During the late seventies and early eighties, lenses near 35mm focal length were used to be a natural choice as a 2nd lens because most new SLRs during those days are usually 'bundled" with a standard 50mm lens.
 |
At this focal length, it is hard to make a buying decision but I am not against a 35mm focal length lenses but rather due to its moderate perspective and lenses at this focal length would require you to use them creatively or it may just ended up in a cabinet unused for a long long time. |
Positive aspect of this lens is,
its relatively large aperture that starts at f2.8 and a bigger image size compared
to other wide-angle lenses makes precise focusing easier even under low light conditions.
Although personally, I have some reservation over any buying decision when compared
with a all-rounder lens such as 28mm, but for those looking for a moderate wide angle
lens, this focal length should provide a good solution. The best way to use this
lens is to treat it as a wider "angle-of-view" standard lens.
Its 63° angle of view provides about 50% larger than the image area of the 50mm.
That can be a big help for indoor photography where you need just a touch more coverage
than a 50mm lens. It usually has a relatively large maximum aperture which make it
a poor man high speed lens choice for indoor available light shooting. It also offers
slightly broader depth of field than the normal lens at the same aperture and focus
setting. Provided you have an adequate good working distance, it is also a good choices
to cover PR sessions such as parties, weddings, functions etc.
In situations where you needed
to work with a flash, you will need a flash units of sufficient power to allow for
compensation with distance, otherwise you will have to be contented to work with
only a few people in the picture frame. That is one of the reason why I prefer the
28mm for such purpose where it may able to cover six or seven persons in a confined
area.
With the emergence of zoom
lenses, prime lenses with focal length such as 35mm are gradually phasing out in
popularity. With the modern high performance zoom with extended zoom ratio, it may
sound stupid to invest in one and thus rarely you will find such fixed focal length
lenses be given an update (Hi... how about a Zuiko 35mm f/1.4 huh
?). The strength of such prime lenses still lies with its maximum aperture available,
but modern zoom lenses are catching up real fast, you may find zoom lenses between
28mm - 105mm with a equivalent fixed aperture of f/2.8 are starting to appear in
the market; but other than relatively large maximum aperture, usually I would rate
optical performance of fixed focal length lenses exceed that of the equivalent in
a zoom lens.
Well, to be on a realistic*** note, unless the price offered to you is
extremely attractive or for any other reasons you must have one in your camera bag,
you may skip this lens if you like but If you must possess one - and if it is possible,
always invest into the larger aperture lens such as the Zuiko 35mm f2.0 for more
flexible applications.
***
Note: Some manufacturers
such as Pentax has even deleted their ENTIRE series of 35mm focal length lenses
from their product list when they were still selling the Pentax
LX which was eventually
being discontinued in 1997.
 |
|
|---|
With a 8-element, 7-group construction, the Zuiko 35mm f/2.0 maintains similar optical composition with earlier version, H-Zuiko AUTO-W 35mm f/2.0 with the latter having marginally shorter length of 42mm. The lens has good combination of factors such as fast lens speed, portability and natural perspective make it a popular lens with virtually unlimited applications. Given the current market which has a tendency of leading towards zoom lenses, there are high possibilities that used market may have more offerings than ever. Try your luck, may be you could picked up some good bargains if it comes along. Whatever it is, there are still a lot of good points to go for a prime at this lens speed.
The lens has a filter size of 55mm and has more compatibility with wider range of focusing screen due to its relative fast lens speed.
Specification:
Older Version: H-Zuiko
AUTO-W 35mm f2.0
Current Version: Zuiko 35mm f2.0
Focal length: 35mm
Lens construction: 7 groups, 8 elements
Angle of view: Diagonal: 63°
Distance Scale: (m) 0.3 (1 ft) to infinity (OO)
Focusing: Helicoid
Minimum and Maximum aperture: f/2.0-f/16
Diaphragm: Automatic
Filter Size. 55mm
Length: 43mm
Weight: 240g (8.5oz); older version: 240g (8.5oz)
Recommended
Focusing Screens: 1:1*, 1:2*, 1:3*,
1:4n*, 1:5#, 1:10*,
1:13*, 1:14*
* Compatible. Focusing and
exposure accuracy remains. #
Can be used, they will provide accurate focusing but exposure error may occur in manual mode
for OM1 and OM2 series models.
 |
Zuiko 35mm F2.8 |
Many photographers use this as a standard lens with an extra capacity for squeezing more into restricted places. But underlying fact remains, other than its compactness and lightweight, it also offers a very good price/performance ratio. A high affordable lens for many.
Specification:
Older Version: G-Zuiko
AUTO-W 35mm f2.8
Current Version: Zuiko 35mm f2.8
Focal length: 35mm
Lens construction: 6 groups, 7 elements
Angle of view: Diagonal: 63°
Distance Scale: (m) 0.3 (1 ft) to infinity (OO)
Focusing: Helicoid
Minimum and Maximum aperture: f/2.8-f/16
Diaphragm: Automatic
Filter Size. 49mm
Length: 43mm
Weight: 240g (8.5oz); older version: 240g (8.5oz)
Recommended
Focusing Screens: 1:1*, 1:2*, 1:3*,
1:4n*, 1:5#, 1:10*,
1:13*, 1:14*
* Compatible. Focusing and
exposure accuracy remains. #
Can be used, they will provide accurate focusing but exposure error may occur in manual mode
for OM1 and OM2 series models.
|
Reserved Sample image 1 |
Reserved Sample image 2 |
Reserved Sample image 3 |
Reserved Sample image 4 |
Reserved Sample image 5 |
N O T E: As no photographer in the world would possess ALL the lenses within a single trade name. You are always encouraged to replace these reserved slot for sample images above shooting with a lens type detailed above - just mail in your creative visual, a little caption relative to the background information will help a lot to let other understand how you prepared the shot. Please mention IF you require a complimentary link and where should it be pointed at. Naturally, I DO NOT like to disappoint anyone, but in order to maintain my self-set standard in the PIM website - I would prefer to have high quality input rather than in quantity, if your image is NOT selected for broadcasting in this site, give it a try the next time but I do promise every image will be view and consider carefully. I do appreciate your consideration in this matter.
 |
Zuiko Shift 35mm F2.8 |
The Zuiko family has a total of two such specialized lenses which enable tilt and shift movement for perspective control. The Zuiko 24mm f3.5 SHIFT has long been enjoying a fine reputation in both optical excellence and innovation The Zuiko 35mm SHIFT lens featured here was introduced much earlier.
There is a brief write-up for some popular applications for SHIFT lenses in Zuiko 24mm SHIFT lens section and you are encouraged to go through and have a rough idea of how these lenses work. Basically, the lens can be moved parallel to the film plane. When you 'shift' the lens, you can shoot subject where you would otherwise tilt the camera as with the bellow used in the large format cameras, but a physical 35mm lens is not flexible as the bellow, and doing so, it will inevitably leads to converging lines. Like most 35mm type shift lenses (Some called it "PC" for Perspective Control, while some called it as "TS" (Tilt and Shift) lenses), the shift is guided by a track with scales for fine adjustment by precision gearing, usually it is scaled with millimeter. It can either be moved up or shift horizontally and use to cover the entire image circle formed within the 24 x 36mm format. Thus, it can, theoretically adjust and manipulate to a certain extend, a small degree of depth of field which makes it as ideal lens for indoor still life and for architectural photography,
Virtually all PC lenses of this
type are not provide with an automatic diaphragm. Which mean aperture has to be preselected
and manually stopped down for exposure measurement. Full aperture should only be
used for focusing, picture composing and as well as checking sharpness when a lens
is shifted as it will provide a bright viewfinder image. For any actual exposure
process, other than for correcting perspective like taking a picture of building,
smaller apertures such as f11, f16 or f22 are always recommended to gain maximum
depth of field.
The 35mm version has not designed to have a built-in filter set and it uses Olympus's
popular 49mm screw-in filters. It has a lesser coverage than the 24mm with 83° maximum shift instead of 100°.
Naturally, it is very much lighter and compact both in size and weight where it weighs
310g to the 24mm's 510g !
Specifications
Older Version: Zuiko
35mm f2.8 SHIFT
Current Version: Zuiko 35mm f2.8 SHIFT
Focal length: 35mm
Aperture ratio: 1:2.8
Construction: 7 groups, 8 elements;
Angles of view: Standard 63°; maximum shift 83°
Distance scale: (m) 0.30m (1 ft) to infinity (OO)
Minimum aperture: f/22
Filter size: 59mm
Length: 59mm
Weight: 310g
(10.9 oz);
Older Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 SHIFT
lens measures
marginally shorter at 58mm.
Recommended
Focusing Screens: 1:1**, 1:2**, 1:3**, 1:4*, 1:5#, 1:6#, 1:10*, 1:13**, 1:14**
* Compatible. Focusing and
exposure accuracy remains. **
Compatible,
Focusing and exposure accuracy remains intact but microprism, corners of the screen
and split image may
darken. #
Note: Compatible BUT
the meter in the OM1 and OM2 (MANUAL mode) CAN NOT be used. On AUTO, OM2 makes correct exposure
but the meter needle does NOT indicate correct
shutter speeds.