Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2016 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's

  
 
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


I've had the Nikon 200mm f/2 AI-S for two or three years now. It's big. It's heavy. But it's a delight to shoot with. Mine is the last version before the AF lens came out. It has the built in filter glass in the front and the drop in gel filter slot in the back. It weighs 2700g and is 222mm. The Olympus 180mm f/2 is oddly small for what it is. It weighs 1900g and it's 174mm long. It also tends to cost significantly more on the used market, too. Now that I have the Olympus, I'm going to be selling eventually, but before I do, I thought it would be worth examining how these two lenses behave on the Sony A7rII's high density sensor.

These are self-portraits shot wide open at f/2 with two monolights. My background is a giant picture window, so you get the view of the background blur at f/2 as well. There is no quality to this bokeh. Just quantity. But boy is that quantity gorgeous for both lenses.

Nikon:

Self-Portrait Test #1 by Mike Aubrey, on Flickr

Olympus:

Self-Portrait Test #2 by Mike Aubrey, on Flickr

The Nikon is simply an amazing lens. Studio lighting takes it's lower contrast out of the equation and makes it clear that they're effectively equal in terms of resolution/sharpness.

100% Crops from the A7rII:


Focus is ever so slightly different. The Olympus is right on the iris and the Nikon is ever so slightly in front.

I'd say it's ever so slightly cooler than the Olympus, too. The Olympus seems to have better spherochromatism correct, too. Note the out of focus highlight on the zipper.

Even though I have what is a beautiful replacement in the Olympus, I'm seriously going to miss the Nikon. A legendary lens, even replaced with another legendary lens, is still worth missing.

I'll be posting more comparisons/discussion here in this thread and on my blog.



Jun 19, 2016 at 02:56 PM
cputeq
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Nice comparison. I've never heard of the Oly 180/2, guess I should look it up



Jun 19, 2016 at 05:30 PM
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


They appear for sale maybe once a year on the 'bay. And usually they're far over priced.


Jun 19, 2016 at 06:06 PM
phuang3
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Olympus is slightly back focused than Nikon. The eye is barely on the edge of the focus plane. Maybe it's the reason of some veiling glare. By looking at the detail (lower right), Olympus is a sharper lens, more micro contrast. Thanks for sharing this. I've been looking for its image for a long time.


Jun 19, 2016 at 09:28 PM
Paul Mo
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Wow - that Nikon! That Oly!

ED? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-Ai-S-NIKKOR-200mm-F2-ED-Lens-Very-good-from-Japan-333-G67-/282068134478?hash=item41ac922a4e:g:a7kAAOSwmtJXXUNW



Jun 19, 2016 at 10:20 PM
telyt
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


MAubrey wrote:
They appear for sale maybe once a year on the 'bay. And usually they're far over priced.


The Nikon's spherochromatism would make me pay quite a lot more for the Olympus.



Jun 19, 2016 at 10:23 PM
Paul Mo
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Be interesting to see the EF 200 f2.8L in the mix with these monsters.


Jun 19, 2016 at 10:41 PM
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Paul Mo wrote:
Wow - that Nikon! That Oly!

ED? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-Ai-S-NIKKOR-200mm-F2-ED-Lens-Very-good-from-Japan-333-G67-/282068134478?hash=item41ac922a4e:g:a7kAAOSwmtJXXUNW

That's the one! But that copy is severely overpriced. $1200 to $1500 is more standard.
---------------------------------------------

telyt wrote:
The Nikon's spherochromatism would make me pay quite a lot more for the Olympus.

Me, too. And well, I did. I watched ebay for three years and ignored three or four before I encountered this one a few months ago. I'll be selling the Nikon to help cover the cost after I've finished comparing the two.
---------------------------------------------

Paul Mo wrote:
Be interesting to see the EF 200 f2.8L in the mix with these monsters.

Totally. Unfortunately, I have no other lenses, prime or zoom, at this focal length.



Jun 19, 2016 at 11:07 PM
rscheffler
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Any plans to pick up an Olympus 250/2?

Is there any point to getting the 180/2 over one of the current Canikon 200/2 AF models, in respect to image quality characteristics (preferences will of course be subjective), if MF wasn't a high priority?

I think you also need to do a shootout with the Leica 180/2 R...



Jun 20, 2016 at 12:05 AM
pdmphoto
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Great comparison, thanks. I had the Nikkor 200/2 and thought it was a great lens, but huge and heavy. I've always had an eye out for the Oly 180/2 - and came close a couple of times. I like the Oly colors and contrast in the comparison.


Jun 20, 2016 at 03:46 AM
trogdon
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


Would you mind posting a photo of the two lenses against each other size wise? Can't afford either but would be interesting to see


Jun 20, 2016 at 10:28 AM
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


rscheffler wrote:
Any plans to pick up an Olympus 250/2?

That's be nice. Maybe if I ever encounter a copy for less than $2000, but I don't really see that happening. That was my criteria for this 180mm f/2. It was a long wait.
rscheffler wrote:
Is there any point to getting the 180/2 over one of the current Canikon 200/2 AF models, in respect to image quality characteristics (preferences will of course be subjective), if MF wasn't a high priority?

I have no idea. I've never used the Canikon models. The Olympus is very sharp, however, with very little CA at all.

But size and weight were big drivers. As long as I could get equal results to the MF Nikon, I knew I'd be happy. I'm even more happy to find that the Olympus is just that much better across the board.
rscheffler wrote:
I think you also need to do a shootout with the Leica 180/2 R...

And the Zeiss Contax APO-Sonnar!

Ah, if only...



Jun 20, 2016 at 10:42 AM
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


trogdon wrote:
Would you mind posting a photo of the two lenses against each other size wise? Can't afford either but would be interesting to see

Sure thing:



The weaknesses of the Olympus is that it only has a built in hood too small considering the front element size and that it takes 100mm front filters (impossible to find) and no drop in filters.

The Olympus, according to its date code was made in 1987. The Nikon, according to its serial number is probably form the mid-90's(?).



Jun 20, 2016 at 06:56 PM
chez
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


How did you do critical focus on the eyes if it was a self portrait?


Jun 20, 2016 at 07:01 PM
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


chez wrote:
How did you do critical focus on the eyes if it was a self portrait?

I'm holding a android tablet with the Sony Smart Remote app open.

I focused the lenses to a set distance and then checked focus on the tablet's larger screen. I did four or so shots with each lens moving myself slightly forward or back for each.

The success was about one in four, so not great, but it only took a minute for each lens.



Jun 20, 2016 at 07:07 PM
phuang3
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


MAubrey wrote:
The weaknesses of the Olympus is that it only has a built in hood too small considering the front element size and that it takes 100mm front filters (impossible to find) and no drop in filters.



I was lucky to find the brand new Olympus 100mm filter from a local store. The shop has two - UV & L39 (or maybe L37). I picked up the UV for my 180 APO.


http://kspqm.kymco.com/ckfinder/resource/johnny/image/180APOSummicron-454.jpg




Jun 20, 2016 at 07:42 PM
MAubrey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


phuang3 wrote:
I was lucky to find the brand new Olympus 100mm filter from a local store. The shop has two - UV & L39 (or maybe L37). I picked up the UV for my 180 APO.

http://kspqm.kymco.com/ckfinder/resource/johnny/image/180APOSummicron-454.jpg


What a beauty!

My Olympus came with the 100mm Skylight filter, thankfully. I just wish it was 105mm since that's a standard size for things like (expensive) ND filters and what not.



Jun 20, 2016 at 08:26 PM
phuang3
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Nikon 200mm AI-S & Olympus OM 180mm: Two Lengendary F/2's


MAubrey wrote:
What a beauty!

My Olympus came with the 100mm Skylight filter, thankfully. I just wish it was 105mm since that's a standard size for things like (expensive) ND filters and what not.



Thanks. I don't know why Olympus didn't use drop-in filters. I can see Nikon has it and so does Leica. Mounting or rotating a 100mm+ CPL filter is not easy!



Jun 20, 2016 at 08:38 PM





FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.