Zuiko OM 50mm F1.8, Garden Close-Ups

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Olympus Pen E-P5, Zuiko OM 50mm F1.8

#VintageLensTest - Five frames with an Olympus Zuiko OM 50mm F1.8, testing it for close-ups shots.

I could have very well used the Zuiko OM 50mm F3.5 Macro for these close-ups, but on this occasion, I opted instead for the nifty-fifty Zuiko OM 50mm F1.8. While both lenses have similar 50mm focal lengths, the 50mm F1.8 is more of a general use lens with a minimum focus distance of 0.45 meters instead of 0.25 meters of the 3.5 Macro and comes with a wider minimum aperture opening.

As the norm, Olympus lenses are known for their good build quality and performance. The same could also be said of the 50mm F1.8, with the accolade that the F1.8 is even sharper than the 50mm F1.4 itself. Over its production run from 1972 to 2002, six (6) different iterations of the lens were produced.

Production started with the 6-element in 5-group Olympus M-System F.Zuiko Auto-S 1.8/50 which is available in three (3) different versions, including an intermediate version with a silver nose. Later versions included the Olympus OM-System Zuiko MC Auto-S 1.8/50, Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-S 50mm 1:1.8, and the much sought-after Olympus OM-System Zuiko Auto-S 50mm 1:1.8 which is also embossed with the 'Made in Japan' lettering on the front lens rim.

On a micro four-thirds camera, as in this case the 2x crop-factor Olympus Pen E-P5, the lens is equivalent to a 100mm prime. Shot wide open, images tends to have a shallow depth of field, which could be used effectively for some shots while others may fare better with smaller aperture openings.

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