Showcase Olympus 135mm f/4.5 Macro OM

[Deleted member 29285]

My second pic from this lens (first was a throwaway) mounted on the OM telescoping extension tube. Using the E-M5 II.
Just a raindrop on a winter leaf bud, about 4 feet from the camera. Gloomy rainy day.

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[Bytesmiths]

Hey, this thread needs some juice!

Picked up my 135/4.5 with the TET yesterday while working on shelling mandan corn.

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[Bushboy]

Hey! Nice shot Alex, I like it, I think...
That corn shot, needs some more juice.. haha.
Show us a pic of the lens please Bytesmith.
Or you Alec, a shot of it on your m5ii would be worth looking at..

 

[Bytesmiths]

Show us a pic of the lens please Bytesmith.

Here it is on a modified Nikon PB-4 bellows, although I prefer using it on the incredible Olympus Telescoping Extension Tube.

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It was actually designed for a tilt-shift bellows that Olympus never sold, and it has a huge image circle, rumoured to be able to cover medium format film, which is why it does great with the Nikon tilt-shift bellows.

 

[Bytesmiths]

"Outlines"

That's a great example of what the 135/4.5 and TET combo can do: macro to infinity with a twist-slide-twist! I can do the twist-slide-twist faster than my Zuiko Digital 50mm ƒ/2 can do auto-focus. :-(

 

[Sammyboy]

... I like those Nikon PB-4 bellows, very versatile. I have an OM bellows and OM focusing stage that I like a lot, but the nylon bearings on the rails are prone to cracking ...

 

[Deleted member 29285]

Hey! Nice shot Alex, I like it, I think...
That corn shot, needs some more juice.. haha.
Show us a pic of the lens please Bytesmith.
Or you Alec, a shot of it on your m5ii would be worth looking at..

Here are a couple of pics I uplifted from a seller on eBay,

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And if you like I can do one of the combo on my E-M5 II as well,
Cheers,
Alec

 

[Bushboy]

Yes please Alec. I think we need to see this equipment mounted to a M5mkii...
Hard case link to Woods OM macro stuff Jan, like going back in time!
Regarding the heirloom corn, I am preparing all the heirloom varieties I can get my hands on. Just in case...

 

[Deleted member 29285]

Yes please Alec. I think we need to see this equipment mounted to a M5mkii...
Hard case link to Woods OM macro stuff Jan, like going back in time!
Regarding the heirloom corn, I am preparing all the heirloom varieties I can get my hands on. Just in case...

OK, some pics.

First, alongside the Vivitar 135/2.5 close focussing, for comparison. The Vivitar is single twist for focusing to 1:2 magnification. Both lenses closed for infinity focus.

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And then the same pic, but lenses fully extended for 1:2 mag.

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And now the OM 135/4.5 + TET mounted on the E-M5 II (via OM - m4/3 adapter). Closed for infinity focus.

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And with the 135/4.5 TET fully extended

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Note the TET has a tripod mounting foot, and is quite well balanced mounted on the E-M5 II, closed or extended.

Cheers,
Alec

 

[Bushboy]

Thank you Alec!
Looks fabulous. It would go real nice with my new tripod...
Very interesting.... congratulations, lovely gear.

 

[phigmov]

Just picked up one of these. Can't wait for it to arrive.
Question for people that use this - is the protrusion at the rear longer than the m43 OM adapter? Can the lens be used without out the extension tubes? I've got the tube, but I'm curious to know how compact I can make the package. I've also got a set of Zuiko OM extension tubes - I think they add about 21mm (with a 7 & 14mm spacer) - would that be sufficient or would I loose infinity focus?

 

[Panolyman]

Coincidentally, I was looking at a couple of adverts for the 135 macro yesterday but wasn't sure about fit, given the rear protrusion.
I'm even more confused now, seeing the photos above.
Can someone please enlighten me on what that "TFT" bit is?

I've got some OM extension tubes but surely the 135 bit can be used on its own.
Thanks.

 

[Bushboy]

Telescoping extension tube.

 

[Deleted member 29285]

Just picked up one of these. Can't wait for it to arrive.
Question for people that use this - is the protrusion at the rear longer than the m43 OM adapter? Can the lens be used without out the extension tubes? I've got the tube, but I'm curious to know how compact I can make the package. I've also got a set of Zuiko OM extension tubes - I think they add about 21mm (with a 7 & 14mm spacer) - would that be sufficient or would I loose infinity focus?

The protrusion at the rear of the 135/4.5 lens is 19.5mm from the bayonet face.
The lens will fit onto a m4/3 body via an OM-m4/3 lens adapter, but the lens is too close to the body to focus.

 

[Deleted member 29285]

Coincidentally, I was looking at a couple of adverts for the 135 macro yesterday but wasn't sure about fit, given the rear protrusion.
I'm even more confused now, seeing the photos above.
Can someone please enlighten me on what that "TFT" bit is?

I've got some OM extension tubes but surely the 135 bit can be used on its own.
Thanks.

The rear lens protrusion is 19.5mm from the bayonet flange.
TET means "telescoping extension tube", and the extension varies from 65mm to 116mm, hence its name "65-116 telescopic macro extension tube".
If you had extension tubes at least 65mm in length then the lens should work on an m4/3 body.
I don't have extension tubes to test.

 

[Bytesmiths]

Just picked up one of these. Can't wait for it to arrive.
Question for people that use this - is the protrusion at the rear longer than the m43 OM adapter? Can the lens be used without out the extension tubes? I've got the tube, but I'm curious to know how compact I can make the package. I've also got a set of Zuiko OM extension tubes - I think they add about 21mm (with a 7 & 14mm spacer) - would that be sufficient or would I loose infinity focus?

I imagine it would mount on an adapter, but I'm not sure it would do anything useful.

It has an extremely limited range of focus — the internal helicoid is only intended to be a "focus fine-tune," which it does very well when mounted on a bellows or the Telescoping Extension Tube.

You really need to get a TET for this to do it justice! They can be had for under $100. For serious work, make sure the one you get has the tripod bracket, which is removable, although mine is used without 90% of the time, thanks to IBIS.

 

[phigmov]

I imagine it would mount on an adapter, but I'm not sure it would do anything useful.

It has an extremely limited range of focus — the internal helicoid is only intended to be a "focus fine-tune," which it does very well when mounted on a bellows or the Telescoping Extension Tube.

You really need to get a TET for this to do it justice! They can be had for under $100. For serious work, make sure the one you get has the tripod bracket, which is removable, although mine is used without 90% of the time, thanks to IBIS.

Cheers. Yup, already got the TET - posted in the 80mm OM Zuiko Macro Bellows (which is a different bit of kit but saves creating a new thread just for the tubes) thread a few minutes before posing the question. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to try out the lens (& tube) combo soon. Hopefully there will still be a few flowers & insects around to capture a few images.

 

[Bytesmiths]

surely the 135 bit can be used on its own

Not practically.

It has a short helicoid focus that is only intended to be used for "fine tuning."

You could stick it on an adaptor and them move back and forth to focus, but you aren't going to have much range at all.

In practical use, it needs the TET or bellows.

 

[Bytesmiths]

Yup, already got the TET…

You're gonna love it, if you like manual-focus macro. MUCH faster and easier to use than a "twist, twist, TWIST" long helicoid.

 

[phigmov]

Not practically.

It has a short helicoid focus that is only intended to be used for "fine tuning."

You could stick it on an adaptor and them move back and forth to focus, but you aren't going to have much range at all.

In practical use, it needs the TET or bellows.

Do you get a longer working distance (I guess I should check Alan Woods site...) ?
If I use the 65mm end of the TET with the 135 will I get something like the Nikon 200mm Micro-Nikkor working distance or does that actually reduce the working distance? For example my Zuiko 80mm on the TET has a very small working distance - which I get, mostly when you add spacers to a lens it tends to do that... but on the other hand lenses like the 105 Kiron, 100 Pentax or 200 Nikon give you more breathing room.