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Help w/Aperture on Pen f lens

T

thearne3

Guest
Hi,

Just received a Pen f 38mm lens with adapter. The size is great! I will be comparing it to my hexanon 40mm. At wide open, it looks like the center contrast/sharpness is better than the Hexanon, but at the edges, the Hexanon is sharper.

Wondering if the lens really requires pushing the preview button to get it to stop down to the aperture ring setting? Am I missing something?

I hope there is some way to resolve this without harming the lens. For example, perhaps there is an easy way to hold the aperture lever so that the preview button is not necessary (ie, just use the aperture ring, as with the hexanon and other lenses.). Tape is an option, but neither reliable - nor 'elegant'.

Thanks for any help!

Best,
Tom
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Depends on your adapter, Tom.

I made/use two different versions. One requires the preview button to be pushed and the other does not.

Since these were made from Olympus Pen F extension rings. It was an easy/minor modification that does the job.
 
T

thearne3

Guest
Thanks Vivek.

Mine has no obvious connection to the aperture lever, so I guess I'm now in the mode of finding a simple modification of the lens. As noted, tape will work, but the spring loaded lever makes the tape unreliable.

Anyone have experience with removing/immobilizing the lever in a way that can be easily reversed? Unlike the Hexanons, there's a healthy collectors market for Pen F lenses. I wouldn't want to do anything that would be irreversible.

Best,
Tom
 
Don't modify the lens--just get the adapter from Jin Rong, which allows you to stop down without pressing the preview button. You might want to actually shoot it on a Pen FT someday...that's what happened to me, anyhow.
 
T

thearne3

Guest
Since I have an adapter that satisfies all but the aperture issue, my solution is simple: insert a small piece of cardboard in the slot 'behind' the lever (ie, move the lever to the 'extended' position and insert in the slot left behind). I'm assuming this wont adversely affect the spring, since it is like leaving the lens on the original camera and set to f16. Works fine!

Now on to comparing with my Hexanon 40mm....

Thanks again to all!

Best
Tom
 

Jonathon Delacour

Subscriber Member
Perfect! These are the best legacy lenses there are for m4/3, in my opinion.
+1

I'm really grateful to Vivek, Godfrey, and Cindy for making me aware of how good the Pen F lenses are on m4/3. I also like the performance of some of the Rokkor MC and MD lenses but the Pen F Zuiko lenses are tiny as well as being great performers.
 
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