Any examples of...

[mahree]

Looking to use old OM lenses on my 410 because...well...can't afford new digital lenses. Anyone have examples of photos they have taken with dslr and old lenses? Read about the obvious limitations (no auto focus or power anything). But are there any other drawbacks?

Aside:

Went to a local camera store that everyone swears by and the guy told me I couldn't use manual lenses with my 410. I asked about the MF-1 adapter and he said there was no such thing (just picked one up dirt cheap on ebay) He questioned why I would want to shoot in Manual and told me I should be shooting in auto because it will take a better quality picture. My argument was while that was true in theory, sometimes the camera wants to take pictures of things I don't. My solution, learn how to use camera in Aperature and Manual modes. He told me OM lenses wouldn't work because they lacked the electrical conduits for the programed functions. I didn't know how else I could have expressed my interest in NOT shooting in auto or any other preprogrammed mode so I asked to look at some old OM lenses but he didn't let me. I now have to drive 1 1/2 hours to the nearest (not mall chain) store.

[RexK_Cozumel]

Wow that guy seems like a total idiot. Christ almighty how did photographers get by before the advent of autofocus and metering. Perhaps you should direct that guy to DPS so maybe he can learn something.

[mahree]

His loss...I was looking to buy my first prime lens. With the holidays coming my kit lenses are way too slow to capture the lighting speed motion at which children can rip off wrapping paper. Plus I want to try that masking technique with Christmas light.

[inkista]

Does that shop sell any used stuff? Because if they only sell new stuff, they wouldn't have any OM lenses to sell you, anyhoo.

Shooting with a Canon body (XT) and a Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.2 OM-mount lens with an adapter ring:







(That's Barry Sonnenfeld at Comic-Con taking Kristin Chenoweth's pic at the Pushing Daisies signing. Ellen Greene is looking on).

No worries. It should work. And from what I've been reading, if you get a chipped "AF-confirm" adapter ring, you may be able to retain stabilization as well. Here are the resources you probably want:

• Flickr's OM Four Thirds Adapters group
• Flickr's Olympus OM group
• The Manual Focus Lenses forum
• KEH

Also, remember, you're not limited to just Olympus OM Zuikos. You can adapt damn near everything to the Four-Thirds mount (the upside to having a 2x crop factor). Nikon F-mount, Canon FD, Contax-Yashica Zeiss, M42, Pentax K, Leica R, and Minolta MD should also be usable, if you can find an adapter.
----
Scratch the Minolta MD and Canon FD for safety's sake. It's theoretically possible, but the most successful conversions I can google up are complete mount replacment/conversions which usual involve a metal shop at some point.

[mahree]

He only sold used stuff and he does camera repair (digital and film). He's an older guy and his store has been around for a number of years so I thought he might be well versed in cameras.

My husband's co-worker takes skydiving pictures, he jumps with tourists and takes their pictures on the way down. He recommended the old zuiko lenses saying the old manuals were made really well. Thought I'd give it a try and get the most bang for my buck. I'll probably try a few shots in the store with different lenses anyway so whatever works best (whatever my wallet thinks works best).

Thank you very much for the links. I did not know flickr had forums. Goes to show how much I pay attention.

Your pictures are wonderful. That guy in the store definitely does not know what he's talking about.

[inkista]

You're welcome. Be aware that most of the folks who go down the manual lens path were oldtimey film shooters who actually remember the days of SLRs that didn't have autofocus, and lenses with aperture rings, so to them it's no big deal to use these lenses.

For someone whose main experience has been with digital cameras, there's a bit of a learning curve, and a few things to watch.

The two biggest speedbumps are the lack of help a digital SLR's focus screen gives you in manual focusing (the assumption in design is always autofocus these days) and accurate stop-down metering. The minor speedbumps are holes in your EXIF information, and being limited to Manual and Aperture Priority modes.

So, when you start out, pick subject matter that isn't moving. MF lenses are a pain for event or action photography, which is why autofocus was invented. Try to get in the habit of focusing before you stop down (the lens will actually stop down if your adapter works right, and the viewfinder will get dim enough if you're really stopping down to f/16 or the like, that it might be hard to focus).

If you want good performance for cheap-cheap, the Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 is plentiful (it used to be the kit lens) and goes in the neighborhood of $20. It's also a damn fine lens--I shot with one for more than two decades on my OM-10. I went for the rarer and more expensive ($290) f/1.2 because I wanted to handhold in the dark. If you can afford $200-$300 prices, in addition to OM-mount Zuikos, I'd also recommend looking at the Contax-mount Zeiss lenses. My Distagon T* 28mm f/2.8 quickly became one of my favorite go-to lenses, as it closely replicates a "normal" lens on a 1.6x crop body and has a way of rendering a scene that's just wonderful (well, to me).

[mahree]

If I'm not mistaken, that picture was taken at Balboa Park, yes?

[Chip]

inkista gave some great pointers.

This pic was taken with a dSLR and an old, manual Nikon 28mm prime (there's some noise b/c I had no triopd and had to crank up the ISO).

I'm new to photography, but very much enjoy shooting with old, manual focus lenses. At times, the DOF can be so shallow that it's easy to mis-focus. But with practice and experimentation, I find I'm not doing that as much recently.

Also, manual lenses make me concentrate more on what I'm doing, more on composition, and more on the lighting. I've found this to be a big help.

For metering, I've found that taking a shot and checking the exposure with the histogram is helpful.

Good luck!

[KodiakStar]

mahree: check out this flickr group, they have quite a few examples and helpful knowledge

http://flickr.com/groups/om_four_thirds_adapter/

[mahree]

chip - what is that a picture of? I thought I saw hints of stars in the black and figured it was the side of a building...but then I realized that it was dust on my monitor, not stars.

Kodiak - thank you, that link was very helpful