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Re: [OM] OM 180mm F2.8 opinions

Subject: Re: [OM] OM 180mm F2.8 opinions
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 19:59:00 -0800
On 11/29/2014 3:04 PM, Mike Gordon via olympus wrote:

Is all this in a way another throwback to the "need for speed" from film days 
as Chuck mentioned?

At the risk of heresy may I suggest the Cosina Voigtländer SL APO-Lanthar 180mm f/4 SL which is available in OM mount. One can put it in a pocket and is tack sharp wide open with essentially no discernible CA.

A lovely lens, as are its siblings. :-)

It excels at medium and close distances (Very good, but less impressive at infinity) and natively goes to 1:4.

For tack sharp at normal distances, but not for compactness (and not necessarily for close work, as I haven't tested that), my ancient, earliest version 200/4 Nikkor just flat whupped both my 200/4 and 200/5, center and edge.

I love to use it for critters on a bit of extension to keep a large working distance. Only thing in that FL range more compact is the Zuiko 200/5 which seems to be a bit tough to find in MC variety though I haven';t looked in awhile.

Do you think they really exist? I believe I've seen one pic of one example, but perhaps a prototype or mock-up? Back in my active OM equipment gathering days, I never saw one for sale.

Oh, the bokeh on the CV is super at many background distances (not all).  Did I 
say it is small?

You did, and it is. :-)

I suppose part of the more complex optical formula (9-7 vs. 5-4) is to allow the shorter physical length. It's about the same weight, if you include hood, as the Zuiko 200/4, and the same diameter, but considerably shorter. As with all telephotos, the front lens node is in front of the glass, but further in front than with the Zuiko, and even more than the Nikkor.

Now that's made me think, and check. The mount to front length of the Nikkor-Q is about 157 mm. Combined with the register distance of 46.5 mm, that's over 203 mm, which puts the front node roughly inside the front element, not out in front of the physical lens.

Perhaps the lack of much telephoto design is why the lens performs so well with 
such a simple optical design?

I can See Clearly Moose

--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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