OMD Macro with 60mm lens

Steve Huff claims this OLy Macro 60mm lens is the best macro lens he has ever used..I tend to agree..what do you all think??This was taken with the OMD in the "Deep" mode which is great for flowers.

I dunno about the "best" but the 60 is indeed excellent. I'm spoiled for choice with M43...I should use the 60 more than I do. Maybe some infrared closeups!

-Dave-

I also think the 60mm is fantastic and in some cases may remove the need for the 45mm and/or 75mm as these are only 15mm apart in focal length. Excuse my ignorance but what is the "Deep mode' (I assume it is one of the ART filters).

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Regards Daryl

It's an OK lens but definitely not as good as the Pentax 120 macro for their 645 system, the Zeiss Makro Planar that Haselblad sold for their medium format film camera system was probably the best I've used, with the Sigma (yes Sigma) 150 OS being almost as good.

These sort of comparisons are really worthless as how many macro lenses has Steve Huff used consistently for long periods with a variety of different scenarios. The other thing is that Steve Huff so rarely dislikes something that one does have to wonder at how discerning he actually is.

My own experience is that I had very high hopes for the lens as my next book project involves a lot bush walking into some remote places to photograph rare plants and I was hoping to lighten the load considerably using my m4/3 kit. Unfortunately it hasn't given me what I want in terms of quality so I'll have to man up and accept the heavier load of full frame and use the Sigma. I'm keeping the 60 because it is actually a very nice portrait lens.

The ZD-50 is quite plodding with focus on the Oly 4/3 bodies. Does the 60 have the same zip as the 14-42... or is it slow?

Steve admits to not being a macro guy, so I don't put too much value on his review. Ming Thein, though, is a talented macro photographer and he adores this lens! Check out his review, chock full of challenging product shots and 100% crops:


Here's a quote:

"Fortunately, the ZD60 is another one of those lenses that falls into the ‘truly outstanding’ category – I’ve tried hard under many varied test conditions to find fault with the optics, and come up with an extremely short list. If you want the short answer, you can skip the next few paragraphs: this lens offers excellent optical performance at every aperture and focus distance."

My own experience is that this lens is great fun, produces superb results, focuses quickly (provided you use the focus limiter), and never leaves my camera for long. If you like macro and have the dough, you won't be disappointed.

I don't have enough reference points to verify or challenge the assertion that the ZD 60 is the 'best' macro lens in existence. All I can say is that I'm very pleased with mine, and that I think it outperforms another well-regarded macro I owned back in the film era, namely the 105mm 2.8 AI-S Micro-Nikkor.

Haven't taken enough photos with my 60 yet to be sure how good t is for macro and so not convinced it will be better than the PanyLeica 45, a lens I have had some very good results from.

In the film days OlyZuiko macro lenses were the best range out there, right down to microscope-mount lenses which had to be used on bellows and were really challenging to use (no good for moving objects), but could give great results (if everything went well). Trouble was, in those film days, you had to wait a while to find out if your photos were great, or duds.

I must try and find time to try this old setup out with mft attached.

'Sounds like a lens to have! The focus limiter is something the ZD-50 could have used.

I like Ming's point about the lens hood. Ming: "the (optional, shame on you, Olympus) hood..."

I leave my lens hoods in the ready position, which lets me skip lens caps... at least in my part of the world.