I have a line on an Oly 35 shift at a pretty good price...just waiting to hear back from the seller with regard to particulars such as MC, etc. Since I never used a shift lens, I was wondering if someone could post a few shots with this lens in a landscape environment. My only concern is the lack of tilt for DOF control but, as I said, the price seems pretty good for a lens that gets very good reviews (the Zeiss 35 shift is out of the budget for me right now). Thanks in advance to anyone that can help or offer suggestions.
Too late...the price was that good that I just had to jump on it. Luckily, it was the later MC version and in like-new condition (actually looks like it has seen very little use). I guess its time to start experimenting...
prashant wrote:
You actually got an MC version? How much?
I literally stumbled across it while trolling the local Craigslist...it was listed as "Various OM and Nikon lenses". If I didn't open the ad, I surely would have missed it. It cost me $325 plus local sales taxes, total was $350 give or take. Prior to driving the 45 miles to try it out, the seller emailed me the lens markings and I confirmed with the info on the 16-9 site that it was the MC version. After physically inspecting the lens, I did notice the purple reflective hues, so I guess the 16-9 info was spot-on. Can't wait to try it out.
Can you offer any tips on metering and stitching, etc?
Sounds like a good deal. Metering is as normal but as it has a stop down tab with an on/off action it's much quicker than with other MF lenses. As for stitching I find that if you have any forground detail you will get a paralax error and a mismatch of detail if you shift stitch. I use it unshifted on a pano head and stitch with PTgui. Best performance is F11 - it will remain sharp into the corners but depending on what adapter you get you may have to adjust the focus stop to hit infinity properly - remove the rubber grip and loosen the screws under it.
Congrats on the find. My only suggestion is to shoot in Manual mode and use the stop down button. Well, one more suggestion is to use a macro/slide rail to counter-shift the body on your tripod when shooting subjects with a foreground.
I've one which looks to be SC, but has purple reflections as well.... Serial 1011xx
Mine begins with Serial # 1116xx. I based the MC/not MC on this info that I came across on the 16-9 site:
"Note well the order of the lens description: I learnt too late its significance. Though Olympus only ever made one version of this lens for the OM mount, the vast majority are single coated, but designated in the most fiendishly subtle way. Many of the later multi-coated units were bought by Sinar for use on their early digital MF systems, and are marked 'Sinaron' on the front lens barrel. All Sinarons are MC lenses and pretty much guaranteed to be top-notch samples. The lens tested here, however, is single coated, and was kindly loaned to us for the review by MXV Photographic (genuinely good people to deal with: not just because they let us borrow this copy). However, it quickly became apparent that it struggled with flare and internal reflections, which set us to investigating the MC situation. Historically, Olympus found all kinds of sneaky ways to flag up the coating used on their lenses: sometimes the key is to look for extra letters; sometimes the omission thereof. If you want a multicoated 35/2.8, here's the knack: look for the inscription "ZUIKO SHIFT 35mm 1:2.8". If the running order of the words is different, or if it says "f = 35mm", it's single coated – and most are. The other giveaway, of course, is a purple/green (MC) or neutral/yellow (SC) reflection."
My copy has the stipulated text engraving, as well as the purple/green reflections, so my assumption is that its MC, but with the Olys it can sometimes be difficult to be sure.
shirozina wrote:
Sounds like a good deal. Metering is as normal but as it has a stop down tab with an on/off action it's much quicker than with other MF lenses. As for stitching I find that if you have any forground detail you will get a paralax error and a mismatch of detail if you shift stitch. I use it unshifted on a pano head and stitch with PTgui. Best performance is F11 - it will remain sharp into the corners but depending on what adapter you get you may have to adjust the focus stop to hit infinity properly - remove the rubber grip and loosen the screws under it....Show more →
I already made the infinity adjustment, so I'm good to go on that (but I may have to re-check my other Olys since I recently shimmed the focus screen).
I'm using this on my 5D and love it, I started shooting OM 16-18 years back and have a good collection of these lens. This is one of my favorites how ever. Every time I think I know something about MC this happens, I stumble on some new info to check out haha.
Good buy.
Mike Ganz wrote:
I literally stumbled across it while trolling the local Craigslist...it was listed as "Various OM and Nikon lenses". If I didn't open the ad, I surely would have missed it. It cost me $325 plus local sales taxes, total was $350 give or take. Prior to driving the 45 miles to try it out, the seller emailed me the lens markings and I confirmed with the info on the 16-9 site that it was the MC version. After physically inspecting the lens, I did notice the purple reflective hues, so I guess the 16-9 info was spot-on. Can't wait to try it out.
Can you offer any tips on metering and stitching, etc?
WOW. 325USD is the deal of the year for an MC version.
I will suggest to look at Auto Pano Pro, and a leveling head base from Manfrotto..and you are set.
Have all the fun, do post images and let me/us know.
prashant wrote:
WOW. 325USD is the deal of the year for an MC version.
I will suggest to look at Auto Pano Pro, and a leveling head base from Manfrotto..and you are set.
Have all the fun, do post images and let me/us know.
I use an RRS panning clamp (PCL-1) for leveling and panning...PTGUI for stitching (not sure how it compares to Auto Pan Pro, but it seems to do the job pretty well).
I've had an MC for a while now and using it on my 5D, three things I have noticed:
- When shifted down, metering is waaay off, I'm talking 3-4 stops overexposed. I dont have other experience with shift lenses but I've been told this is very common even with new, chipped lenses? In all other positions, including shifted up, metering is spot on at all apertures. Small problem.
- The stop down button is a blessing and a curse. Its great when working on a tripod in low light, to open the lens wide and check framing/focus without touching the aperture ring, then press again and go back to the selected aperture. But the button is placed too close to the focusing ring and it is easy to push it by mistake and start shooting wide open without knowing it. Again, small problem, but it requires attention.
- The lens has tremendous resolution corner to corner, when unshifted, I'd give it a 10/10. When shifted the corners are not that great, on the same scale I'd give it maybe a 8/10. Also wide open it's not at its greatest, sharpness is good but there is noticeable veiling and low contrast, even unshifted. Good at f4, perfect from f5.6.
For what it is intended though (tripod, stopped down work) it is great. Stitching left-right shots in photoshop is a breeze. I paid $350 (BGN from KEH), I dont think they knew the significance of the coatings and I had no way of knowing from the stock photo, I just got lucky I guess
Spyro P. wrote:
I've had an MC for a while now and using it on my 5D, three things I have noticed:
- When shifted down, metering is waaay off, I'm talking 3-4 stops overexposed. I dont have other experience with shift lenses but I've been told this is very common even with new, chipped lenses? In all other positions, including shifted up, metering is spot on at all apertures. Small problem.
Meter before shifting. That is a hard and fast rule with any T/S lens on any system. Otherwise bad things may happen.
