Olympus accessories & lenses

When you use an expensive SLR camera you are often tempted to purchase a specialty lens like a ultra-wide angle (fish eye) lens.

But, apart from the rare occasions when you really need it, it’s too expensive for you and me. Why not build it yourself? Instructables does the demonstration with a Nikon D90, but it could be done with any other camera.

How to make a fish eye lens for a Nikon D-90 Digital SLR for $16

Tamron rewrote its web site. This was the occasion to move the Lens Comparison Tool but it is still useful to compare a 400mm with a 500mm (or a 35mm with a 50mm).

Tamron - Lens Comparison Tool (based on focal length)

But you can also find a similar tool at Olympus (and it takes into account the specificities of 4/3 sensor format, of course): Perfect Lens finder.

Olympus Perfect Lens Finder

Sony lens - 'Hiding' by Scoobay

I recommend reading a nice little post titled “All lens tests are wrong” that concludes that the only good test for a lens is to use it during a full year.

Not wrong, but I still recommend to also check my list of web sites with photo lens reviews.

Sony 70-400mm

Lovers of Sony digital SLR cameras (Alpha 700 et Alpha 900, in particular) were awaiting eagerly to see Chasseur d’Images magazine testing fully the most recent additions to the Sony lens range. So, they will be delighted to discover in the March 2009 issue that the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 Apo G SSM scores 5 stars on the Alpha 900 as well as the all-new and superb Sony 70-400mm f/4-5.6 Apo G SSM on the Alpha 700. This grey lens even gets the flattering comments of “nice surprise” (”belle surprise“) and of “bargain to get” (”coup à réaliser“). On the Alpha 900, about sharpness, CdI tells “this is certainly the best lens in its category” (”c’est assurément le meilleur de sa catgorie“).

Also tested on the Alpha 700 and Alpha 900 are the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA T* SSM and the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM. No score is below 4 stars!

Fifteen other lenses from Canon (on a EOS 5D MkII), Nikon, Olympus and Tamron are tested in detail by Chasseur d’Images. 5 stars are also attributed to the Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM, to the Olympus Zuiko Digital 9-18mm f/4-5.6 and the Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 ED II.

Canon lenses, which one is best?

It is often difficult but manageable to group lens reviews in order to compare/evaluate a little more than their mere physical characteristics (focal length, aperture/diaphragm, or even number of individual lenses). But how would you evaluate/review optical quality? When I see the difference really impressive between two lenses, I would be prepared to judge from their price, but a cheap wide-angle lens is not always worse than a slightly more expensive one (well… if the price difference is really large, it’s not only an accident and quality explains a lot).

So, where to?

I collected a few web sites appearing quite able to provide this kind of quality reviews/comparisons/evaluations/tests.

From here, I invite you to an orgy of lens reviews, lens tests, lens comparisons, lens evaluations. And remember to shoot some photos, too. It’s not only the lens which does the photo. Some are shot by telephones, if the photographer is an artist.