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If you ever see one for a good price, the Vivitar 135/2.5 Close Focus is supposed to be better than the 135/2.8. I haven't tried it (and someone else earlier in the thread suggested it wasn't great for landscape, so who knows.)
I surely hope the OM 135/2.8 I mailed back to the vendor yesterday because of oily blades wasn't a rare exception! That would be a shame and a pain in equal measures. This one was a later MC version. If I decide the Tamron 135/2.5 I'm using now isn't cutting it after all, I'll round up another OM 135/2.8 MC.
Thanks for the insights into the OM zooms. I had the 35-70 f/3.6 years ago. It was quite decent, but it flared like it was designed to do that.
If you like the OM style, two I can recommend without reservation at the OM 50/2 Macro and the OM 90/2 Macro. The OM 50/2 Macro costs a lot more than OM 50/1.4, which is probably just as good, but I like the close focusing ability of the 50/2. The OM 90/2 is in a league of its own. I use the exceptional Fuji XF 90/2, and the OM 90/2 is easily its match. It's a big heavy beast for an Olympus OM, but the image quality is simply fabulous.
AmbientMike wrote:
My 135/2.8 M42 mount Vivitar seems noticably better, at least in the center, than my 135/2.8 or 3.5 OM. And Hektor. It needs to be stopped down, though, but it seems at least decent by f/4.
There are possibly several versions, though, so you might have to try a few. Mine looks different than the one you posted a photo of.
I mostly shoot m4/3 lately, for alts, so I don't know about the edges on ff. But I shoot a lot of close up, anyway.
I really like OM lenses, but the 135's just didn't work that well for me. They are good enough, but I'd recommend the 65-200 OM, although it needs to be stopped down. But it is an excellent lens at f/8, I like f/5.6-11. Decent macro at 200, too.
Also the latest version of the 70-210/4 Tamron. The one that replaced the 80-210, and has 1:2.8 macro. Mine has a focus shift, though.
There may be better versions of the OM 135's out there, especially the 135/2.8, perhaps mc. But mine performed abut like the modern photography test, not that well.
I really like my 100/2.8, I think it is later than the MP tested one, and seems really good.
Seems like there's a 135 I'm forgetting.....
The 80-200/2.8 Tamron has a tripod ring, and is good. XX-300 zooms tend to do well up to about 200mm.
My 75-150 OM is good, too. I think I got a late version, though. But the MP test on the earlier one looks good. ...Show more →
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