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[OM] Re: What's so good about the Zuiko 50/2 ??

Subject: [OM] Re: What's so good about the Zuiko 50/2 ??
From: hiwayman@xxxxxxx (Walt Wayman)
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 19:17:11 +0000
I'm not a lens tester.  Well, I am, sort of, but the way I do it (with three 
brand-new $1 bills tacked to a fence) would make Gary blanch, faint, and 
probably not be able to speak for an hour.  I just really like what I see from 
repeated use of certain lenses, with different films, under all sorts of 
conditions, and what I get from the 50/2 is similar to what I get and like so 
much with the 21/2, 35/2, 100/2 and 180/2.8.  That's why these are my favorites 
Zuikos.  To me, they share that indefinable "something."  I can't quantify it, 
measure it, or define it, so I won't try, since I'm considering myself an 
artist today.

Did Rembrandt count the bristles in his brushes?  ;-)

Walt

--
"Anything more than 500 yards from 
the car just isn't photogenic." -- 
Edward Weston

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Wayne Culberson" <waynecul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> 
> > From: "Wayne Culberson"
> >
> > What am I missing here? To me, the numbers make it
> > look like a macro lens, not a general all purpose 50mm for hand held
> photography.
> >
> 
> Iwert replied:
> > Well,
> >
> > a classic "missing": emotion. Not everything is told by numbers.
> > Some things cannot be named objectively.
> > I can use it easily for "1:2" macro and as my everyday standard lens. So I
> just need to carry one >lens, and don't have to change lenses. Another big
> plus: I live in Belgium where available light can be >very scarce, even
> during the day. So every F-stop extra is valuable. We're also known for
> lot's of >rain, and that's where the build-in hood comes handy. As for macro
> and handheld: I dare to use the >50f2 handheld at 1:2, 1/30 + f2, I couldn't
> do that with the 90f2... I know the result maybe won't be >as tack-sharp as
> on a tripod, but hey, I have the shot!, at f3.5 it would be near impossible.
> >
> > Iwert.
> 
> I agree that even for myself sometimes a choice of equipment might be based
> on more of an emotion or a subjective feeling, than cold facts. If you feel
> good about a piece of equipment, it is likely to work better for you. In
> that case there is really no need to justify it for others' sake. But in my
> case, I really would need a valid reason beyond feeling or emotion, even if
> they were my own, to justify the 50/2 macro, because of the price.
> Objectively, I cannot see the benefits of it, and based on Gary's tests, not
> my own experience obviously, I'd opt for the slightly better contrast
> characteristics of the 50/1.8 MIJ for a casual shooting lens.
> 
> I think this was partly Brian's point in the case of the reviewer comparing
> the various 50mm's in the article with the 13 or so B&W snapshot type
> images. The reviewer's statement to the effect that there really was no
> better 50mm than the Zuiko 50/2 seems like a mostly subjective one in the
> context of his sample pictures (albeit a statement that might be readily
> accepted on this list without much questioning :-) We're quite willing to
> accept his statement on the 50/2 unchallenged, but quickly bristle at his
> remarks about the Zuiko 50/1.8 :-).
> 
> If I'm in a situation where I'm shooting casually with the 50/1.8, and I
> think I might need the occasional macro shot, I take along the f = 40cm
> close-up, as it is about all I can successfully hand hold for macro with an
> OM. There is effectively no light loss with it of course, but you're quite a
> ways from 1:2. More usually, macro shooting is something I go about
> deliberately, toting along tripod, air release, and bag full of various
> toys. I find it hard to mix the two types of shooting.
> 
> Wayne
> 
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