E-M5II extreme macro for metrology

parejkoj wrote:

No, I don't mean meteorology...

I'm curious if anyone has considered using the E-M5II high res mode with either a standard 1:1 macro lens, or one of the various 2:1 or higher macro systems for some ultra-extreme macro work? My specific goal here is to do measurements of some precision engineering equipment (metrology).

If I did the math right, the high resolution E-M5II mode should give a physical scale of about 2 microns/pixel. Can the Olympus 60/2.8 macro resolve that scale? Anyone have either of these and able to provide a test?

There are also a few more extreme macro lenses (Venus 60/2.8 2:1, Nanoha x5), which could provide even higher magnification, in particular when coupled with the E-M5II. Most reviews of these lenses focus on their photographic qualities, as opposed to their physical resolving power, so I'd be curious if anyone knows more.

I'm not wedded to micro 4/3 for this purpose (we currently borrow one of the engineer's D810), but it would be quite a bit cheaper and light enough that we could carry it around to use for other purposes.

I did something up on this for in here awhile ago. 2:1 is a bit low for me, so anything above a 2:1 works for what I want out of it. Generally 4:1, but not always.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55297406

No crops, I don't crop macro shots.

BTW, specialised lenses like you mention there or even the Canon M-PE -65 F/2.8, you need to be very close to the subject. I hit a 4:1 at a distance of 210mm lens to subject.

Danny.