OM Zuiko 18mm f3.5 legacy UWA lens - expensive 2nd hand prices..

[BDennis]

I’ve got one of these. It was one of my favourite lenses for my OM film system. I just looked online and have seen a listing just over £1000 for a copy which is a bit beat up and £1800 for a mint one. My copy would probably be described as mint. I bought it for around £850 in the late 1990s, I must have had a bonus or something! I’ve taken some photos of it (partly for insurance purposes). It came with an instruction sheet all in Japanese. People are probably using them on full frame systems with an adapter.

Those of you looking around for manual lenses to play with, I would snap one of these up if one is seen going cheap!







Some shots with it on the latest OM-1 here

https://www.e-group.uk.net/forum/forum/show-your-photos/foto-fair/914265-some-shots-with-the-om-zuiko-18mm-f3-5-uwa-35mm-lens-on-the-om-1

Bill

[blackfox]

prices are so weird these days . but does that make it a keeper or seller bill

[BDennis]

prices are so weird these days . but does that make it a keeper or seller bill

I’ll keep it for now. Tempted to buy a 2nd hand FF body and adapter to try these old lenses at the FoV they had on film. More gear acquisition 😂

Bill

[drmarkf]

That’s one of the uses I have for my Sony A7S (together with low-light street photography, and a bit of video). It is a completely different experience using proper classic lenses at their native projection.

Be a bit careful though if you’re looking at getting a first-generation A-series body. For example, the A7 and A7R don’t do silent shutter and have fragile bayonets that are inclined to shred after a lot of use, as a cheap s/h one might have. The 7S addressed both of those issues and its 12Mp isn’t a problem for the sort of use they’re likely to get with OM (and in my case also Leitz, Rokkor and Zeiss) lenses, but all are sensor dust magnets. Because it’s still so good for video the 7S has held its value quite well.

[BDennis]

Thanks for the advice. I’d need to look into the second hand Sony A7 body options and adapters. The second hand prices seem to get expensive very quickly once you look at the a7s and later. I think ibis, silent shutter and focus peaking would be the minimum feature set needed for using it with the legacy OM lenses I have. I don’t really want high megapixels.

[wanderer]

That's a fine rarity I've got the 21mm but no box.