Any point in getting a 50mm legacy lens?

[harrysue]

As Ned wrote, it's easy to add the 45mm if you already own some legacy 50's. You do gain AF. Going the other way, you pick up the tradeoffs of manual focus and slower handling.

However, you necessarily don't have to spend a fortune to get the fabled F1.2 and F1.4 icons of the past. If you can find a 50mm f1.8 priced like a 50 was priced before this legacy lens craze, add a cheap adapter and have some fun. Last year, I picked up a Canon FD 50mm f1.8 SC and a Konica AR 50mm f1.8 for $12 USD and $ 5 USD respectively at thrift shops. They were redundant as I already had other legacy 50's. Cheap lens buying addiction.

The manual 50 does do one thing that the 45mm cannot do. Having the ability to manually change the aperture while shooting video has been useful for me. My EPL1 metering often gets fooled by spot lights.

I did buy the 45mm this month from an ebay vendor for $328. I also made a DIY adapter to fit the first 50mm I ever owned, a Miranda from 1970. So I am having fun using the latest lens and also the first lens.

 

[Ned]

The manual 50 does do one thing that the 45mm cannot do. Having the ability to manually change the aperture while shooting video has been useful for me.

Good point! An aperture ring for video is a huge boon, and often overlooked.

 

[drewbot]

I got a fast 50 mm to try out the general focal length and DoF before investing in a 45/1.8.

 

[spinyman]

Manual lenses

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Manual focus lenses are great fun to use.You get a tactile feedback and connection to your camera that is not there when you use auto focusing lenses.And they are cheap.I have several and I've never paid more than $45 for lenses and $20 for adapters.Here is my EP-1 with my favorites portait lens.
Nikkor-H 50mm f2 and a pic shot wide open.

 

[Eggradio]

Thanks for all the great info everyone! I think the answer is: I need both...

 

[desmoface]

Hey gang, I'm kind of a newbie here, but sure appreciate all the great information being handed out. I've an aging canon eos 10d and only one lens, a tamron 28-75, which I actually quite like. Anyway, thinking about upgrading, and it's either another dslr, or EP-3, GX1, or maybe an nex 5n, or possibly 7. I've also considered the new Fuji x pro 1. The Fuji and nex 7 won't be obtainable for a bit, so I've started to focus primarily on the micro 4/3 options.

I've always been a big fan on the jpegs that the Olympus cameras produce, more so than the Panasonic's. Anyway, what is involved with using legacy lenses with the E-P3? I was reading somewhere on the net where someone was having issues when using legacy lenses on his e-p3, he said the screen went black when the lens was connected. Is there some setting on the camera that needs to be changed with using an older legacy lens with an adapter? I do have an older minolta 50 1.7 from my film days and it would be nice to be able to use it again.

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Thanks in advance for any advice.

Steve

 

[Luckypenguin]

I was reading somewhere on the net where someone was having issues when using legacy lenses on his e-p3, he said the screen went black when the lens was connected. Is there some setting on the camera that needs to be changed with using an older legacy lens with an adapter? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Steve

That will happen if the adapter does not have a properly machined hole for the lens locking pin to seat properly, probably not a common occurrence and easily fixed anyway with a little tinkering to the adapter. The screen will go blank on an Olympus whenever the lens locking pin isn't fully extended (locked).

 

[desmoface]

Ahh...Good to know, I have to admit, I prefer the ooc jpegs of the oly's over the sony's or pany's...just hard to not like the Sony NEX-7, and 5n for that matter. Thanks again for the reply.

Steve

 

[derick]

Anyway, what is involved with using legacy lenses with the E-P3?

(assuming you have an adapter fitted for your legacy lens) put the camera into aperture priority mode, manually focus, and shoot away. Depending on the length of your lens you may find yourself wanting a viewfinder. I find I don't need the viewfinder so often with my 50mm but with longer lenses it's much much easier to focus manually.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I like AF, if I was shooting MF I'd probably be using a Sony NEX-5N! The 45 1.8 is insanely sharp only being bested by the 25mm 1.4, which is a tad sharper! I don't think I'd go back to any 50mm for M43 after using the 45mm.

 

[Luckypenguin]

With the exception of the Panasonic bodies that feature the click-wheel, P mode tends to be more useful than A mode when shooting with manual lenses. Unless you go into the menus and specifically re-assign it's function when you mount a manual lens, the main control wheel will be rendered inert in A mode since there is no electronic aperture to adjust. In P mode the wheel can be set to adjust exposure compensation; very useful with manual lenses since metering accuracy can vary, and also very useful to have assigned with a native lens as well in any of the program/auto modes.

Panasonic's iA mode is the only mode I know of that is incompatible with manual lenses.