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For a while now I've wanted to have a 'classic' f1.2 lens.
Not looking for Gaussian smoothness, but not to much crazy funk either. A bit of interesting structure to the bokeh.
Lots of choices of course, but I went with the OM Zuiko 50mm (not the earlier 55) partly for sentimental reasons (as an OM film shooter way back in the day at grad school, I always wanted to buy one but couldn't afford it!) and partly because it's one of the latest of the classic 1.2s, with a good reputation for a nice useable sweet spot wide open and decent bokeh.
So over the next few weeks as I get time I'll be posting samples and tests.
Let's start with the all important bokeh test.
Here we are at about a metre - prime portrait distance - with the door in focus and the living room of our house in the background, with structures at various distances between two and ten metres.
This is straight out of Lightroom with no editing (Camera Standard profile)
I offer you f1.2, f2, f2.8 and f4
1.2 vs 2 is the most interesting to me, as my other fifties are 2 and 1.8 so it's good to see if I've got an interesting difference here. I certainly find the 1.2 nice, a bit of fun busyness, but not too much, and interestingly different to the 1.8 on the 55 (no direct comparison here though: maybe later)
What surprises me so far is the amazing colour correction for a lens of its age: little or no bokeh fringing, better than some APO lenses at these distances (might be worse closer to the plane of focus though)
A bit of processing ups the contrast and 'pop' of course; a touch of contrast and clarity makes it look quite 'modern'
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