It just so happens that I'm fully prepared to discuss exactly this
problem since earlier this week I was doing some exterior architectural
shots of a house for its owner. I hadn't been to the property before
and I went there expecting to use my 28-80. But when I got there I
discovered that the 28 wasn't quite wide enough so I took out the Zukio
24/2.8 which I had brought along just in case.
Just to clarify fully I also had the C*non Ee-s "Super Precision"
focusing screen installed which is designed for manual focus.
<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=402221&is=REG&addedTroughType=search>
According to C*non, this screen is really only designed for 2.8 or
faster lenses because it's darker than the standard screen. I haven't
done a careful comparison but I'd liken it perhaps to the difference of
about 1 stop as we see between the OM 1 series screens and 2 series screens.
First, I should mention that you don't have to focus your manual Zuikos
at taking aperture. Like any stop-down lens you can focus wide open and
then close down for the shot. I did that at first but then realized
that I really wasn't having much difficulty focusing even when closed to
f/5.6 of f/8. The lighting conditions were clear sky with late
afternoon sun (15:00) and heavy shade from nearby pine trees. After a
few more shots I suddenly realized that I was shooting with a 24mm lens
with a DOF scale on it and chose to use the DOF scale from then on with
the lens set to near hyperfocal distance. The house I was shooting was
probably 30 meters or more away but there were landscape elements much
closer than that. But even at f/5.6 a 24mm on full frame focused at 3
meters has DOF from 1.5 meters to 150 meters. Unless you're shooting
something close or wide open focusing really isn't at all critical.
The thing that you can't do is use the lens quickly. But it's very easy
to use on a tripod in some more deliberative photography. However, if
you've got good light you can close down to f8 and pre-focus the camera
for some acceptable focus range. Or you can even close down to f/16 if
you want to crank the ISO up to 1600 or 3200 which is something the 5D
handles quite well.
I do like my 5D with OM lenses as long as the camera is on a tripod.
But it is usable off the tripod if you've got good light.
Chuck Norcutt
Bernard Frangoulis wrote:
>> Switching to C or N may get you access to more primes but it's not
>> going to help the size or weight problem and wide angle views will
>> still be a problem with anything other than C full frame.
>> <http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse1/page3.asp>
>>
>> Chuck Norcutt
>>
>
>
> Tell me about it... ;-) That's why I am still undecided!
>
> Another potential problem with using Zuiko primes on the 5D is that
> if I stop down, the viewfinder will get dimmer... How far is one able
> to stop down, say a 24/2.8, while keeping the ability to manually
> focus? On the E-1, I would say 2 stops at best (with my eyes!), 1
> stop is more realistic. On the 5D, with its bigger viewfinder, maybe
> more?
>
> Bernard
>
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