A few ramblings with tenuous connection to current topics on the list,
from a long-time lurker:
Some of you may recall that I asked advice many moons ago about long
telephoto (>=300mm) lenses and possibly switching completely to the OM
system from my Nikon gear. Somewhat to my surprise, most of the advice
I got was to stick with the Nikons. Several people said quite directly
that only Nikon and Canon were really competitive in long tele gear.
However, being bullheaded, I tried some experiments. I bought two Tamron
Adaptall lenses, 500/8 and 60-300/3.8-5.4, and mounts for Olympus, Nikon,
and Contax. I also bought a Contax Aria body, and about the same time
I found a very nice OM1 locally.
The 60-300 went back right away. I'm aware that some folks on this
list really like this lens, but I didn't. It was heavy and felt clumsy.
The macro feature is not very useful, since it only works at the short
focal length end, and it forces the diaphragm mechanism to be complex.
My (new) example had a sticky diaphragm at least partly because of the
complex mechanism. Compared to the modern Nikon 70-300 it was really
quite inferior mechanically and, as far as I could tell, optically.
I still have the 500/8 catadioptric, and I've taken pictures with it
on all three types bodies. It's not a bad lens for what it is, but if
I had it to do over again I'd get a used Nikkor instead.
The Aria was somewhat more successful. It's reasonably compact (but
noticeably bigger than an OM1) and it has a nice feature set. There
are a few reasonably-priced lenses available for it, but only a few,
and the teles are not among them. I have gotten some very nice pictures
out of it, but I'm convinced that the differences that some folks profess
to see between Zeiss lenses and all others are in the eye of the beholder.
My conclusion, at least for the moment, is to keep the OM1 and the Nikons.
The OM1 has the nicest, brightest viewfinder and is the most enjoyable
to use. I've put together a small kit of cheap lenses (50/1.4, 100/2.8
silvernose, 135/2.8) and the ensemble is ideal for landscape and
cityscape expeditions. The Nikon system with its indispensable 70-300
is my primary tool for anything involving wildlife or flowers. I will
probably add a digital body when the prices become a little more reasonable.
I'm trying to sell the Contax gear; it's very nice but I don't need that
many systems. If anyone is interested in a nearly new Aria, 45/2.8
pancake lens, and/or 85/2.8 lens, let me know.
Wayne Angevine
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