M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO tele-macro lens, Micro Four Thirds water-resistant lens, compatible with Olympus, OM SYSTEM and Panasonic MFT cameras, capable of ultra-macro magnification

Product Information

Sharpness was sometimes an issue at extreme magnifications, but not due to the sharpness of the lens – instead, it was due to the depth of field. At high magnifications, depth of field is always an issue because it’s inherently narrow. You’ll need to stop down to apertures like f/8, f/11, and f/16, which have increasingly more issues with diffraction. All of this will sound familiar if you’re a macro photographer, because it’s true of every macro lens. Frankly, I was able to autofocus on a snowflake and get a huge level of detail without the teleconverter. Trying to find a specific snowflake with a lens the equivalent of a 360mm is very challenging. The 2x teleconverter is ideal if you want dreamy, soft abstract macro images. The 1.4 is a bit sharper, but I think most photographers will be happy without modifying the 4x lens. Extra Image Samples One of the most important, stand-out features of the OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro is the extreme 2:1 reproduction ratio. Almost all other macro lenses on the market, from OM System and otherwise, stop at 1:1 magnification at the highest. The handful of exceptions are nearly always manual focus lenses. Focus Limit Switch sets the focusing range to define focus limits to enable faster focusing when shooting, improving AF speed. And they *did* shoot the 90mm at macro distances, including closest focus, with and without 2x converter, and they show fullsize images, which very much support the lpmm results.

No shortcomings here, the M.Zuiko ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO and virtually free of perceptible aberrations. Sharpness and contrast are spot on, and colors are rendered in their full natural saturation and beauty. IQ was consistent at all distances including 2X macro.

Specification

Despite the use of plastic, I don’t doubt the lens’s durability. In particular, theweather sealing is advertised as dust-proof and splash-proof up to IP53, meaning extensive protection against dust and splashing water. It’s the same rating given to the rugged OM-1 itself. By comparison, I’ve used my M.Zuiko60mm f/2.8 for years of intense conditions. It doesn’t appear to have an official IP rating, yet has held up better than any of my other lenses. The new 90mm f/3.5 should improve on it even further. The closer the lens is to the subject, the narrower the depth of field. Yes, this is a Micro Four Thirds lens, but the depth of field is still pretty narrow. In the Super Macro mode, the effective aperture is narrower than f3.5. At the closest focus point, the effective aperture is f8, dropping to f7.1 at a 3x equivalent, f6.3 at 2x, and f5.6 at 1x. You can also focus at 1x outside the S Macro mode at f4 and 2x at f4.5. In some cases, the smaller MFD could actually be an advantage also. In certain positions like small insects on trees, I actually like to get a bit closer so I can brace the lens against the tree. In a few other awkward “bracing” situations, I find this smaller MFD to be useful also, which is why I think a larger MFD isn’t universally superior.

Leveraging the strengths of its Pro lens reputation, OM Digital Solutions have gone all-out to create a macro monster in the new 90mm F3.5 Macro IS Pro lens. This gives photographers a super telephoto option that can complement the system's existing compact 30mm F3.5 Macro and beloved 60mm F2.8 Macro lenses. Key specificationsI know what you’re thinking: can’t you just crop a full-frame image by 2x to get in close? Especially with the number of megapixels many of them have now? You can, but, even then, most macros will only get to 2x when cropped in half. I recently shot with the Laowa 90mm f2.8 Macro 2x, and that 2x macro ability was incredibly fun and rewarding to work with. After using that lens, just reading about a 4x Macro has me itching to try it out. Overall mechanical construction is superb. The focusing helicoid is smooth a offers just enough resistance. Build quality is as good as I’ve seen anywhere. Taken with an Olympus OM-1 and OM System M.Zuiko ED 90mm lens, 1/8 sec. at F8, ISO 200. Photo credit: Amy Davies. That said, the sound of the autofocus motor reminded me of dial-up internet. Grrr—ehhh—rrr-eeee. The motor isn’t going to be audible across the room, but tiny subjects might take notice of the noise.

I have not tested it as a tube lens yet, but my impression is that it would be overkill, besides probably costing more than a new Mitutoyo M Plan Apo. As a tube lens it would only cover Micro 4/3 (and perhaps cause a Mitutoyo objective to vignette), but a Mitutoyo M Plan Apo on a good 200 mm tube lens already matches the resolution of a 20 Mpixel Micro 4/3 sensor. So I cannot avoid wondering what practical use there would be for the added lp/mm resolution of pushing the objective down to less than half its nominal magnification with this 90 mm as tube lens. This lens has a very wide focus range — and with that comes a wide range of autofocus performance. With the focus limiter switch set to the .25m to infinity position, the focus is pretty snappy. I was able to photograph pet portraits with minimal misses. Another quirk about the focus limiting switch is that it also changes the maximum aperture. When switched to the macro position, the maximum aperture changes from f/3.5 to f/5.6. Macro lenses in general all have a narrower maximum aperture at their higher magnifications, but this is the first lens where I’ve seen it change so suddenly, rather than a gradual transition. OM-1 + OM 90mm F3.5 @ 90mm, ISO 100, 1/320, f/11.0 Weather-resistant sealing of IP53 supports splashproof and dustproof performance that is further enhanced with fluorine coating on front element. Fluorine is oleophobic and hydrophobic (sheds oil and water) and helps keep the front element free of fingerprints and easier to clean. The Olympus 90mm f/3.5 macro also freezeproof down to 14° F.

A 2x magnification ratio coupled with our Micro Four Thirds standard delivers a 4x 35mm equivalent magnification ratio. The optical formula comprises 18 elements in 13 groups and includes 2 x SED elements, 4 x ED elements, 1 x HR elements and 1 x Super HR elements. It’s amazing that the 90mm macro weighs only one pound considering the abundance of glass. If you can get the focus in the perfect spot, then this lens is sharp enough to capture tiny details, making even a snowflake appear sharp. Subjects placed towards the edges were perhaps a little less sharp, but still acceptable. An ideal telephoto lens for stress-free outdoor shooting of any kind, from nature to landscapes to macro, with IP534 dustproof and splashproof performance, and freezeproof protection down to 14°F/-10°C. And at just 453 grams this lens offers a compact, lightweight, versatile design, for worry-free photography in any environment. OM System ED 90mm F3.5 Macro Lens In Detail So, is this lens worth the price over the Olympus 60mm macro? As I researched the features and specifications of this new lens, I found that there was no other Micro Four Thirds Lens with this combination of focal length and features.

This lens provides double the magnification of the Olympus 60mm Macro Lens (2X vs. 1X). This should let you get really close macro shots without needing to use extension tubes. Compatibility with Teleconverters Perhaps the biggest threat to sharpness is the natural movement of the subject, which is bound to happen with outdoors subjects. Even a millimetre shift in a breeze can be a threat to perfect sharpness at this close proximity, so you might find you want to try shooting at faster shutter speeds and upping the ISO as a compromise.Lenstip should not be taken that seriously. Their extreme opinions (praise or criticism) and overuse of charts give them an air of authority, but they largely ignore practical aspects such as rendering, real-life usability or sample variation. In this case, I doubt that they tested this lens at macro distances, which is how it will be / should be used. Even with those limits, at 4x macro, there’s still only a very small slice of the image in focus. This lens will break a fancy depth-of-field calculator because it’s too small to measure in hundredths of a meter. The margin for error is essentially non-existent at the closest focusing distance and f8. I was initially worried about that aperture limitation, but became less bothered when actually using this lens because the depth of field is so narrow.