Olympus OM system close-up and macro equipment

[Robert Watcher]

Wanna take great really closeup images - almost essential to use special purpose true macro lenses as well as a bellows in most cases.

I always dreamt about being able to buy that cool and expensive Olympus bellows and those special purpose 80mm and 20mm macro lenses back in my OM film days, when I'd be looking through the glossy Olympus catalogue of goodies. Some photographers have put them to good use with their 4/3 and I'm sure even m4/3 digital cameras.

If you are curious about these tools, here is a COOL and very IN DEPTH information website that I just found (NO PICTURES HERE), that deals with everything "Olympus OM system close-up and macro equipment" - - -even goes into techical details about using the gear for digital capture:

Olympus OM system close-up and macro equipment

This the bellows page - Auto Bellows – Olympus OM macrophoto group
This is the 80mm macro page - Zuiko Auto-1:1 Macro 80mm f/4 – Olympus OM Bellows Macro Lenses
This is the 20mm macro page - Zuiko Auto-Macro 20mm f/2 – Olympus OM Bellows Macro Lenses



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[dwig]

Great site, thanks for the link.

I've got the 38mm f/3.5 Macro, the MC version, and it is a fantastic performer. I've used it in the past on my old Nikons and a bellow unit.

I found that Olympus was creative when they put together the packaging for this lens. The plastic case/bubble it came in wasn't really made for the lens. It was made for an enlarger lens. Instead of customizing the bottom part of mold, they created a metal insert to adapt the case's LTM thread to the lens' RTM thread. The insert is glued in but you can remove it with a proper two pin spanner. Once I had mine out I simply cut the bottom off to create an RTM-to-LTM adapter. That plus my Nikon EL-to-F adapter (EL=LTM) adapted it to my old Nikon system.

I've recently joined the m4/3 crowd (old film Nikons have long been retired) I'll be adding both a Nikon-to-m4/3 adapter and some Leica mount adapters to my kit. It will be fun to use the old 38mm f/3.5 again.

 

[OzRay]

I've got the original Olympus Auto Bellows and an Olympus 80mm f4 Bellows Macro lens. I'm creating a little project that I'll hopefully be able to show in the next month or so. I'm just waiting for a component to arrive to complete the project.

Cheers

Ray

 

[photoSmart42]

The OM Macro system is IMO the most complete system of this sort from any camera manufacturer. TONS of accessories and options! I'm using the Canon FL macro rails with some microscope lenses for my microscopy work, and I'm using the OM system as a model for something similar I'm building as a DIY project (can't afford the $3000 price tag for the OM system).

 

[jonboy62]

Funny, I was just showing a friend of mine this yesterday. I have not yet got a proper lens to use with the bellows.

Digital is sure a lot easier than back in the day with my Nikon F and bellows.