So I traded some equipment to come up with what I needed to get an Olympus PEN EP-2, at a bargain from KEH.com (used equipment). I’d sold my GF-1 back in the spring when I needed some cash (and a good friend needed a camera) and tried to press my iPhone into service – but I was kidding myself to think that it satisfied the need for a good walk around rangefinder type camera. So, I am going to get back into it with the Olympus plus my existing Canon EOS mount lens collection and C-Mount lenses too.
Canon EOS > Four thirds adapter
First, the Canon > Four thirds adapter… When I was using my GF-1 I had bought an adapter for EOS lenses that provided no f stop control. If I wanted to shoot at f8, I had to put the lens on a Canon body, with the aperture to f8 and remove it from the body before turning the camera off. Then, once mounted onto the GF-1, I could shoot at f8, but if I wanted to change to a faster setting I’d have to remount the lens to the Canon again.
Adapter with iris stopped down
Now I discover that Fotodiox makes an adapter that has an iris in it! This is a very cool combination, killing two birds with one stone, as it were. I can control the f-stop manually on the lens, as well as the focus (my favorite Voigtlander lenses are manual focus anyway) and have the camera body adjust the shutter speed. Its a great old school feeling that puts the shooter in direct mechanical contact with image making. So far I love it.
Adapter with the iris opened up
Another thing to point out about the combination of this adapter to the Voigtlander lens is the fact that – since the Voigtlander is a pancake – the additional thickness/profile of the adapter does not make a lens combination that is too big for the camera body. Check it out:
The Voigtlander 20mm pancake lens by itself
The Voigtlander lens with the EOS>Four Thirds adapter including manual iris control
The combination mounted onto the EP-2
Its true I wish I had my hands on a Lumix 20mm f1.7 lens. It would be much lighter and faster and, when wanted, automatic. But this solution shown above cost me less than a hundred bucks. I can also couple the adapter with my Voigtlander 40mm f2.0, making for a fast portrait lens on the EP-2. And When I mount my 85mm f1.8 I have a very fast 170mm. All at no extra cost. I can even put my 70-200mm f2.8 honker on the PEN, but I doubt there’ll be much call for that…
Here are two samples of shots made with the Voigtlander 20mm:
Voigtlander 20mm on the EP-2 wide open (f3.5)
Voigtlander 20mm stopped down somewhere around f8
