freaklikeme Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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The Oly Pen 60/1.5 is a good choice for a portrait lens. It's at its best from MFD to about three meters. The MFD may feel a bit long for some (.8m) but at I don't find it unreasonable for a portrait length. Beautiful bokeh close up as well and decently contrasty without being overly so. Good color performance as well, and completely different from anything in the OM line. Not the best all-around lens, though. It's performance past three meters or so is decent but not as impressive as it is close up. I'm considering selling mine because I do prefer the Minolta 58/1.2 as a portrait lens, but I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on that.
The Zeiss Jena Biotar 58/2 can be found more easily (in many different mounts, including M39, M42, and Exacta) and is less expensive than the Oly. I think it's a little too sharp wide open for general portraits, and you've got the be a fan of swirly bokeh to appreciate it's close performance below f/4. You also have to look to find a copy in good optical condition, but it's worth it. I picked up the M42 so I could use it on the a900 as well. The low cost of acquisition and its strong performance all-around make it an easy lens to love.
For a 200, I use the Leica R 180/2.8 and 180/3.4 converted to Alpha and with the LAE1, both of which are excellent, but I also borrow a friend's Nikon 200/4 macro and am quite fond of it. It's a very strong all-around performer. Sharp and contrasty with great colors. And for a macro lens, the bokeh's fairly neutral.
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