Lense Brands

dab_20 · Jul 4, 2007

Looking to get a macro lense for my Olympus SLR. I asked a photographer at a camera store and he told me a few brands worth looking into. He told me Zukio, Sigma, and Tamron. Are those good brands? Do they even work for Olympus?

Sorry, as you can tell I'm an amateur.

Big Mike · Jul 4, 2007

I don't know about Zukio...but for modern cameras, Sigma and Tamron do make some pretty good lenses. I'm not sure if they make lenses for Olympus though :scratch: Canon and Nikon for sure, and Pentax as well, I think.

What camera do you have, I don't know what type of mount Olympus cameras film cameras use, it may be a common type...I think their DSLR cameras are a 4/3 system though.

Don Simon · Jul 4, 2007

Hi. Zuiko is the name for Olympus' own lenses - they are usually referred to as Olympus Zuiko - so they will definitely work. Sigma and Tamron are third-party lens makers who make lenses for most of the major SLR lens mounts, however they do not make as many for Olympus as for the other companies. I'm not sure if Tamron make any at all. However Olympus use the Four Thirds system, and I believe other lenses made for this system will also work on the Olympus - this includes Leica lenses!

This site might give you an idea of some of the lenses available.

deanimator · Jul 4, 2007

You are just kidding us, right?

Maybe take a look at the front of your E-500...tell us it looks like this

usayit · Jul 4, 2007

If you are looking for a dedicated macro prime, the Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro has been around for decades in various forms. I still own the T-mount version of it. It is a lens that has performed well... over the years and I do believe they make it in a sony mount that should work.

Don Simon · Jul 4, 2007

Afraid not - the OP has an Olympus which uses the Four Thirds mount; Sony uses the Minolta AF mount. The Four Thirds system has a 2x crop factor and pretty different mount spacing from most other systems, which is part of the reason that Sigma glass for the mount is less common; as far as I know neither Tamron or Tokina make any glass for that mount.

On the other hand you could buy an older, manual-focus Minolta lens, an Olympus OM lens, or an M42 lens among other old lens mounts, because the spacing of the Four Thirds mount allows for compatibility with some of these older lens mounts (although obviously you need an adapter).

To be honest though, if you want a macro lens and want autofocus and full compatibility you would probably be best off buying an Olympus (Zuiko) lens - the 35mm f/3.5 Macro would act like a 70mm lens on 35mm film; the 50mm f/2.8 would be comparable to using a 100mm f/2.8 in 35mm terms. Or you could buy a Sigma macro lens, although with focal lengths of 105mm and 150mm (and taking the 2x factor into account) these may be too long.

Btw I found a better link: I expect this is the most comprehensive list of Four Thirds mount lenses. As you can see your choices for macro lenses are the 35mm or 50mm Olympus, or the 105mm or 150mm Sigma. Again this does not include manual-focus lenses which can be used with an adapter - for example you could get great results from using an old Olympus OM macro lens - but then obviously you wouldn't have autofocus.