A very interesting legacy prime for mirrorless enthusiasts seeking a short-tele equivalent for 2x crop sensor mirrorless cameras is the Olympus F.Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f/1.8. This compact, high-quality half-frame standard normal lens was made for the 35mm half-frame PEN F system by Olympus in the 1960s.
The finely sculpted Olympus PEN F/FT/FV half-frame mount lens features a 6-element, 5-group design with 5 aperture blades, a closest focusing distance of 0.35 meters, and measures approximately 35mm in length. It takes 43mm filters and weighs approximately 134-138 grams.
As found on other Zuiko Pen F lenses, the lens is complemented with a unique aperture ring that can be pulled out slightly and rotated a full 180° to display either f-stops or the numbered part of the ring, which is used to match the metering system found on Olympus Pen Fs with built-in light meters.
The lens is part of an extensive range of highly acclaimed lenses associated with the success of the Pen-F series of half-frame SLRs, as designed by the legendary Yoshihisa Maitani. The camera system was in production from 1963-1972.
The lens range includes the commonly known normal and telephoto 38/1.8, 40/1.4, 100/3.5, and 150/4, while the whole range may include the 20/3.5, 25/2.8, 25/4, 38/2.8 (very limited), 38/2.8 Pancake, 38/3.5 Macro, 42/1.2 (ultra luminous normal lens), 60/1.5, 70/2, 250/5 (rare), 400/6.3 (rare), 800/8 Mirror (rare), 50–90/3.5, and 100–200/5.
These lenses are still held in high esteem and used today, both by retro film shooters who are still enthusiastic about the Pen F half-frame 35mm film SLR cameras, and also by contemporary digital shooters who adapt the lenses, as in this case, for use on APS-C- and MFT-format digital cameras.
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The F.Zuiko PenF 38mm f/1.8, the most readily available and affordable normal lens for the Pen F, isn't super sharp wide open but can produce images with a charming vintage look that improves significantly by f/2.8 and approaches excellence at smaller apertures.
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On the 2x crop sensor mirrorless, the 38mm f/1.8 was tested on; the lens has a field of view equivalent to a 75mm shot tele lens on a 35mm full frame camera, an excellent choice for portraits with a flattering perspective and creative background blur. The focal length is equally competent with close-up and macro photography, and provides a comfortable working distance from delicate or skittish subjects.
The Olympus PEN E-PM2, used for this test shoot, is a compact entry-level mirrorless camera, one of the smallest Micro Four Thirds bodies from Olympus, acknowledged for its excellent image quality, fast autofocus, and versatile user interface. The camera is fitted with a 16.1MP Live MOS sensor with TruePic VI processor, as seen on the flagship OM-D series, has an ISO range from 200–1600 (Auto) and 100–25,600 (Extended), a top shutter speed of 1/4000 second, 3-axis sensor-shift IS (image Stabilization), and a 460,000 dot 3-inch fixed touchscreen LCD.
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