Lens Review: Olympus OM Zuiko 135mm f/2.8

Zuiko lenses in general (at least the ones I've used) are pretty excellent.  I looked around at the two 135mm primes (the f/3.5 and the f/2.8) for a while, and while the 3.5 was cheaper, they were both very reasonably priced.  Right now it looks like you can get a very clean copy of the 3.5 for around $80, while the 2.8 will run about $175 to $200.

Scanning Negatives vs. Macro DSLR Copying

When I first started getting back into film after well over a decade of digital cameras, I ran across a guy that was absolutely convinced that no scanner could beat his method of "scanning" negatives and slides.  He would use a macro lens attached to his digital camera, and photograph the negative in sections, merging them in software later. He posted an outline of his method on this page.

The test image, a number of books carved
into a storefront in Mt. Dora, FL.

I was intrigued by this (and his amazing results), and decided to give it a try myself.  I picked out a random black & white photo (to make reversal easier) that had a good sharp focus point on it. This photo was taken with my Mamiya C330 on Kodak TMax 400 film (120 format, 6x6).


I don't have an Epson V700, but I do have a Canon Canoscan 9000F Mark II to use as a comparison.  It doesn't support any transparency larger than 120 film, but at around $150, it's a fraction of the cost. I scanned the frame at a (pretty ridiculous) 4800 dpi, which resulted in an image that was around 11600x11500, or about 127 megapixels.  Of course, this is well beyond the limitations of the scanner's optics, but I will scale it down shortly for comparison purposes.

The Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 (And How to Correct Its Distortion)

The Lens

 I've been getting some use out of the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 (or  the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 or Bower 14mm f/2.8, these lenses are identical except for the name) lately.  It's the cheapest non-adapted lens that I currently own for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, but really seems to hold its own against far more expensive options on the market.  It's also the widest angle rectilinear lens you can buy for a full-frame Canon DSLR. Anything wider than this is a fisheye.

Sure, you could also opt for the Canon 14mm f/2.8L II, which gives you autofocus and in-camera aperture control, but for those conveniences you'll be paying $2000 more than the price of the Rokinon. There are other lenses that I'd get more use out of that I'd rather buy with that nonexistent money.