| Reviews : Olympus 50mm f/2.0 Telephoto Macro ED Lens for E1, E300 & E500 Digital SLR Cameras |
Olympus 50mm f/2.0 Telephoto Macro ED Lens for E1, E300 & E500 Digital SLR Cameras Product By Olympus Available From 19 Sellers |
Technical Details
- Specially treated to shed water droplets, and engineered to withstand the rigorous demands of professional use
- Designed to capitalize on the design advantages of the OLYMPUS Four Thirds System
- Large f/2.0 aperture, with minimum weight and bulk
- 50mm range -- equivalent to 100mm in conventional 35mm photography
- For use with the OLYMPUS E-1 and other Four Thirds Series Digital SLR Cameras, as specified
Product Description
The ZUIKO DIGITAL ED50mm f2.0 Macro is a dedicated lens for macro photography. The 2.0 maximum aperture makes it excellent for available-light shooting while the attachment of macro flash systems is also possible. It includes an ED lens element for crisp, colorful images.Amazon.com Product Description
One of the brightest Zuiko digital lenses is the Olympus 50mm f/2.0 medium macro lens. Offering an equivalent to 100mm on a 35mm camera, the lens boasts a maximum magnification ratio of 0.52x along with a minimum focusing distance of 9.45 inches, letting you get nice and close to your subject. The extra-low-dispersion (ED) glass element, meanwhile, reduces chromatic aberrations to deliver superior image quality with high resolution and good contrast. Add an EX-25 extension tube and you can focus to approximately 1x, equivalent to 2x on a 35mm camera. All Olympus lenses carry a one-year warranty. Specifications
- Focal length: 50mm
- Maximum aperture: f/2.0
- Lens construction: 11 elements in 10 groups, including 1 ED glass element
- Angle of view: 24 degrees
- Closest focusing distance: 9.45 inches
- Maximum image magnification: 0.52x
- Minimum field size: 33.3 x 25mm
- Number of blades: 7
- Minimum aperture: f/22
- Filter size: 52mm
- Tele converter: EC-14
- Extension tube: EX-25
- Lens hood: LH-55
- Lens cap: LC-52
- Lens case: LSC-0814
- Dimensions: 2.8 inches in diameter and 2.4 inches long
- Weight: 10.6 ounces
- Warranty: 1 year
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Customer Reviews
By -Ashi- (San Jose, CA United States)
It's a very sharp macro lens. At 50mm (100mm 35mm-equivalent) it's doubled as a portrait lens. I won't use it as a landscape lens. At f8, it's still in macro mode, so if you want more depth of field on a bright day, it may not be the best lens to use.
The compact size is a big selling point. The 1:2 magnification ratio (or 1:1 35mm equivalent) is wonderful giving that naked-eye look. When it's mounted on my E-620, viewfinder is brighter than when 14-54mm II is mounted because of the brighter aperture (f2 vs f2.8).
The lens hood is shaped like a noodle bowl. When reversed (storing position), it'll cover the MF ring, disallow MF. This is a problem, since this lens is not an AF performer. Speaking of AF, it makes me wish Olympus would make a high-speed imager AF version of it, so it doesn't have to flip the mirror when focusing. Macro lenses are not known for fast AF anyways. Its AF tends to hunt a lot. Practically speaking, this is a MF lens (with AF feature added...).
MF ring is very nice and dampened. It's "focus-by-wire" type. Though purists may not like it over mechanical type, but it allows a generous three full revolution MF traveling distance from shortest (0.24m) to infinite. That should make precise MF easier.
The lens will double in length when you focus toward the minimum focus distance (0.24m), so keep the hood on in operation position will help preventing lens from bumping into your subject because of carelessness.
This lens is considered one of the best lenses of its type. When I first got it, I noticed it's significantly brighter than my 14-54mm II. The sharpness of the picture is better, and has less halo effect than 14-54mm II on bokeh area.
If you are thinking about hooking the older 25mm f2 (effectively 50mm with 4/3 format) with the OM-adapter to your Olympus DSLR, then you're not alone. However, after some research, I believe it's better to buy this digital lens than use the older lens because this lens has an ED glass which is absent from the film SLR model. ED glass will help reducing chromatic aberration (which is more of a problem for digital format than film).
Construction is solid. It feels like a giant rock in hand, and is capable of killing Goliath (or thief) if mounted on a sling. Like all other Olympus Pro level lenses, it's splash and dust proof and it has metal body with glass fibre reinforced plastic exterior that matches Olympus camera body.
Highly recommended for macro users. Not recommended as the always-on lens because of the AF speed.
By David Perez (Pennsylvania)
I assume if you are reading this review that you are considering this Olympus 50mm f2.0 Telephoto Macro ED lens for your E-series camera. The best advice that I can offer is: "Go ahead and buy it". You will not regret buying this lens.
I don't wish to add a bunch of techno nerdy comments except to say that many reviewers of this lens just chime in with the previous reviewers and give lots of opinions about things that don't really matter to the majority of us. Let me give you my honest and simple opinion of this lens.
* It is extremely well made. It is solidly built and it focuses smoothly, quickly and quietly on my Olympus E-3 body.
* The images that I have shot with this lens are razor sharp ...... almost too sharp (if there is such a thing) This lens lets in a lot of light at f2.0 and 100iso. You may consider stopping down the aperture or lowering the exposure level for well lit scenes.
* The depth-of-field is pretty narrow below f8.0 settings. However you will be very happy with the soft bokeh that this lens delivers at the wider f-stop settings.
* The macro shots are really more like close-ups at 50mm. It's best to use a macro extension tube such as an Olympus EX-25 Extension Tube for true macro work. You will be very happy with the quick, bright and sharp macro shots that this lens delivers with the extension tube.
It's a real bargain at the Amazon.com price. There is no better portrait/macro lens available for your Olympus E-series camera unless you wish to pay around $2,100.00 for the Olympus Zuiko 35-100 f.2.0 zoom lens. The only significant gain that you will get from the higher priced lens is a lighter wallet and the ability to zoom in a little tighter.
Cheers!
By Gary Stephenson
This is a very good lens. Sharp as a razor images, great. The only thing that kept me from giving five stars is the lens hood. It does not fit well. When compared to my two kit lenses this lens hood which cost $35 to replace is not in the same class.
*May 30, 2009 Update: The lens hood snaps into place with a little extra twist. This is a five star lens.
By I. Davis (oakland, ca)
I'll try to keep this short & sweet. This lens is one of the best lenses to have in your camera bag. I've gotten beautifully detailed results. Extremely sharp, I love how much detail I can get of a flower when stopped down to around f6.3-f8. Inversely, I also love the limited depth of field achieved when at that f2 aperture.
For doing portraits, this lens is brilliant, it captures much detail. Some people might even complain that it captures too much detail (though if they complain you can always soften this up with software such as Lightroom).
I highly recommend this lens to all who are doing portrait & macro photography, as well as those who just want a wonderful lens in general. I've used this one my e-520 & e-3 and enjoy it on both. With the E-3, you can take advantage of the dust/splash proof capabilities of the lens/camera combo.
The ONLY downsides to this lens are: the auto focusing can be on the slower side (though some would argue that you should use manual focusing when doing macro photography) and the focus motor is quite noisy. These are the ONLY downsides I can find, but certainly are NOT REASONS TO OVERLOOK THIS LENS!
By Mattaphore (California, USA)
I think everything has already been said in the other reviews. This lens is incredibly sharp, even at f/2.0. I've been pairing it with my Olympus E-520 and I am well satisfied with the combination
This lens is incredible for macro as well as portraits. A little footwork is required for portraits, depending on how tight you want the cropping on the portraits. I've been able to take great macro shots of butterflies and other little critters as well as flowers.
Before I purchased it, I was concerned with what other online reviews had said about the focusing ring. As you are probably familiar, there is not direct mechanical connection between the focusing ring and the actual lens elements (it's motor driven and electronically controlled), however, compared to the kit lenses (14-42mm and 40-140mm), this focus ring is incredibly smooth.
It does make a bit of motor noise when you're going from infinity to up close. Low-light autofocus is a little slow, but I think that's the case for most camera/lens combinations.
This lens feels very solid and the lens mount is made of metal. It feels great putting this lens on. The connection feels precise and sturdy.
what else can I say... I am well satisfied with this lens :)
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