The High Grade and Super High Grade 4/3 lenses are amazing pieces of glass that deserve a new lease of life on the newer M4/3 bodies. The MMF-2 or MMF-3 adapters have gotten expensive on the second hand market, but boy do they make shooting with the legacy 4/3 glass a joy on the mirrorless bodies. The MMF-2 is cheaper to get and the lack of weather sealing can be helped with a silicone O-ring/band of a similar diameter to the mount. The focusing is as fast or faster than on my E-3 and the image quality is on par with native M.Zuikos when paired with the 16.3 MPix sensor of the E-M1. There is even auto-focus calibration available (actually added for the first time in the E-30) for every lens you use, so if you take the time to do this you could get the most out of your glass. So go out and shoot! Four Thirds is dead. Long live Four Thirds.
Thank you for the content! Fellow South African here. I purchased an Olympus E-410 in the early stages of lockdown and fell in love with everything Olympus as a result. Looking forward to collecting more glass and 4/3 bodies if possible. I also collect their point and shoots. The newer Olympus gear is a pipe dream for now. Thanks again!
Thanks for the video. I’m new to MT3 having recently picked up an EM1. Have to say it’s a treat shooting with it after DSLR’s. I’m looking at four thirds lenses so your video has been quite informative. I’ll stick with my Nikons but the EM1 is take anywhere camera & the old 9-18mm with the MM3 converter works quite well for what I want it for. I will be checking out other 4/3 lenses as the prices seem quite reasonable.
I really appreciate this video, I have been looking an adapter and get an Olympus or Panasonic camera to use it for my 4/3 Olympus 12-60 2.8-4 lens. I like the lens with its 72-mm diameter and how sharp the glass is. Thanks again for the information. Cheers.
Yes,sir...I know that you did...it's big & unwieldy but worth the stress & strain of use. We have much in common as I too use the 7-14mm (old F4 (4/3 version) as well as the 50-200mm. Acquiring the mmf converter costs around $200 these days since Oly discontinued them. I stick with them due to their popping sharp qualities (like Leica quality as you said.) Thanks again for your very thorough & honest review,I often refer back to it.@@Fotozones
@@mikemoir2603 sadly I no longer have any of my 4/3 glass. Had to sell off a lot of stuff to keep myself going during the lock downs. Not sure what I would buy telephoto wise when the opportunity to set up another wildlife safari goes.
Thank you for this video it is still useful in 2022. I just bought an Olympus Lens and it is a fourth third lens and I have a Panasonic Lumix G85 I was scared because the lens didn't fit and I have no idea that I need to bought an adapter.
@@Fotozones Got the 50mm Macro for portraits and it works great! so good I decided to take the chance on a 14-54 as well... you helped a lot in your video!
On my E-M1 II my 4/3 lenses are noticeably slower than native but still quite usable. Most of the 4/3 lenses were excellent performers which are now dirt cheap making them great bargains.
I already tried my own 4/3 lenses on my new OM-1. They work well, the AF is precise and quick. Unfortunately 2 things have changed in the meantime. Olympus / OMDS do not longer sell the adapters. I think that is very bad and a big shame. And the prices for the 4/3 lenses have increased significantly and are well above next to nothing. But nevertheless I am looking for the 50-200 mm. Your good evaluation is not the only one.
Sorry to hear that about the adapters. I have since sold most of my Olympus lenses, including the 4/3 mount and native mount ones. The only Oly lenses I still own are the 12-40/2.8 PRO and the 60/2.8 Macro. While I will continue using my MFT system professionally I won't be putting anymore money into it. I'm inclined to move to Fujifilm in the future. More about that here: www.fotozones.com/live/index.php?/angle_of_view/my-life-in-photography/shooting-straight-r26/
As a update to this , I have had a 1-mk1 a 1-mkii and now on a 1 mkiii every body has improved the use ability of the four thirds lenses , I did have 50-200 plus t.c but sold that with the advent of the zuiko 100-400 .. , but this year have come back into the four thirds fold again . As someone else said the mmf3 price in the u.k has gone sky high but I managed to aquire a mmf-2 and have coupled it with the 18-180 which is a superb combo even getting in focus bursts of a peregrine falcon in a dive ,trust me that’s fast AF .. and I have recently aquired a 11-22 again a superb bit of kit which works with no problems .. and even though the price of these lenses has risen in the past couple of years there still good buys
I actually just sold the last of my 4/3 glass this week, mainly because my main camera is now a Lumix G9 and those lenses don’t work well on the Lumix at all.
Awesome video! I just got the MkII three weeks ago, and I am definitely keeping the 50mm Macro and the 50-200 Pro lenses, they are absolutely awesome! I might sell the 70-300 that I have in favour of a tele-converter, since the quality of the image from the 50-200 Pro is considerably better than the 70-300, even when I crop from the 200mm to get the same zoom level as the longer, 300mm lens. So a converter would probably be a better solution to get some more length out of my kit :) Thank you for that video, really made me feel a bit at ease with the kit that I have put together, MkII with legacy lenses, and also to not be so worried that I MUST go after the long M43 lenses, that cost quite a lot of money if I need to have that length. Cheers from Bulgaria!
Hey, i am watching this video again, and i didn't remember even writing my reply to your comment. Super crazy the way the world works, but i literally just won an ebay auction for the very lens I mentioned 8 months ago, (the Sigma 50-500), i will let you know how it works out! I also agree about the 50-200. What an amazing lens. Since i last replied, I also picked up the 35-100. Best Image Quality. The 50-200 swd (selling $400ish, try to steal for $300ish) is almost unbelievable IQ, and hands down the best bang for buck if you own an e-m1, but the 35-100 takes away almost and is "simply unbelievable" IQ! It's loud as hell when pulling focus, but the image quality looks like real life, except the perfect version of real life. You can take a picture of anything you want and the picture you get make the dullest of things come to life! It is like it's own form of artwork, like a cartoon, or well established artist or something....it has it's very own character, that only this lens can create.... This lens is that way, portraits of people are amazing, a pop can in bad lighting looks amazing. The one time the 35-100 fails is back lighting, you can get some wicked flares that cross your whole frame, and thick full flare. The 50-200 does have that special look to it, pretty similar to the 35-100, and in all honesty is more usable, plus the flare issue is not nearly as bad. Another very nice lens, is the 14-54 version ii, which CAN BE USED ON NON E-M1 BODIES!!! This lens supports contrast AF, FIRST OFF NOTE, PERFORMANCE WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM PANASONIC AND OLYMPUS.... OLYMPUS BODIES YOU CAN TURN OFF CONTINUOUS AUTOFOCUS, ON PANASONIC BODIES YOU CANNOT, SO THE LENS WILL ALWAYS BE SLIGHTLY MICRO ADJUSTING ON A PANASONIC BODY, ON THE OLYMPUS BODY IF YOU TURN OFF CONTINUOUS AUTOFOCUS, THE LENS WILL NOT ADJUST FOCUS UNTIL YOU HAVE PRESSED THE SHUTTER. With that being said, again the motor is slightly louder, and probably wouldn't be a great video lens using autofocus, but manual focus would be just fine, as far as still photography goes I would say this lens is actually better than the 12 to 40 pro micro 4/3 lens....(the 12th 240 pro simply is not sharp at 2.8 at all, I would actually argue it is poor image quality at 2.8, at F4 it becomes great image quality, but is that why you buy a constant f 2.8 lens?)..... The 14 to 54 is much sharper wide open, gives you some handy extra reach (loses a little wide though) making it more useful in lower light situations, whereas the 12-40 2.8 is really an 12-40 f4 as far as usefulness goes.....another bonus is you can pick up the 14 to 54, make sure it's version 2, and that should run you about $170 to $200 vs the 500 a used 12-40 overpriced, overrated f2.8 goes for, used. I'll reply in a week or so about the "BIGMA"!! I had to do it, i felt like a thief, won an auction $315+15s&h+28 tax $353 out the door, looks in good shape.
@@martinskeidans7822 it is pretty sharp lens for covering such an enormous range. I will assume YOU are using an- E-m1, so you have AF? If not don't waste your time reading on, skip it. If you are using an e-m1, read on. I haven't used it much because it is so big. I use it with a monopod. I mention this, because I am not sure how useful it would be just straight handheld. I will say the ability to zoom in and out really does help, if you have lost your subject, and need to re-aquire, it is very nice to be able to zoom back to wide end, find your subject, and zoom back in on it. To be honest, 500mm is a lot of zoom, but you need a lot of room, or many incredibly distant objects to take pictures of to make it a viable lens, worth lugging around for its long reach. 200mm is plenty zoom for me, so my 50-200 swd is my go to lens for long telephoto, ad the ec-14 1.4x teleconvertor to get you to 280mm if need be. This combo gives professional looking images and is a joy to use, even handheld.
I stumbled into this video because I've been wanting to find more info how well or poorly FT lenses adapt to MFT bodies. That's because I got an extremely good offer to buy Sigma 50-500mm FT lens (bird shooting, yay). So without thinking I bought it right away. Panasonic states on their site that My G8/80/85 is compatible with Four Thirds standard. Right now I'm eagerly waiting for my adapter to arrive. Also subscribed.
I'm not really au fait with Panasonic bodies, so not sure if those ones will have the PDAF/CDAF sensors needed to drive the AF on these older lenses. I can say that all the Olympus E-M1 models will definitely work with them though.
Well. My G8/80/85 _does_ work at least with the Sigma FT 50-500mm. I also got really good offer for Olympus EC-14 teleconverter for FT lenses. It also works. The caveat is that adapted FT lenses are slower to autofocus compared to native. But if the price is right... ;)
@@IljaSara Keep a lookout for a good condition, low shutter count Olympus E-M1 (original). You can pick those up fairly cheap these days and with their phase detect sensors you will get excellent AF with all the old 4/3 glass.
i love my 4/3 lenses, and appreciate your video greatly. make my E-30 for all my manual lenses, will EM5-Mark III works as good as EM1's like your video said?
Thanks for the feedback. I am not sure about the other Olympus models. If they have Phase Detect AF sensors then they will work fine, but if the camera only has CDAF then it will struggle.
Thanks for all this information. It is very hard to get detailed info on using 4/3 on M4/3 camera. I wonder if you might have one further but of info. It seems as though the bigger old 4/3 lens will bring in more light while still being designed for a 4/3 sensor size. That is not something you get with an old Zuiko film lens. You don’t comment on this feature so it probably doesn’t exist. But given the actual size of aperture wouldnt the old 4/3 capture more light and so might be better in low light with lower ISO?
We work in F-stops when we talk about light intensity in photography and it does not change from format to format. F/2 on medium format is the same amount of light intensity as F/2 on micro four thirds. The size of the lens might be bigger on a larger format, but the intensity of light hitting the sensor is no different, which is why we use the F/ratio. An F/2 lens on the older 4/3 bodies will deliver the same amount of light to the sensor as it would on MFT so your ISO will be the same.
Thanks. I get what you are saying but I still have a brain freeze over this. By being an old dlsr lens all the elements are further away from the sensor. Although the same ratio of aperture size to focal length might be the same, so same f stop, the opening will in fact be larger. If you take this idea to it’s extreme it is possible to imagine a much larger lens at the same f stop. In fact that larger lens will be gathering more light than the m4/3 lens at the same f stop. All the more light is being brought into the same sensor size. Why or how does that extra light get taken into account if not by lower ISO. Imagine a lens that is twice as far from the sensor and therefore much longer physically. And wider St the opening. Won’t that gather a lot more light? Sorry for my brain feeeze but I just don’t get why some people will say that a smaller m4/3 lens can’t perform like its much larger full frame counterparts. Thanks again
@@dfabbott1 The sensor size on MFT is the same as 4/3. With the adapter in place the distance the light has to travel is the same as if it was on a 4/3 body, so that's why there is no difference in light intensity hitting the sensor at any given aperture between systems. By removing the mirrorbox MFT was able to make the lenses smaller which is why the system is so compact. Regarding performance of lenses on larger systems to MFT; that is just a debate for non-photographers to thump out on forums. In my opinion the most optimised format is MFT as it has the most performance per factor of importance than larger systems. Trust me, I shot with Nikon FX for many years and it was a PITA to carry around all that heavy stuff. And for what? So that I could get slightly less depth of field or some perceived advantage in low light? None of that matters. In reality I prefer to get more depth of field in my line of work (property and product photography) and if I run out of light, I bring light into the the frame in short bursts with marvellous inventions called flash guns. :-) Ignore the naysayers. They have an agenda.
Hello I have Olympus AF 50mm f1.8 Fast Standard Lens for Auto Focus on OM707 OM77AF Power Focus on OM101 and OM88. Can I use this lens to mount on my panasonic m4/3? GX 8?
At 10:05 I almost shat my pants. Using Studio closed back earphones I can hear a loud but very low frequency **thump**. Also it doesn't help that I'm alone in the house at midnight. :D
Haha! Sorry about that. Audio is one of the biggest challenges I am having at the moment, which is why I don't make as many videos as I should. Looking into a few options...
Very nice to know this, I have some great 4/3 lenses but they don't focus any even close to satisfactory on my Panasonic camera. What can be done ti improve that?
Unfortunately this is something that is limited to Olympus E-M1 models as they are the only ones with the Phase Detect AF sensors. I also have a Lumix G9 and my 50-200mm doesn't like it much.
Very informative video, thanks a lot!! Having the G9 I am analyzing between the old Olympus 50-200 vs the very expensive Pana Leica 50-200, my only problem is if the G9 I can have as fast AF as you get with the Olympus camera. Do you know how fast the AF is using the lens with the Panasonic G9?
I have the G9 and unfortunately that camera doesn't work with the legacy 4/3 glass. The autofocus system on Panasonic bodies is proprietary to them (it's called Focus by Defocus, or something like that). They don't use phase detect AF at all.
@@Fotozones Thanks a lot for your precise answer. I could have made a big mistake. I would love to do a photography safari as well and I could get an used Pana Leica 50-200 for about 1000 US, do you think it is a fare price? I also think that an used Olympus 40-150 could be at a similar price, but having the G9 with double ISIS the Pana lens could have a slight advantage.
@@JorgeRzezak Can't really comment on the cost of that lens as it isn't one I have any experience with, but yes, I'd definitely stick with the Panasonic lenses for your G9 simply because of the IS compatibility. The last safari I did in 2019 (before the world went crazy) I had the Oly 300/4.0 PRO and E-M1X on loan. That combo of IBIS and lens IS was phenomenal. When I eventually get around to organising another safari (be sure to sign up on fotozones.com for news in that regard) I will probably do a lot more research on what to take as I no longer have a lens longer than 100mm.
@@Fotozones Definitely I will sign-up on your website, and thanks again for your answer. The Olympus 300mm/f4 Pro should be amazing, but it is very expensive, getting 600mm equivalent FF you must have done amazing pictures and videos of the safari. Did you published the pictures and video? I'm eager to see them.
@@JorgeRzezak Certainly did! You can see the thread from that safari and showing many of the photos I (and my guests) took here: www.fotozones.com/live/index.php?/topic/64290-gear-pics-stories-from-fotozones-wildlife-safari-2019/&
You were using the M1.1 body in this video which as you explained has dual auto focus systems. I am wondering what kind of focus performance I could expect from using the MMF-3 adapter and OM lens on a M5.2 body that does not have the phase detect auto focus system.
I got some glass I would like to keep. Great insight. I was thinking of getting the E-M10 Mark II or III but my biggest thing is seeing how the EVF works and lag between lag. Of course I know you have the E-M1 Mark I. Just wondering.
The legacy glass won't be good on bodies other than the E-M1. You'll get very frustrated with it on them. Lag wise, I am very happy with the E-M1, but then I am not using it to do any serious action photography, so that's not a factor I can make a conclusive judgement on. What I can say is that the E-M1 has now become my longest serving camera ever (since 2000), which is saying something.
Thank you very much! I got to play with the E-M1 Mark II, which only confirmed Olympus is a great way to go but its $1700. I got the E-M10 II and I don't regret it and I want to spend money on better lens. Got a trip coming up I want to buy a wider zoom lens and a wide angle prime for street photography & architecture. If my budget allows, maybe even the 14-40mm 2.8f but that maybe down the road. Your video was a huge help to figure out what to do.
I don't have the Olympus's own adaptor - but a third party (Viltrox brand) version. This works on my EPL6 with 4/3 lenses - but of course, the autofocus is very slow. If I buy an OMD EM1 - will the autofocus speed improve, given that the adaptor is not Olympus own brand? (I have the 14-54mm mk 1 and 70-300mm four thirds lenses)
In theory it should work just as well with the 3rd party adapter as it's really just a "pass-though" contact system between body and lens. As far as I can tell there is no chipset between the two on an MMF adapter. The E-M1 will definitely be a massive improvement in AF, as I showed on the video.
I can't speak for the new G9.2 but any MFT camera body that doesn't have phase detect AF sensors isn't going to be a fun experience to use with these older lenses.
@@Fotozones Panasonic made at least 3 4/3 zooms and the 25 prime. Leica was 100% the designer of these lenses, and Panasonic was only the manufacturer. (The current Panasonic Leicas have more Panasonic involvement in lens design, with Leica only designing the optical formula, and Panasonic designing the rest of the lens.) Sigma released 14 4/3 mount lenses. Some of which were superb APO designs. Panasonic also released two 4/3 camera models, the L1 and L10. The Leica Digilux 3 was a rebadged L1 Panasonic also made a now discontinued 4/3-MFT adapter. I bought one when a cheap one came up on eBay, in the hopes that I will one day find an affordable copy of that 25mm Summilux. It has a reputation for being better than the MFT version, which was redesigned to be more affordable. I have a mix of Lumix, Leica, Olympus, Sigma, Laowa, and Voigtlander MFT mount lenses, but I also love adapting my old Nikkors, Pentax-M, Pentax 110, Mamiya, Bronica, and Canon FD. I am in that smaller percentage of people who use both digital and film, and I have too many vintage lenses to not use them. I especially love old Nikkors.
@@artistjoh Very interesting! I currently shoot with 2 x Panasonic G9's and I have more Pan/Leica lenses than Olympus. The only Oly lenses I still have are the 12-40/2.8 PRO and the 60/2.8 Macro.
I have noticed a lot of lens hunting using my legacy 4/3 glass on my newer em-1. Particularly on birds and sports. Any suggestions? I’m shooting at high speed 1500-2000 of a second, c-af, 15 frames per second. Thinking about air show but am concerned this set up is not as responsive as my older oly 610 dslr. With the original 140-300 lens. Appreciate any feed back. Thanks
Unfortunately I have never progressed beyond the original E-M1 so I don't know how the newer ones perform with the legacy glass. For birding I do know that you are probably going to want to invest in the M.Zuiko lenses, especially if tracking is needed. At this time I no longer own any legacy glass as it doesn't fulfil any more needs in my photography practise. I'm down to just 6 lenses now, all of which are native MFT.
I never really used that lens, unfortunately, mainly because the 9-18mm served my wide angle needs when I still had it. I did try it out though but not critically.
What a coincidence! I have the legacy Olympus E-3 with your lenses, 11-22mm, 12-60mm, 50mm macro and 50-200mm. now I got OMD E-M10 ii and wanted to get an adapter to use the old diamonds, but still confused, what adapter would be better and what about the focus speed and accuracy? worth to mention I don't care at all about speed, but do care too much about accuracy, please give me an advice . many thanks
Unfortunately your E-M10 ii isn't going to be able to drive legacy glass effectively because it doesn't have the phase detect AF sensors. Only the E-M1 models do.
@@Fotozones it was one of the main reasons I bought it to use the glass :( , it's really bad news, but I will try to enjoy :) whatever, your answer means I will suffer during focus or I will not ever focus accurately?
Hi! I've used the lens for a couple of weeks now and the image quality is outstanding! Only downside is that it hunts al lot, even in perfect light conditions. Do you have any pointers on how to set up the E-M1 that might improve the AF?
@@ivarofficial6677 Glad you like the lens, it is a peach. As far as nailing focus goes, you will need to make sure that you are always looking for something with lots of contrast to focus on. I tend to always use the central focus point, focus and then recompose.
I have the zuiko 12-60 for the 4/3 DLSR and am using it on my M4/3 E-M10 Mark III. the auto focus is admittedly slow. but if I am going to be shooting where autofocus is an issue I just use one of the lenses made for M4/3. That lens was considered one of the best Zuiko 4/3 lenses. I like it but I don't have a comparable zuiko M 4/3 lens compare it to in terms of optics. the lag in auto focus is not an issue for me. can you give us some insights as to how these 4/3 lenses stack up in optics? to me it is a great combination of light gathering ability with a lens designed for a 4/3 sensor. but again, i don't have a way to confirm the quality
I had the 14-60mm for 4/3 but I also have the 12-40 PRO. The latter is the best general purpose zoom I have ever used, so I sold the 4/3 lens. There are some gems in 4/3 as I said in the video, but the newer lenses are being made so well these days that unless it becomes a matter of cost, I would mostly rather opt for a native mount lens.
It’s not a camera I have followed much, to be honest, so I don’t know. If it has PDAF as well as CDAF sensors then it should be good with older glass, but if it is only carrying CDAF then no.
@@Fotozones The M5-MkIII has basically all the guts from the M1-MkII including its 20mp sensor, processor and focusing system so they should actually perform better than the M1-MkI with the older 4/3 lens and adapter.
I'm not really familiar with the Panasonic GH5 or even many other Pan bodies, but I would imagine that if they have the same kind of dual AF system (PDAF and CDAF) these old lenses should work in the same way.
UnfortunatelyI have sold most of my 4/3 lenses and there isn’t much chance of getting an upgraded camera body for the foreseeable future. I would imagine that the new bodies would work much the same as the originals.
@@tapptom I still shoot only MFT (except for a Fujifilm X100 that was gifted to me). I just moved over to Panasonic bodies, so the 4/3 glass doesn't work well on that platform. Had to let it all go, sadly.
@@Fotozones I was going to sell my two four thirds lenses, the 14 54 mm and the 40 - 150mm but might hang on to them. What are the best ones to buy of the four thirds ones?
@@zarrow50 There are so many! Notable lenses in that mount that I have owned are the 7-14mm, 8mm fisheye, the 14-54mm is also good, as shown in this video the 50-200mm is awesome. The sharpest by far was the 35-100/2.0 - if you can find one and can work around the sheer size of it, you will be very happy. Others I have heard about but haven't tried are the 150mm 2.0 and of course the big 90-250/2.8.
![Vintage Lenses - 👉 [4 things WHY you SHOULD try them]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/svgZZKEjgI4/mqdefault.jpg)
The High Grade and Super High Grade 4/3 lenses are amazing pieces of glass that deserve a new lease of life on the newer M4/3 bodies. The MMF-2 or MMF-3 adapters have gotten expensive on the second hand market, but boy do they make shooting with the legacy 4/3 glass a joy on the mirrorless bodies. The MMF-2 is cheaper to get and the lack of weather sealing can be helped with a silicone O-ring/band of a similar diameter to the mount. The focusing is as fast or faster than on my E-3 and the image quality is on par with native M.Zuikos when paired with the 16.3 MPix sensor of the E-M1. There is even auto-focus calibration available (actually added for the first time in the E-30) for every lens you use, so if you take the time to do this you could get the most out of your glass. So go out and shoot!
Four Thirds is dead. Long live Four Thirds.
Thank you for the content! Fellow South African here. I purchased an Olympus E-410 in the early stages of lockdown and fell in love with everything Olympus as a result. Looking forward to collecting more glass and 4/3 bodies if possible. I also collect their point and shoots. The newer Olympus gear is a pipe dream for now. Thanks again!
Hey Joshua, thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you found the video informative.
I have a E620 with 3 lenses and planning on purchasing the M1 Mark 3.
Thanks for the video. I’m new to MT3 having recently picked up an EM1. Have to say it’s a treat shooting with it after DSLR’s. I’m looking at four thirds lenses so your video has been quite informative. I’ll stick with my Nikons but the EM1 is take anywhere camera & the old 9-18mm with the MM3 converter works quite well for what I want it for. I will be checking out other 4/3 lenses as the prices seem quite reasonable.
It's a very interesting journey. Enjoy it!
I really appreciate this video, I have been looking an adapter and get an Olympus or Panasonic camera to use it for my 4/3 Olympus 12-60 2.8-4 lens. I like the lens with its 72-mm diameter and how sharp the glass is. Thanks again for the information. Cheers.
I love this review of yours! Still with Olympus gear here…including the cumbersome but extremely sharp 35-100mm.
I used to have that lens - it is unrivalled as far as zoom lenses go, imo.
Yes,sir...I know that you did...it's big & unwieldy but worth the stress & strain of use. We have much in common as I too use the 7-14mm (old F4 (4/3 version) as well as the 50-200mm. Acquiring the mmf converter costs around $200 these days since Oly discontinued them. I stick with them due to their popping sharp qualities (like Leica quality as you said.)
Thanks again for your very thorough & honest review,I often refer back to it.@@Fotozones
@@mikemoir2603 sadly I no longer have any of my 4/3 glass. Had to sell off a lot of stuff to keep myself going during the lock downs. Not sure what I would buy telephoto wise when the opportunity to set up another wildlife safari goes.
Thank you for this video it is still useful in 2022. I just bought an Olympus Lens and it is a fourth third lens and I have a Panasonic Lumix G85 I was scared because the lens didn't fit and I have no idea that I need to bought an adapter.
I liked the review.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video.
This was very informative... you have answered a lot of questions for me as I search for a mid range tele...
If you can get hold of a 50-200/SWD version like the one I show in this video you will be very happy.
@@Fotozones For my needs the 50-200 is overkill... but after your video I purchased a 50mm Macro f2. That will fit my needs perfectly. Thanks again.
@@Fotozones Got the 50mm Macro for portraits and it works great! so good I decided to take the chance on a 14-54 as well... you helped a lot in your video!
Very useful information. Thank you!
You're most welcome! thanks for watching.
On my E-M1 II my 4/3 lenses are noticeably slower than native but still quite usable. Most of the 4/3 lenses were excellent performers which are now dirt cheap making them great bargains.
I already tried my own 4/3 lenses on my new OM-1. They work well, the AF is precise and quick.
Unfortunately 2 things have changed in the meantime. Olympus / OMDS do not longer sell the adapters. I think that is very bad and a big shame. And the prices for the 4/3 lenses have increased significantly and are well above next to nothing. But nevertheless I am looking for the 50-200 mm. Your good evaluation is not the only one.
Sorry to hear that about the adapters. I have since sold most of my Olympus lenses, including the 4/3 mount and native mount ones. The only Oly lenses I still own are the 12-40/2.8 PRO and the 60/2.8 Macro. While I will continue using my MFT system professionally I won't be putting anymore money into it. I'm inclined to move to Fujifilm in the future. More about that here: www.fotozones.com/live/index.php?/angle_of_view/my-life-in-photography/shooting-straight-r26/
The MMF3 adapter is still available used! I have the exact 3 lenses, 12-60, 50-200 and 50 macro.
Thank you for all the info, extremely helpful.
I am very happy that you got value out of this video.
As a update to this , I have had a 1-mk1 a 1-mkii and now on a 1 mkiii every body has improved the use ability of the four thirds lenses , I did have 50-200 plus t.c but sold that with the advent of the zuiko 100-400 .. , but this year have come back into the four thirds fold again . As someone else said the mmf3 price in the u.k has gone sky high but I managed to aquire a mmf-2 and have coupled it with the 18-180 which is a superb combo even getting in focus bursts of a peregrine falcon in a dive ,trust me that’s fast AF .. and I have recently aquired a 11-22 again a superb bit of kit which works with no problems .. and even though the price of these lenses has risen in the past couple of years there still good buys
I actually just sold the last of my 4/3 glass this week, mainly because my main camera is now a Lumix G9 and those lenses don’t work well on the Lumix at all.
Brilliant,just the info i was looking for,cheers
I'm happy it was useful to you. :-)
Awesome video! I just got the MkII three weeks ago, and I am definitely keeping the 50mm Macro and the 50-200 Pro lenses, they are absolutely awesome! I might sell the 70-300 that I have in favour of a tele-converter, since the quality of the image from the 50-200 Pro is considerably better than the 70-300, even when I crop from the 200mm to get the same zoom level as the longer, 300mm lens. So a converter would probably be a better solution to get some more length out of my kit :)
Thank you for that video, really made me feel a bit at ease with the kit that I have put together, MkII with legacy lenses, and also to not be so worried that I MUST go after the long M43 lenses, that cost quite a lot of money if I need to have that length.
Cheers from Bulgaria!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Try the old sigma 50-500 for the mount, Its probably 6 lbs....and I read is not that sharp at 500...but decent until 400mm....and hilarious!
Hey, i am watching this video again, and i didn't remember even writing my reply to your comment.
Super crazy the way the world works, but i literally just won an ebay auction for the very lens I mentioned 8 months ago, (the Sigma 50-500), i will let you know how it works out!
I also agree about the 50-200. What an amazing lens.
Since i last replied, I also picked up the 35-100.
Best Image Quality.
The 50-200 swd (selling $400ish, try to steal for $300ish) is almost unbelievable IQ, and hands down the best bang for buck if you own an e-m1, but the 35-100 takes away almost and is "simply unbelievable" IQ!
It's loud as hell when pulling focus, but the image quality looks like real life, except the perfect version of real life. You can take a picture of anything you want and the picture you get make the dullest of things come to life! It is like it's own form of artwork, like a cartoon, or well established artist or something....it has it's very own character, that only this lens can create.... This lens is that way, portraits of people are amazing, a pop can in bad lighting looks amazing.
The one time the 35-100 fails is back lighting, you can get some wicked flares that cross your whole frame, and thick full flare.
The 50-200 does have that special look to it, pretty similar to the 35-100, and in all honesty is more usable, plus the flare issue is not nearly as bad.
Another very nice lens, is the 14-54 version ii, which CAN BE USED ON NON E-M1 BODIES!!!
This lens supports contrast AF,
FIRST OFF NOTE, PERFORMANCE WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM PANASONIC AND OLYMPUS....
OLYMPUS BODIES YOU CAN TURN OFF CONTINUOUS AUTOFOCUS, ON PANASONIC BODIES YOU CANNOT, SO THE LENS WILL ALWAYS BE SLIGHTLY MICRO ADJUSTING ON A PANASONIC BODY, ON THE OLYMPUS BODY IF YOU TURN OFF CONTINUOUS AUTOFOCUS, THE LENS WILL NOT ADJUST FOCUS UNTIL YOU HAVE PRESSED THE SHUTTER.
With that being said, again the motor is slightly louder, and probably wouldn't be a great video lens using autofocus, but manual focus would be just fine, as far as still photography goes I would say this lens is actually better than the 12 to 40 pro micro 4/3 lens....(the 12th 240 pro simply is not sharp at 2.8 at all, I would actually argue it is poor image quality at 2.8, at F4 it becomes great image quality, but is that why you buy a constant f 2.8 lens?)..... The 14 to 54 is much sharper wide open, gives you some handy extra reach (loses a little wide though) making it more useful in lower light situations, whereas the 12-40 2.8 is really an 12-40 f4 as far as usefulness goes.....another bonus is you can pick up the 14 to 54, make sure it's version 2, and that should run you about $170 to $200 vs the 500 a used 12-40 overpriced, overrated f2.8 goes for, used.
I'll reply in a week or so about the "BIGMA"!! I had to do it, i felt like a thief, won an auction $315+15s&h+28 tax $353 out the door, looks in good shape.
@@dublbude can you share your experience with bigma 50-500 on m43? I'm thinking on getting such combo. Thanks!
@@martinskeidans7822 it is pretty sharp lens for covering such an enormous range.
I will assume YOU are using an- E-m1, so you have AF? If not don't waste your time reading on, skip it.
If you are using an e-m1, read on.
I haven't used it much because it is so big. I use it with a monopod. I mention this, because I am not sure how useful it would be just straight handheld.
I will say the ability to zoom in and out really does help, if you have lost your subject, and need to re-aquire, it is very nice to be able to zoom back to wide end, find your subject, and zoom back in on it.
To be honest, 500mm is a lot of zoom, but you need a lot of room, or many incredibly distant objects to take pictures of to make it a viable lens, worth lugging around for its long reach. 200mm is plenty zoom for me, so my 50-200 swd is my go to lens for long telephoto, ad the ec-14 1.4x teleconvertor to get you to 280mm if need be. This combo gives professional looking images and is a joy to use, even handheld.
My E-3 was a slow auto-focuser anyway 🤣 Would be sick to redo this video with the om-1.
I own an Olympus e300. ePL7 and Panasonic's GH4 and the autofocus on the mirrorless bodies is slow. Manual focusing with peaking works great.
I stumbled into this video because I've been wanting to find more info how well or poorly FT lenses adapt to MFT bodies.
That's because I got an extremely good offer to buy Sigma 50-500mm FT lens (bird shooting, yay). So without thinking I bought it right away. Panasonic states on their site that My G8/80/85 is compatible with Four Thirds standard.
Right now I'm eagerly waiting for my adapter to arrive.
Also subscribed.
I'm not really au fait with Panasonic bodies, so not sure if those ones will have the PDAF/CDAF sensors needed to drive the AF on these older lenses. I can say that all the Olympus E-M1 models will definitely work with them though.
@@Fotozones, I'll report back when I've done my tests.
Well. My G8/80/85 _does_ work at least with the Sigma FT 50-500mm. I also got really good offer for Olympus EC-14 teleconverter for FT lenses. It also works.
The caveat is that adapted FT lenses are slower to autofocus compared to native. But if the price is right... ;)
@@IljaSara Keep a lookout for a good condition, low shutter count Olympus E-M1 (original). You can pick those up fairly cheap these days and with their phase detect sensors you will get excellent AF with all the old 4/3 glass.
@@Fotozones good call bro!
I have the old 150mm F2, way to heavy since my 40-150 is only one stop slower I use that. The 150 still sells for a high price.
i love my 4/3 lenses, and appreciate your video greatly. make my E-30 for all my manual lenses, will EM5-Mark III works as good as EM1's like your video said?
Thanks for the feedback. I am not sure about the other Olympus models. If they have Phase Detect AF sensors then they will work fine, but if the camera only has CDAF then it will struggle.
@@Fotozones Noted with thanks
I sold my 50-200 35-100mm and my 12-35mm😥😥
My daughter wore my 12-60mm out
Need to send it in
Thanks for all this information. It is very hard to get detailed info on using 4/3 on M4/3 camera. I wonder if you might have one further but of info.
It seems as though the bigger old 4/3 lens will bring in more light while still being designed for a 4/3 sensor size. That is not something you get with an old Zuiko film lens. You don’t comment on this feature so it probably doesn’t exist. But given the actual size of aperture wouldnt the old 4/3 capture more light and so might be better in low light with lower ISO?
We work in F-stops when we talk about light intensity in photography and it does not change from format to format. F/2 on medium format is the same amount of light intensity as F/2 on micro four thirds. The size of the lens might be bigger on a larger format, but the intensity of light hitting the sensor is no different, which is why we use the F/ratio. An F/2 lens on the older 4/3 bodies will deliver the same amount of light to the sensor as it would on MFT so your ISO will be the same.
Thanks. I get what you are saying but I still have a brain freeze over this. By being an old dlsr lens all the elements are further away from the sensor. Although the same ratio of aperture size to focal length might be the same, so same f stop, the opening will in fact be larger. If you take this idea to it’s extreme it is possible to imagine a much larger lens at the same f stop. In fact that larger lens will be gathering more light than the m4/3 lens at the same f stop. All the more light is being brought into the same sensor size. Why or how does that extra light get taken into account if not by lower ISO.
Imagine a lens that is twice as far from the sensor and therefore much longer physically. And wider St the opening. Won’t that gather a lot more light?
Sorry for my brain feeeze but I just don’t get why some people will say that a smaller m4/3 lens can’t perform like its much larger full frame counterparts. Thanks again
@@dfabbott1 The sensor size on MFT is the same as 4/3. With the adapter in place the distance the light has to travel is the same as if it was on a 4/3 body, so that's why there is no difference in light intensity hitting the sensor at any given aperture between systems. By removing the mirrorbox MFT was able to make the lenses smaller which is why the system is so compact.
Regarding performance of lenses on larger systems to MFT; that is just a debate for non-photographers to thump out on forums. In my opinion the most optimised format is MFT as it has the most performance per factor of importance than larger systems. Trust me, I shot with Nikon FX for many years and it was a PITA to carry around all that heavy stuff. And for what? So that I could get slightly less depth of field or some perceived advantage in low light? None of that matters. In reality I prefer to get more depth of field in my line of work (property and product photography) and if I run out of light, I bring light into the the frame in short bursts with marvellous inventions called flash guns. :-)
Ignore the naysayers. They have an agenda.
Hello I have Olympus AF 50mm f1.8 Fast Standard Lens for Auto Focus on OM707 OM77AF Power Focus on OM101 and OM88.
Can I use this lens to mount on my panasonic m4/3? GX 8?
I highly doubt that it will. Sorry.
why compare the micro four thirds 9 - 18 mm with the four thirds 11 - 22 mm for size? different lenses and different fit?
At 10:05 I almost shat my pants. Using Studio closed back earphones I can hear a loud but very low frequency **thump**.
Also it doesn't help that I'm alone in the house at midnight. :D
Haha! Sorry about that. Audio is one of the biggest challenges I am having at the moment, which is why I don't make as many videos as I should. Looking into a few options...
@@Fotozones, hey it's the content that counts. ;)
I had headphones and peaked three time over my shoulder after realizing it was the video audio 😉 lol! great information though on the lenses!
Very nice to know this, I have some great 4/3 lenses but they don't focus any even close to satisfactory on my Panasonic camera. What can be done ti improve that?
Unfortunately this is something that is limited to Olympus E-M1 models as they are the only ones with the Phase Detect AF sensors. I also have a Lumix G9 and my 50-200mm doesn't like it much.
Very informative video, thanks a lot!!
Having the G9 I am analyzing between the old Olympus 50-200 vs the very expensive Pana Leica 50-200, my only problem is if the G9 I can have as fast AF as you get with the Olympus camera.
Do you know how fast the AF is using the lens with the Panasonic G9?
I have the G9 and unfortunately that camera doesn't work with the legacy 4/3 glass. The autofocus system on Panasonic bodies is proprietary to them (it's called Focus by Defocus, or something like that). They don't use phase detect AF at all.
@@Fotozones Thanks a lot for your precise answer. I could have made a big mistake.
I would love to do a photography safari as well and I could get an used Pana Leica 50-200 for about 1000 US, do you think it is a fare price?
I also think that an used Olympus 40-150 could be at a similar price, but having the G9 with double ISIS the Pana lens could have a slight advantage.
@@JorgeRzezak Can't really comment on the cost of that lens as it isn't one I have any experience with, but yes, I'd definitely stick with the Panasonic lenses for your G9 simply because of the IS compatibility.
The last safari I did in 2019 (before the world went crazy) I had the Oly 300/4.0 PRO and E-M1X on loan. That combo of IBIS and lens IS was phenomenal.
When I eventually get around to organising another safari (be sure to sign up on fotozones.com for news in that regard) I will probably do a lot more research on what to take as I no longer have a lens longer than 100mm.
@@Fotozones Definitely I will sign-up on your website, and thanks again for your answer.
The Olympus 300mm/f4 Pro should be amazing, but it is very expensive, getting 600mm equivalent FF you must have done amazing pictures and videos of the safari.
Did you published the pictures and video? I'm eager to see them.
@@JorgeRzezak Certainly did! You can see the thread from that safari and showing many of the photos I (and my guests) took here: www.fotozones.com/live/index.php?/topic/64290-gear-pics-stories-from-fotozones-wildlife-safari-2019/&
You were using the M1.1 body in this video which as you explained has dual auto focus systems. I am wondering what kind of focus performance I could expect from using the MMF-3 adapter and OM lens on a M5.2 body that does not have the phase detect auto focus system.
Not great, unfortunately. Only the 1 series will give you usable autofocus.
Hi, thanks for the video. I wonder if a 40-150 Olympus 4/3 will work fine in a Panasonic Lumix GH1. Thank you.
Very unlikely. I don't think the Panasonic bodies have the required PDAF sensors in the body, which are necessary to drive the older lenses.
@@Fotozones thank you!
No stabilizers in the lens can be a problem, one thing when you focus the barrel rotates meaning grad filters may need adjusting.
I got some glass I would like to keep. Great insight. I was thinking of getting the E-M10 Mark II or III but my biggest thing is seeing how the EVF works and lag between lag. Of course I know you have the E-M1 Mark I. Just wondering.
The legacy glass won't be good on bodies other than the E-M1. You'll get very frustrated with it on them. Lag wise, I am very happy with the E-M1, but then I am not using it to do any serious action photography, so that's not a factor I can make a conclusive judgement on. What I can say is that the E-M1 has now become my longest serving camera ever (since 2000), which is saying something.
Thank you very much! I got to play with the E-M1 Mark II, which only confirmed Olympus is a great way to go but its $1700. I got the E-M10 II and I don't regret it and I want to spend money on better lens. Got a trip coming up I want to buy a wider zoom lens and a wide angle prime for street photography & architecture. If my budget allows, maybe even the 14-40mm 2.8f but that maybe down the road. Your video was a huge help to figure out what to do.
I don't have the Olympus's own adaptor - but a third party (Viltrox brand) version. This works on my EPL6 with 4/3 lenses - but of course, the autofocus is very slow. If I buy an OMD EM1 - will the autofocus speed improve, given that the adaptor is not Olympus own brand? (I have the 14-54mm mk 1 and 70-300mm four thirds lenses)
In theory it should work just as well with the 3rd party adapter as it's really just a "pass-though" contact system between body and lens. As far as I can tell there is no chipset between the two on an MMF adapter. The E-M1 will definitely be a massive improvement in AF, as I showed on the video.
As a Lumix MFT user, I am wondering if using Four Thirds lenses works about the same on MFT Lumix bodies as MFT Olympus bodies?
I can't speak for the new G9.2 but any MFT camera body that doesn't have phase detect AF sensors isn't going to be a fun experience to use with these older lenses.
@@Fotozones What about the Panasonic lenses? I hear really good things about the 25mm f1.4 Summilux.
@@artistjoh I wasn't aware that Panasonic made lenses for 4/3. Personally I no longer use any non MFT lenses - all native mount now.
@@Fotozones Panasonic made at least 3 4/3 zooms and the 25 prime. Leica was 100% the designer of these lenses, and Panasonic was only the manufacturer. (The current Panasonic Leicas have more Panasonic involvement in lens design, with Leica only designing the optical formula, and Panasonic designing the rest of the lens.) Sigma released 14 4/3 mount lenses. Some of which were superb APO designs.
Panasonic also released two 4/3 camera models, the L1 and L10. The Leica Digilux 3 was a rebadged L1
Panasonic also made a now discontinued 4/3-MFT adapter. I bought one when a cheap one came up on eBay, in the hopes that I will one day find an affordable copy of that 25mm Summilux. It has a reputation for being better than the MFT version, which was redesigned to be more affordable.
I have a mix of Lumix, Leica, Olympus, Sigma, Laowa, and Voigtlander MFT mount lenses, but I also love adapting my old Nikkors, Pentax-M, Pentax 110, Mamiya, Bronica, and Canon FD. I am in that smaller percentage of people who use both digital and film, and I have too many vintage lenses to not use them. I especially love old Nikkors.
@@artistjoh Very interesting! I currently shoot with 2 x Panasonic G9's and I have more Pan/Leica lenses than Olympus. The only Oly lenses I still have are the 12-40/2.8 PRO and the 60/2.8 Macro.
I have noticed a lot of lens hunting using my legacy 4/3 glass on my newer em-1. Particularly on birds and sports. Any suggestions? I’m shooting at high speed 1500-2000 of a second, c-af, 15 frames per second. Thinking about air show but am concerned this set up is not as responsive as my older oly 610 dslr. With the original 140-300 lens. Appreciate any feed back. Thanks
Unfortunately I have never progressed beyond the original E-M1 so I don't know how the newer ones perform with the legacy glass. For birding I do know that you are probably going to want to invest in the M.Zuiko lenses, especially if tracking is needed.
At this time I no longer own any legacy glass as it doesn't fulfil any more needs in my photography practise. I'm down to just 6 lenses now, all of which are native MFT.
is the 11 - 22 mm any good on the E M1 as it's supposed to have problems on Micro Four Thirds cameras?
I never really used that lens, unfortunately, mainly because the 9-18mm served my wide angle needs when I still had it. I did try it out though but not critically.
is the C-AF on EM1 or EM5 Mark II compatible with the Oly 50-200mm lens?
Unless there is a PDAF sensor in the camera it's only compatible with E-M1 series (as far as I know).
What a coincidence! I have the legacy Olympus E-3 with your lenses, 11-22mm, 12-60mm, 50mm macro and 50-200mm.
now I got OMD E-M10 ii and wanted to get an adapter to use the old diamonds, but still confused, what adapter would be better and what about the focus speed and accuracy?
worth to mention I don't care at all about speed, but do care too much about accuracy, please give me an advice .
many thanks
Unfortunately your E-M10 ii isn't going to be able to drive legacy glass effectively because it doesn't have the phase detect AF sensors. Only the E-M1 models do.
@@Fotozones it was one of the main reasons I bought it to use the glass :( , it's really bad news, but I will try to enjoy :)
whatever, your answer means I will suffer during focus or I will not ever focus accurately?
Does the M1 mark II work as good with these lenses?
I haven’t ever tried the Mk ii but I believe it should work just fine with the legacy glass and MMF adapters.
@@Fotozones thanx 🙏🏼 I've just purchased a 50-200mm 2,8-3,5 plus 1.4x convertor based on your reccommendations. Cant wait for it to be delivered!
@@ivarofficial6677 I am pretty certain you will be pleasantly surprised. Enjoy! 😎
Hi! I've used the lens for a couple of weeks now and the image quality is outstanding! Only downside is that it hunts al lot, even in perfect light conditions. Do you have any pointers on how to set up the E-M1 that might improve the AF?
@@ivarofficial6677 Glad you like the lens, it is a peach. As far as nailing focus goes, you will need to make sure that you are always looking for something with lots of contrast to focus on. I tend to always use the central focus point, focus and then recompose.
I have the zuiko 12-60 for the 4/3 DLSR and am using it on my M4/3 E-M10 Mark III. the auto focus is admittedly slow. but if I am going to be shooting where autofocus is an issue I just use one of the lenses made for M4/3. That lens was considered one of the best Zuiko 4/3 lenses. I like it but I don't have a comparable zuiko M 4/3 lens compare it to in terms of optics. the lag in auto focus is not an issue for me. can you give us some insights as to how these 4/3 lenses stack up in optics? to me it is a great combination of light gathering ability with a lens designed for a 4/3 sensor. but again, i don't have a way to confirm the quality
I had the 14-60mm for 4/3 but I also have the 12-40 PRO. The latter is the best general purpose zoom I have ever used, so I sold the 4/3 lens. There are some gems in 4/3 as I said in the video, but the newer lenses are being made so well these days that unless it becomes a matter of cost, I would mostly rather opt for a native mount lens.
What about the new OLYMPUS E-M5 MARK III and these older lenses?
It’s not a camera I have followed much, to be honest, so I don’t know. If it has PDAF as well as CDAF sensors then it should be good with older glass, but if it is only carrying CDAF then no.
@@Fotozones The M5-MkIII has basically all the guts from the M1-MkII including its 20mp sensor, processor and focusing system so they should actually perform better than the M1-MkI with the older 4/3 lens and adapter.
@@Hoggdoc1946 Really good to know! Thanks for sharing that. I may re-look at this camera when the time to upgrade arrives.
Would this approach work well with newer m4/3 cams like gh5?
I'm not really familiar with the Panasonic GH5 or even many other Pan bodies, but I would imagine that if they have the same kind of dual AF system (PDAF and CDAF) these old lenses should work in the same way.
Can you repeat this video with the mark 3?
UnfortunatelyI have sold most of my 4/3 lenses and there isn’t much chance of getting an upgraded camera body for the foreseeable future. I would imagine that the new bodies would work much the same as the originals.
@@Fotozones I was hoping they would be even better. I still have my 12-60 and 50-200. My em-1 mk 1 is okay, but not quite.
Is that 50-200 SWD?
I believe it was the SWD version. I no longer have any 4/3 glass. 😞
@@Fotozoneswhy did u stop w 4/3 basically?
@@tapptom I still shoot only MFT (except for a Fujifilm X100 that was gifted to me). I just moved over to Panasonic bodies, so the 4/3 glass doesn't work well on that platform. Had to let it all go, sadly.
@@Fotozones ok thanks
You loose half the focus points with these older lenses
Only an issue if you really need them. I don't, so I'm quite happy to use the older lenses when they make sense.
@@Fotozones I was going to sell my two four thirds lenses, the 14 54 mm and the 40 - 150mm but might hang on to them. What are the best ones to buy
of the four thirds ones?
@@zarrow50 There are so many! Notable lenses in that mount that I have owned are the 7-14mm, 8mm fisheye, the 14-54mm is also good, as shown in this video the 50-200mm is awesome. The sharpest by far was the 35-100/2.0 - if you can find one and can work around the sheer size of it, you will be very happy. Others I have heard about but haven't tried are the 150mm 2.0 and of course the big 90-250/2.8.