Wide-Angle to Standard
Zoom Lens
A wide-angle zoom that covers the most frequently used range of 28mm,
35mm, and 48mm. With this convenient lens that packs with a zoom range of
between a moderate wide-angle and a standard lens, you can change freely from
an angle of view of 75¡Æ to 49¡Æ.
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Like most early wideangle zoom lenses, the main drawback for such lenses is its restrictive maximum aperture which in this case, the Olympus zoom does not fair any better and featured at a rather slow f/4.0 of at its fastest lens speed. |
This lens which combines a
zoom ratio of 1.71 with compactness, portability and ease of use, is a
favorite among users. It has not equipped with any close range focusing
mechanism and its close focus ability is also restricted at 0.65 which fell
short from most high performance wideangle zoom lenses. The main feature is
still its zoom range which offers a broader zooming capabilities than most
other Zuiko zoom lenses with endless practical and creative applications. As
with the wide-angle zoom lens, combining focal length with camera-to-subject
distance permits variations of perspective rendition. In addition to
controlling perspective with focal length, you can exaggerate a moderate
visual effects with high or low camera angles.
During early and
mid-seventies, development of zoom lenses were mainly confined to focal length
of 50mm and beyond. Zoom lenses with shorter focal length were deemed
difficult to produce and above all, photographers were still skeptical about
their optical quality and acceptance was slow. In fact, very few manufacturers
managed to market any commercially successful wideangle zoom lenses until the
end of the '70 where situations turned much better with generally improved
product awareness with the overall convenience a zoom lens provides.
As stated earlier, Olympus
has little to shout about as far as this segment of the Zuiko lens series is
concerned, as there are only two more well known zoom lenses extending the
wideangle to 28mm. The first was the Zuiko Zoom 28-48mm f/4.0 and another is a
more excitng inclusion during the mid '90, a very fast zoom of Zuiko 28-80mm
f/2.8.
This lens packed a lot
of features and an impressive specifications list and you would expect it to
be a very bulky zoom. However, it happened to be light, compact and covering
these three popular focal lengths. But somehow, it was not that popular as
Olympus thought it would be. Basically, I think the cause was most likely its
longer focal length having a reach of only 50mm, which is neither long nor
short for comfort and it was made even worst with the small aperture of f4.5
when used at the 50mm setting. The strongest asset of this lens is still its
price and compactness which may appeal to those who prefers to travel light or
one that was strapped with limited budget to spend on additional lenses.
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Specifications |
Zooming: Rotation of
zooming ring
Minimum aperture: f/22. A
Diaphragm: Automatic
Filter size: 58mm
Hood: W-69
Length x max. diameter: 99.5m x 69mm
Weight: 470g
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Zuiko Zoom 28-48mm F4 |
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Zuiko Zoom 35-70mm F3.6 |
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Zuiko Zoom 35-70mm F4 |
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While number may be misleading at times, quality is the ultimate criterion of any camera, especially an SLR system camera. In this respect the OM System is quite outstanding, if not comparable to other major players such as Nikon, Canon, Contax, Pentax, Leica or the Minolta. Olympus is also one of the longest serving manual focus SLR camera manufacturers and does not seemed too interested in the autofocus arena and rather put all their research effort into the SLR instead. Up to the nineties, the OM lens group has mushroomed to more than 50 odd interchangeable lenses; many of which are offering first rated performance in an astonishingly compact, lightweight format, just as their famed OM bodies because OM lens system was developed along with the cameras themselves, based on exactly the same concept of functionality. But to make the performance of true practical value, it emphasized quick operation, easy lens changing, and compactness for effortless carrying too. |
As with OM bodies, Zuiko
lenses do have a lot of common unique product characteristics. Other than
compactness, lightweight, its positioning of controls is equally different
from lenses of other makes.
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| Zuiko Zoom 35-70mm
F4 Autofocus An incredibly fast, accurate autofocus lens incorporating the amazing "Zero in" autofocus system. It works brilliantly with moving subjects, in low contrast or dim ]ight. The lens can focus down instantly and precisely without searching. |
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Specifications: |
Diatance scale: (m)
0.4 (Magnification 0.09X at 28mm, 0.16X at 55 mm) to 7.OO;
(ft) 1.4 to 20.OO
Macro mechanism: Helical front group movement, full range macro.
Closest focusing distance in macro range is 0.29m: f=28mm - 0.13X f =55mm
-0.23x
Focusing mechanism: Rotation of front lens group
Zooming: Rotation of zooming ring
Minimum aperture: f/22. A
Diaphragm: Automatic
Filter size: 52 mm
Hood: BW-58C
Cap: B-62 (CA2-3745)
Function: Auto Aperture, Full aperture metering (AE operation when used
with ALL Canon automatic SLR cameras.
Length x max. diameter: 60.9 mm x 63 mm
Weight: 220g
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Index Page of OM Zuiko Lenses