Guide to Classic Olympus OM Zuiko lenses on film and Sony Full Frame

Yoshihisa Maitani’s Olympus OM system was a remarkable achievement, with beautifully engineered smaller bodies and exquisite small lenses, often as good or better than larger lenses from the competition. They are all nicely engineered and a joy to use. This makes them very tempting options for someone who wants to explore them on a modern full frame camera, or for someone who wants to experiment with film. I was an OM system user back in the days of film, so you’ll see a few samples from me that are from OM film cameras, as well as digital. In this guide Juriaan, Phillip and I will take you through the lenses with comments about how they perform, and whether they make sense adapted to Sony full frame digital cameras.

Many of the samples are film era images taken from my (David’s) personal archives. We don’t therefore pretend that they illustrate the technical qualities of the lenses, but they do give you an idea of the creative possibilities of them.

Except for a few late era lenses, they won’t resolve quite as well as the best expensive modern lenses, or be as as contrasty as the latest Zeiss or GM glass. But many are close and nonetheless extremely good, and others have a look which we sometimes enjoy as an alternative to the near perfection of some recent glass.

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How I edit my Pictures – B&W, Vintage

Introduction

Leica M10 | Voigtlander VM 75mm 1.5 | f/1.5

I received quite a lot of feedback on my Leica M10 review especially regarding the B&W pictures – of which there were clearly more than there are usually to be found in my other articles – and I was asked to write a piece on how I process my B&W images. Then in the Voigtlander VM 35mm 1.2 III review people asked how I archive that vintage/film look, so I decided to combine both in one article.

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Review: Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 II Super-Wide-Heliar

Introduction

voigtlander vm 15mm 4.5 m-mount leica m10 review sharpness resolution corner wide angle 42mp 24mp cosina
Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 II Super-Wide-Heliar on Sony A7rII

While Cosina has updated the Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 to a 3rd generation (which even comes as native E-mount lens), the second version still cannot be beaten in terms of size.
Is this lens still a good choice on a digital camera or should you stick to the bigger and more expensive Mk. III version?
Lens is being tested on 42mp Sony A7rII and 24mp Leica M10

Sample Images

voigtlander vm 15mm 4.5 m-mount leica m10 review sharpness resolution corner wide angle 42mp 24mp cosina coma astro milkyway
Leica M10 | Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 II | f/11
analogue photography leica m6 voigtländer silbersalz35 kodak vision 3
Leica M6 | Voigtländer VM 15mm 4.5 II | f/4.5 | 500T +1
voigtlander vm 15mm 4.5 m-mount leica m10 review sharpness resolution corner wide angle 42mp 24mp cosina
Leica M10 | Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 II | f/11
voigtlander vm 15mm 4.5 m-mount leica m10 review sharpness resolution corner wide angle 42mp 24mp cosina
Sony A7rII | Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 II | f/11

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