building up a smaller collection of lenses
that will continue the lightweight theme that I started by getting an Oly.
in the first place.
That said, I'm sure this has been beat to death before, and I wonder why
some info along these lines isn't in the Oly. Owners FAQ: Suggested Starter
Set or Commonly Available First Choice lenses. It seems like a wide angle,
a 2x extender/ext. tube, and either a 135 or a 75-150 would make a good
compact set.
I'm not looking for the most-expensive-but-best-optics or the
LN+/Mint-collector lens, just good lenses to take good pictures. When I
start taking great pictures, I'll definately buy great lenses.
Any advice?
Also, is there a glossary for this group? Whats a "Can-not-an-OM-non's L
series IS lens", what does a "shift lens" do? Why does everyone like the
Vivitar (some number) flash, and why is it so expensive?
Thank you for your patience.
Hal
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