Skip Williams wrote:
>I also looked at the 400mm Zuiko. Does anyone use this lens? I thought
it
>was too long and unbalanced. They also had a 350/2.8, but I didn't ask to
>see it (been there, done that). No other interesting stuff other than the
>24 shift.
I assume this inquiry is about the old Zuiko 400mm f/6.3. Is there a newer
one? A faster one? One more modern than a tomahawk? No, couldn?t be, not
from Olympus.
I?ve got one. I use it a couple of times a year on a 4Ti with a motor
drive for wildlife photography, mostly on a tripod, but occasionally on a
Kaiser shoulder pod as I try to sneak up on some unsuspecting critter - my
substitute for not hunting anymore and being called a Bambi-murderer by the
spousal unit. (I?m a member of the non-politically correct PETA group -
People Eating Tasty Animals.)
Anyhow, the 400 is long and slow, making it ungainly to hand-hold and hard
to focus in low light. Focusing with a split-image screen in anything but
bright sunlight is a hassle, so I use a plain Beattie Intenscreen. The
lens is sharp and produces great results.
I got mine about 1985 or so from B&H, used, in 9+ condition, for $400 - a
buck a millimeter, a proper glass price, don't you think? B&H had one in
their used inventory just recently - I don?t know if they?ve still got it -
for $1495. A new one goes for over two grand. I?m glad I?ve got mine, but
I wouldn?t pay even the "used" price for one today.
I?ve gotten excellent results using the Olympus 2X-A teleconverter on the
Zuiko 180mm f/2.8. This gives you, of course, a 360mm lens that, even with
the two stop light loss, is still, at f/5.6, a tad faster than the 400mm
f/6.3; is lighter, about four inches shorter, and a lot cheaper,
particularly if you already have the 180. The main drawback is you lose
the tripod socket that the 400 has and the setup is a bit ungainly on a
tripod. I guess there?s a trade-off to most everything. I?ve even used
the 2X-A on the 400. The results were surprisingly good, but it?s not easy
shooting with a two-foot, f/12.6, front-heavy 800mm lens.
My opinion: Good old-timey lens, way too expensive now, best left to those
who got one cheap or to the pitiable, deranged souls in the terminal stages
of completist Zuikoholism.
Walt Wayman
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