pascal03 wrote: I see from your post that you own or have used the OM 50mm f1.2 and OM 50mm f1.8. Both are very nice lenses.
Just curious.... have you owned or used the Olympus OM 40mm f2.0 ?
No. That is the whole point of my post Pascal. I see no need to own one, when I am already so well covered at 50mm with a 1.8 (gift), 1.2, and 2.8 macro. The 40/2 is too rare and expensive for me to consider chasing after it just for the sake of comparison to the 50s. Are you trying to suggest that wide open at f/2 it performs 500USD better than all of the 50/1.8 or 1.4 alternatives (by any manufacturer) stopped down to f/2? Or for the same current price, is it better than any of the more commonly available f/1.2 legacy lenses stopped town to f/2 with an extra one and a half stops available for when you want them? Because those are the questions that current buyers have to ask themselves.
I don't want to dimish the artistry in Brainiac's example images, but for optical performance alone, I don't see anything that justifies 600 USD when there are alternatives that appear to be:
1) equally good but cheaper, and having at least half a stop in reserve if you want it
2) same price, but much faster lenses at a very close focal length.
YMMV.
Just to be clear, my objection is not to the lens, but to the RIDICULOUS PRICE for what is at the end of the day still just an f/2 standard lens. In my opinion, if it was not a pancake (read "oddity/curiosity/novelty") lens, it would not warrant this price range.
I got one for cheap in the US...under $300. Looks previously unused/mint with box + pouch. But you'd have to be willing to hunt for one. It is relatively rare and normally goes for about $400-$450 for a typical copy...perhaps for the last year or so. I saw the $600 copy and I think it is a fluke, but momentary demand does crazy things to the alternative market.
I have just bought a Zuiko pancake f/2.0 40mm on ebay for € 326,-- (about USD 450,--).
It will go to my address in Berlin, where I will go at the end of September. Looked fine on those ebay photos, so I hope it will be as good as it looks.
Definitely check out the Voigtlander Ultron SL II. Less than $400 brand new, still f/2, brilliant hood design. While it might not display every esoteric rendering characteristic of the Oly, it has its own very agreeable style.
Ed Sawyer wrote:
If you really want a cheap and decent pancake f2 lens, grab the minolta 45/2. Convert that. Those are so cheap they are basically giveaways.
hard to say. I think probably so. likely depends on the 5d... I don't have a 5d and haven't finished converting the 45/2 yet, but Cogitech had one converted at one point.
Stu Warner wrote:
I'd suggest that you only spend that much on it if, like Brainiac, you absolutely love 40mm (and want a single prime lens solution).
Olympus have cheaper 50mm alternatives. Sure, the 50/1.2 and 1.4 are noticably bigger (and at least a stop faster!), but the Olympus 50/1.8 is a lovely little lens. It's really not that much bigger than the pancake, and it's 1/2 stop faster too. You can pick up one of those for peanuts and spend the other $500+ on other less glamorous lenses.
A Zu 24mm f/2 goes for about $600 for heaven's sake. You did the right thing in sitting back to watch the bidding IMHO. Just because a couple of collectors are willing to out-bid each other for a rare lens, does not mean it is the best inclusion in an active photograher's kit.
That pancake is cute... but there's no way I'd pay more for it than I did for my Zu 50/1.2. Think about it ...Show more →
I will use it mostly for stitched panoramas. I have a Nodal Nina pano head and it makes a difference when the lens is this tiny instead of putting a bulky EOS 16-35mm L zoom on it.
Love these two shots. Really shows off how to use such a lens in very varied ways. Great CUs without the distortion of a "real" wide angle lens and wide enough to get great environmental portraits even in tight spaces.
