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Archive 2008 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

khidhir
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

I have been reading the discussions here about Tilt Shift lens lately and saw this on eBay. I can't afford it right now, but thought some forum members might be interested. The item looks good.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270261754835&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Aug 09, 2008 at 01:54 AM

ovredal73
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

It´s a good one. I would expect it selling for about 450 dollars.

Aug 09, 2008 at 03:13 AM

pascal03
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

They usually go for more than that. Closer to $500-$550 for a copy in good / mint condition. With eBay, you could end up buying it for $250-$350 (there have been a couple of cases where it went that low) or up to $599.

The lens is definitely sharper than the Canon 24mm TS-E and the colors are typical Olympus.
I am surprised it sells for so low today - especially since all PC/TS-E lenses are manual focus anyways.

Aug 09, 2008 at 10:58 AM

RandomLetterz
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

What IQ level are we talking here? Does it match up to the Canon 90mm TS-E? What about IQ on maximum shift? If prices are as low as you guys say, and quality it as good or better than the Canon equivalents, I see no reason to not to get alt gear. After all, its all manual focus anyway

Edited on Aug 09, 2008 at 12:36 PM

Aug 09, 2008 at 12:35 PM

pascal03
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

Look at http://www.16-9.net/ and browse your way to shift lens tests.

The site is run by one of the forum members here who posts regularly on this forum. It is a rather informative test of 3 very good lenses. Apart from the Zeiss, the Olympus is about as good as it gets. For the price, it's hard to beat.

The Canon 90mm TS-E is an excellent lens. However, it is also a tele at 90mm - completely different benchmark when comparing tele's to wides. Also to consider, the 90mm TS-E is probably more useful for tilt application rather than shift applications.

If you had to compare the 90mm TS-E, try to shoot it (without the tilt/shift to it's advantage) against an OM 90mm f2.0 macro or a 100mm f2.8 Zeiss - so that the playing field is level.

I would think it is harder to get a sharp 24mm than a sharp 35mm than a sharp 45mm than a 90mm - and we are talking about edge-to-edge and corner sharpness here.

Aug 09, 2008 at 03:08 PM

hubsand
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

It's a very, very fine lens – at least as good as the Zeiss version at f8/f11 – but I'd persevere in looking for a multicoated version if you're fussy: the one listed there is an earlier single coated lens; flare is much better controlled in the later versions, and the colours are a bit punchier.

I converted my MC Zuiko 35PC for Mamiya 645: it outperforms anything else you can mount on it at that focal length!

Aug 10, 2008 at 04:41 AM

Laminin
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

Hubsand wrote: "I converted my MC Zuiko 35PC for Mamiya 645"

Does the Olympus lens cover the corners? I thought that the image circle is only 62mm, whereas the film diagonal for the Mamiya 645 is 70mm (56x41.5mm). Have you removed the shift mechanism from the Olympus lens to cover the difference in film-to-flange distance (63.5 vs. 46mm)?

Aug 11, 2008 at 10:00 AM

maxima302
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

khidhir wrote:
I have been reading the discussions here about Tilt Shift lens lately and saw this on eBay. I can't afford it right now, but thought some forum members might be interested. The item looks good.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270261754835&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

A couple of things to note: The first is that this is a shift lens, not a tilt shift lens (it lacks the tilt).

The second being that metering will probably be extra difficult, considering your already using stop down metering (on a canon body, presumably) + at full shift, or near full shift the metering gets all wonky. Thats just my experience working with canon TS-E's... they are a little difficult to meter for until you get the hang of it. But I can't imagine adding the converted lens factor into the equation.

Edited on Aug 11, 2008 at 03:35 PM

Aug 11, 2008 at 03:34 PM

hubsand
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

I removed the shift mechanism and used the Olympus as a tilt-and-shift 35mm in the Mirex T/S, but I'm sure it would also make a fabulous prime without movements on a Mamiya body. The image circle is just the right size to cover the 1.1x crop sensor, though stopped down I suspect it would cover 645 full frame also.

Aug 11, 2008 at 04:47 PM

Laminin
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

Thanks hubsand for the explanation; seems that their was quite some work involved. I haven't had realized that you were talking about the digital Mamiya camera. For my old film based one, I am quite happy with the Mamiya 35/3.5N, though I have heard that some people had problems with the older C version.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:30 PM

melcat
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

maxima302 wrote:
...metering will probably be extra difficult, considering your already using stop down metering (on a canon body, presumably) + at full shift, or near full shift the metering gets all wonky. Thats just my experience working with canon TS-E's... they are a little difficult to meter for until you get the hang of it. But I can't imagine adding the converted lens factor into the equation.

It's a preset lens, so it works the same on my Canon 5D as it did on my OM-3:

1. Make sure the preset is off (the lens is not stopped down). The preset button is a toggle where normally you'd find a depth of field preview button on Zuikos.

2. Rough focus.

3. Press the preset button. The lens is now stopped down to the aperture set on the ring.

4. Meter.

5. Shift.

6. Press the preset button again to open up.

7. Touch up focus.

8. Press the preset button to stop down.

9. Release shutter.

In practice, you just leave the aperture and shutter speed set until the light changes.

You can also blast away with the Canon 5D in Av mode, and the lens stopped down to f/8 and unshifted. On the OM-4, which had off-the-film metering, you could use any amount of shift and blast away in Av. Unsurprisingly, I preferred that body over the OM-3 with this lens.

A multicoated one is worth looking for, but the colouration on my "single coated" version is almost identical to that of my Canon 35mm f/1.4 L. It doesn't like shooting into the sun, and very bright highlights will bloom.

Aug 13, 2008 at 05:12 AM

shirozina
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

My 35 shift is a fantastic performer with even sharpness right to the corner of the frame when stopped down to F11. It's single coated but I've never had a problem with this. Just wish it were 28mm as 35 is just a bit too narrow for many of my jobs.

Aug 13, 2008 at 05:50 AM

jwillie44
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

Very fascinating information all. I plan on buying one and shooting portraits like Joel Grimes when he uses his Canon T/S and shoots three frames and stitches it together to create a higher pixel image. My question is: how do I know which Olympus 35 shift lens has multicoated. Thanks much for your time and attention.

Jul 31, 2020 at 01:33 AM

mcbroomf
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

I would just point out that this is a 12 year old thread and lens quality has improved enormously since then while camera sensors have become more demanding. Depending on expectations you may not be as impressed with the performance of the OM 35mm PC as you hope. As I recall most people thought the 24mm PC was the better of the 2 and the one I purchased was average to say the least, and I saw similar comments later on, on various forums. Lens copy quality may have a lot to do with it of course but if you want to stitch I would at least just try with a normal 35mm lens 1st. Modern stitching software is now quite forgiving of nodal point precision.

Mike

Aug 07, 2020 at 06:58 PM

DavidBM
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Olympus Zuiko Shift 35mm f2.8

mcbroomf wrote:
I would just point out that this is a 12 year old thread and lens quality has improved enormously since then while camera sensors have become more demanding. Depending on expectations you may not be as impressed with the performance of the OM 35mm PC as you hope. As I recall most people thought the 24mm PC was the better of the 2 and the one I purchased was average to say the least, and I saw similar comments later on, on various forums. Lens copy quality may have a lot to do with it of course but if you...Show more →

Just a +1 before anyone spends their money!

I used it a lot on film, and it was wonderful and gave me images I couldn't otherwise have had.
But simple stitching from a cheap modern prime will give you better results today. It really gets a bit soft shifted, even stopped down.

There are reasons to have it: you want to take shift images on film (of course you can stitch post scanning but maybe that's not in the spirit of shooting film). Or just nostalgia if you were an OM shooter.

But just to get straight verticals is not a sufficient treason.

Aug 08, 2020 at 06:10 AM


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