Surprised by the (small) size of OM 50/1.8 and 100/2.8

Hi all,

I recently caught the film bug and bought into the good-old OM series (OM-2n, in case you're curious). I was lucky enough to acquire a 50/1.8 and a 100/2.8 in great condition for a very reasonable price. Part of the incentive, of course, was knowing that these lenses adapt nicely to the m4/3 format.

The OM lenses have a reputation for great quality in a small form-factor, but I really wasn't prepared for just how small they are. The first picture compares the two lenses to the fantastic Pany 20/1.7 and the relatively small Oly 40-150 extended out to 100mm. This was really shocking to me.

Now, in fairness, the adapter to put these suckers onto m4/3 is no small thing. However, take a look at the second photo of the 100/2.8 with adapter compared to the 40-150 at 100mm. Still no contest. In fact, it's roughly the same size as the collapsed 40-150, but several stops faster.

We're consistently told that the great advantage of m4/3 is its lens size, yet these 20+ year old "full-frame" lenses compare very favorably. True, they don't have auto-focus, which I'm sure adds a good amount of bulk, but I'm still left wondering what I'm missing here.

I just wanted to share my impressions. I'll post sample pictures if anyone is interested.

Best,
Andrew