The Zuiko lenses

I am going to echo here something that I have already mentioned elsewhere on my blog. It is always, with a great surprise that I realise that the cameras/lenses that I always avoided, end up becoming my favourite ones. The Zuiko lenses are one of them (the Minoltas being the other ones). These few months that I ended up using the Olympus OM-1n with a couple of Zuikos i fell completely in love with them.

Different production stages

Now this is something that causes a bit of confusion to me. What i am going to write here is my understanding of what i read on the net. Please email me if you think that something is incorrect and i will try to set it straight.

It seems that there are three different production stages with Zuiko lenses:

a) The early, silver-nosed ones: Identifiable by the silver colour at the edge of the lens, on the place where you mount the filters. These lenses are single coated and some people on the net tend to avoid them as they feel that they are the least sharp of all three. I never had one so i cannot confirm or deny that.

b) The black nosed Zuikos: Single coated lenses, usually of different optical formula than the silver nosed ones. A way to identify them is by looking on the front of the lens. Usually there is something like "X.zuiko" with "x" being the number of optical elements used. The coating is usually yellowish.

c) The later production Multi coated ones: This stage underwent two phases. The earlier ones bear the "MC" on the front of the lens (MC for Multi-Coated). Later ones dropped the "MC" and in some of them a "Made in Japan" was written or a "Zuiko" without the number of elements.

Out of those three types, the latest and multi-coated ones are the ones more sought-after. Although Maitani himself did not consider multi-coating as necessary for lenses (Check here) people report that these lenses are usually sharper and reproduce better colours on digital. The real bargains at the moment seem to be the earliest silver-nosed ones. My Zuiko 50 f/1.8 is a black nosed, single coated while my 28 f/2.8 is a later multi coated one. Keep in mind that just like the OM-bodies, the production dates of Zuiko lenses cannot be precisely determined by the serial numbers. You need to find the production code which is usually hidden underneath the focusing ring.

Zuiko 50 f/1.8

Single coated

This is the lens that came together with the OM-1n and started this love for the Zuiko system. It has a nice yellowish coating - it is single coated and has a beautiful build quality and feel to it. I hadn't been able to test it to all different apertures and distances but the results I got so far are beautiful. The widest open I used it was at f/2.8 and it is nicely sharp (sharp enough for my scanner that is) and creates lovely creamy tones. I cannot test how it performs at the edges, anyway in real life the edges are going to be out of focus except if you are shooting with the lens set to infinity. I am not fussed about it. Past f/5.6 it is as sharp as any good 50mm lens i have ever used. I love the fact that they have the level for the depth preview on the lens. I am shooting b&w only and this lens is an excellent performer. Lusting after a more expensive multi-coated one if you already have a beautiful lens like this, does not make any sense to me any more.

Multi Coated

Zuiko 28 f/2.8

These lenses were produced later on and they are all multi coated. Very compact and light design, it performs flawlessly and it is on a par with my other, highly regarded Minolta AF 28 f/2.8. For a 28mm it controls flare very well and its performance peak as expected around f/5.6. I haven't used the lens wide open yet but at f/4 the lens displays excellent contrast and sharpness.

Zuiko 50 f/1.8 "Made In Japan" version

The multi-coated version of the 50 f/1.8 that I acquired for a whooping £2. The reason for this low price was the slow aperture. Apparently the lubricants used in the early samples of the multi coated version are prone to sip through the aperture mechanism and aperture iris. Here is a thing to notice.

Hold the lens and close it down to f/16 and carefully inspect for any signs of oil on the aperture blades. If you can see something, then the lens needs to be opened and have the elements removed in order to clean it. Luckily, the "Made In Japan" version is easy to work with. This page tells you what to do.

If the aperture blades look clean but the lens still is "lazy" then the solution is much more simple. This was the case with my lens. Remove the three screws that hold the mount and underneath it you will find three metal disks sitting one on each other. The top one bears the pin that opens and closes the aperture, the middle disk

Multi coated (left) / Singe coated (right)

bears the aperture index pin and the bottom disk engages the aperture preview button and the mounting button. The top disk is connected through a small spring to the bottom disk, "sandwiching" the aperture index disk in the middle. Now, these three disks sit on on each other and they operate by friction. The problem is that oil from the helicoid has sipped through these disks and does not allow them to rotate freely. Take a few pictures of the disks before removing them and remove the small spring. Flush them with lighter fluid and wipe them clean. Put them again together, connect the spring, add the two buttons (aperture preview and lens release) and place the mount on top of that. The chances are that your lens is as good as new now. If it still displays problems, then there is some oil on the aperture blades and you must remove the lens elements to clean them. But 80% of the time, cleaning the aperture mechanism at the back of the lens will suffice. To open, clean it and put it back together took me less than 20 minutes.

Now, using this lens; i wasn't able to test this lens exhaustively but the little bit that I did, I wasn't able to spot any major differences over the single coated version I already own.I have an old EPSON V200 scanner that doesn't provide a very high resolution scan but comparing the scans from the two lenses I reached the conclusion that the "Made In Japan" version seems to produce a bit more contrast but with Photoshop around this does not seem to be a decisive factor between the two of them. If you are shooting digital you might be able to see more differences but with film,  how you develop the film is probably a more decisive factor. Still, I will probably keep this lens and sell the single coated one as I do not need two of them.

Zuiko 50 f/1.4 Silvernose

Well, although I did say that it is pointless to look for a 1.4 version of the 50mm standard if you have a “Made in Japan” one, I did not hesitate to hand over my hard earned cash when I had the chance. It  cost me only £20 but it came with a number of problems such as the usual sticky aperture problem that my “Made in japan” version suffered from too. The remedy is the same; it is just a few more screws, bits and bobs to remove. The rubber on the focus ring was removed and there are marks all over the lens barrel but the glass is clean so I went ahead and bought it.

I took the opportunity to check for the production code of this one since the rubber focus ring was off. On the lens barrel underneath it was written "λ 61" - the "λ" is the factory symbol and the 61 can be read as "1976", Month: January (1).

What a lovely coating !

As I wrote earlier on, the “silvernose” version of this lens is single-coated. The serial numbers close to 1.000.000 were blacknosed but still single coated. Around the 1.000.000 they become multi-coated and they add the “MC” on the front rim and then the “MC” disappeared from the latest versions. Reports on the Internet state that the lenses past 1.000.000 s/n are sharper and therefore more expensive in the used market. Silvernosed ones are preferred by people who use b&w films. All versions of the lens appear to be soft when used wide open (which lens isn’t?) but the multicoated lens is sharper. Past f/2.8 it will be difficult to spot the difference between these versions.

The lens is a bit larger and heavier than its f/1.8 sibling. Performance-wise there is not much to choose from the three versions of 50mm I own: at f/2 the lens is maybe a tad sharper than the “Made in Japan” version at f/1.8 - and you still have the advantage of the f/1.4. I have to admit that we are splitting hair really –I don’t shoot digital or colour and for the combination of my choice (Kodak Tri-X rated 400ASA in Rodinal) it is more the character of the lens rather than sharpness that will be obvious in the pictures.

Something I really like when using this lens is how bright the viewfinder on my Olympus OM-1n becomes. Much brighter and this makes focusing easier.

Other lenses to consider

The above mentioned lenses are the only ones currently own. The Zuiko line produced around 40 different lenses ranging from 8mm f/2.8 to 1000mm f/11. I am not going to go into details, MIR has (as always) a full review for most of them on his website, just click on each one of them to read the review. A few ones that are on my radar are the 40mm f/2, the 28 f/2 and 35 f/2 (both very expensive for their performance IMHO) and a fast 50 f/1.4. I keep my eyes open but at the same time, the two i have already, seem to be doing the job just fine.

Recommended reading

Except MIR's excellent page, there is a website dedicated to Maitani. You can access it here.

There is a part of the interview, where Maitani talks about the Zuiko lenses. Click here and scroll down where it says "The children of Maitani".  The whole interview can be accessed here.

Richard Calderon, a friend of the blog, emailed me and brought to my attention the following link with loads of lens tests: zone-10.com browse thought, there are loads of cool stuff in there.

Conclusion

The very good performance of the Zuiko lenses, combined with the cult following of the single digit OM cameras, seem to be pushing the prices quite high at the moment. As it stands, the earlier silver-nosed are a better value for money if you don't do pixel-peeking. All the lenses are very well made and i really like the ergonomics with the aperture being moved on the front of the lens. All the Zuikos that I currently own are whole-heartily recommended lenses for those considering expanding their Zuiko arsenal.

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