legacy 4/3 Olympus lens compatibility on E-Px cameras

[pellicle]

Hi

I've been searching for a definitive list on this, but can't find it. Brian suggested that they all work, but recently someone has said that only Oly lenses which are compatible with CDAF on the 4/3 cameras (or can be firmware upgradable) are able to AF on the E-Px's. This seems logical.

does anyone know if there is a list of which will and which won't (as for instance panasonic has for their cameras).

Thanks

 

[noodlehaus]

I think if you buy the Olympus adapter for the ED 4/3 lenses, they should all work.

 

[et100]

I've found this below on dpreview, the claim is that panasonic and olympus adapters are identical except panasonic one is cheaper.
Whats the common knowledge in this forum? anybody actually tried panasonic adapter on an olympus body and autofocused with regular 4/3 lenses?
Are these more than spacers that provide electrical connectivity to the lens?

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=34481875

thanks for your input!

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Are these more than spacers that provide electrical connectivity to the lens?

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=34481875

thanks for your input!

that is my understanding. Panasonic publish data on which lenses work and to what extent, but I can't find the same for Olympus.

 

[traveler_101]

I think if you buy the Olympus adapter for the ED 4/3 lenses, they should all work.

The question for me is it worth buying the adopter or does it make more sense to simply sell the lens. I have always liked the 25mm FT pancake for a couple of reasons. I like the 50mm equivalent format and it always took clear photos on my E-420. But is it worth keeping it now that I've ordered a 20mm Panasonic 1.7 for my E-P2?

 

[johnny9fingers]

I've asked a similar question in the "Adapted Lens" forum as I'm interested in buying the 4/3rds 50mm f2.0 Macro for my E-P2. Brian says it works fine, and another member, Pete, said the lens stopped down when he used AF. Pete was using a different lens, (a zoom) and I don't know if that makes any difference. I sent an e-mail to Olympus and will post their reply when it arrives.
John

 

[willo]

I've found this below on dpreview, the claim is that panasonic and olympus adapters are identical except panasonic one is cheaper.
Whats the common knowledge in this forum? anybody actually tried panasonic adapter on an olympus body and autofocused with regular 4/3 lenses?
Are these more than spacers that provide electrical connectivity to the lens?

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=34481875

thanks for your input!

I have the Panny adapter on my E-P1 and it's fine. It the same as the Olympus one except it's black (the reason I brought it) and it's cheaper. The adapter is not just a spacer but has contacts so the camera and lens talk to each other.

I've asked a similar question in the "Adapted Lens" forum as I'm interested in buying the 4/3rds 50mm f2.0 Macro for my E-P2. Brian says it works fine, and another member, Pete, said the lens stopped down when he used AF. Pete was using a different lens, (a zoom) and I don't know if that makes any difference. I sent an e-mail to Olympus and will post their reply when it arrives.
John

The 50mm will be fine but it does have slow AF, this is because it is not a CDAF lens. Using my FT 8-18mm lens on an E-P1 is remembers the aperture.

 

[curtisls87]

I also have the Panasonic adapter, and it works fine with my 4/3 glass. However, only the 14-54MkII has CDAF. All the other lenses use what Olympus calls "focus assist." Still, I use my 50mm F2 all the time. It will hunt from time to time, but generally, for what I'm doing, it works fine.
I've also used it with my 40-150mm lens, and with my 70-300mm lens, and found both to work fine (within the constraints of what is "fine" in m4/3).

 

[willo]

I also have the Panasonic adapter, and it works fine with my 4/3 glass. However, only the 14-54MkII has CDAF. All the other lenses use what Olympus calls "focus assist." Still, I use my 50mm F2 all the time. It will hunt from time to time, but generally, for what I'm doing, it works fine.
I've also used it with my 40-150mm lens, and with my 70-300mm lens, and found both to work fine (within the constraints of what is "fine" in m4/3).

That's misleading, the 14-54mm II isn't the only CDAF lens. CDAF lens are:

9-18mm
14-42mm
14-54mm II
25mm
40-150mm
70-300mm

 

[curtisls87]

I apologize for the confusion. I meant of the mid-grade glass, the 14-54MkII is the only one.

Virtually all of their standard glass is CDAF compatible, as your list confirms.

 

[johnny9fingers]

As promised, here is the response from Olympus.
Thank you for contacting Olympus Technical Support.
Yes the 50mm f2.0 Macro ED Zuiko Digital Lens can be used with the EP-2. You will need the MMF-1 (Four/Thirds to Micro Four/Thirds) adapter.
All features of the lens and body are compatible and you will not see any loss of functionality.

 

[et100]

Since my last postin this thread i have gotten the Olympus E-PL1 and the Panasonic adapter. I was able to successful use the Panasonic adapter sandwiched between Olympus body and 4/3 lenses!

I have tried both CDAF and standard Olympus 4/3 lenses and they both work yet as indicated by others the non-CDAF take a little more time to focus. The non-CDAF lenses are fine for static subjects but i can see being a problem with moving ones.

As a side-note the images from E-PL1 appear crisper than my previous 4/3 camera (E-620).

thank you pellicle and the other posting here or the helpful answers, comments and links!