Get the best of both worlds with the Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm 1:3.5, a 21mm ultra-wide on a full frame, and a 42mm standard normal on 2x crop sensors.
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The Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm 1:3.5, the smallest and lightest ultra-wide angle lens when it was introduced with the OM-System 35mm SLR film camera system series, is still as valid today as it was launched in 1972. The lens, with 7 elements in 7 groups, acknowledged for its ability to deliver unusually high resolving power with excellent contrast even at full aperture, is enjoying the best of both the analog and digital photography worlds.
On a 35mm full-frame camera, the OM Zuiko is what it was meant to be, an ultra-wide lens. On modern digitals with 2x crop sensors, mounted with a lens adapter, the manual focus legacy is equivalent to a 42mm standard normal lens, a designation given to lenses with a focal length (between 35 to 50mm) near the 43.3mm diagonal measurement of the 24x36 film frame.
A standard normal lens, as we know it, is a general-purpose lens with a field of view that mimics what the eye sees, with images that appear natural-looking and match the perspective of the human eye. The focal length is nominally used for photography genres including portraits, street photography, landscapes, and social occasions.
Olympus OM-2S, Olympus E-P5, Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm 1:3.5
Presented initially with the OM-1 as the G.Zuiko Auto-W 21mm 1:3.5, the lens was later updated to the Zuiko MC Auto-W 21mm 1:3.5 in 1979. Both lenses share the same optical formula, a similar body length of 31mm, a minimum focusing distance of 0.2 meters, and 49mm filters.
The MC version is lighter at 180 grams as compared to the 185 grams of the previous version. A third iteration, the the Zuiko Auto-W 21mm 1:3.5 (with the serial number etched on the faceplate) was also introduced later.
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With its accolade as one of the very best legacy ultra-wide angles available, sharp even at 1:3.5, even better at one or two stops down, and close-ups within its stride, the lens may just be the right ticket for enthusiasts with access to both analog and 2x crop sensor cameras.
Olympus E-P5, Olympus OM-2S, Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm 1:3.5
Images here were shot with the lens mounted on an Olympus OM-2S for the first part and an Olympus Pen E-P5 for the rest.
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