OM-System Zuiko Macro 38mm vs Canon 35mm Macrophoto at 4x

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ray_parkhurst
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OM-System Zuiko Macro 38mm vs Canon 35mm Macrophoto at 4x

Post by ray_parkhurst »

OM-System Zuiko Macro 38mm vs Canon 35mm Macrophoto at 4x

In RobertOToole's excellent 4X LENS TEST PART 3 - ENLARGING LENSES thread (see http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=36199), crisarg asked about the Olympus 38mm Macro lens (38OM). Robert was unable to include it in his list of lenses, so I decided to do a quick test to show how this lens stacks up against the very similar Canon 35mm Macrophoto lens (35MP). I used my HRT2i, and shot both at f/4, which was the optimum for both lenses per previous tests.

My conclusion is that while not quite up to the 35MP, mostly for CA, the 38OM is a solid performer on APS-C at 4x.

Here are some comparison shots, taken of a 1944-D Cent with crops on the Mintmark. First an example of the overall center shot for scale, then the MM detail comparisons:

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crisarg
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Post by crisarg »

Awesome, thank you! :D

Can’t show it, since I’m almost an pure field macro shooter - the situation will be the same on a FF sensor. And in my opinion, the Canon lens has less CA.
Cristian Arghius

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Post by ChrisR »

I'd agree. A lot of the CAs come out surprisingly well in PP though. The Olympus built in helicoid is handy for fine focus.
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ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

crisarg wrote:Awesome, thank you! :D

Can’t show it, since I’m almost an pure field macro shooter - the situation will be the same on a FF sensor. And in my opinion, the Canon lens has less CA.
Yes, that's the main difference, though the 38OM is a little less sharp, also possibly because of the CA. Here is a comparison in the corners of the saturated highlight showing CA on the 38OM, 400% crop:

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Re: OM-System Zuiko Macro 38mm vs Canon 35mm Macrophoto at 4

Post by RobertOToole »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
In RobertOToole's excellent 4X LENS TEST PART 3 - ENLARGING LENSES thread (see http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=36199), crisarg asked about the Olympus 38mm Macro lens (38OM). Robert was unable to include it in his list of lenses, so I decided to do a quick test to show how this lens stacks up against the very similar Canon 35mm Macrophoto lens (35MP). I used my HRT2i, and shot both at f/4, which was the optimum for both lenses per previous tests.

My conclusion is that while not quite up to the 35MP, mostly for CA, the 38OM is a solid performer on APS-C at 4x.
Thanks so much for this Ray. I was wondering myself so I am glad you took the time. I am sure lots of people will appreciate this, I know I do.

Robert

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