Hello and welcome to New Old Glass, a short little show where I take a look at the vintage lenses I’ve recently picked up, or as my justification calls it: a “valid business expense.”

Today, we’re looking at the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/3.5 Auto-Macro. This is a bit of a rarity for me, as I don’t have many macro lenses in my collection.

My only other one is the Canon 100mm f/2.8 L, which has been my workhorse for years.

Originally, I was eyeing a different Olympus lens in an auction, but the price went absolutely ballistic.

Fortunately, I managed to scoop this 50mm Macro for a decent price.

I’ve been looking to expand my Olympus lineup lately, as I don’t have nearly enough OM glass in my collection.

• Release Date: Originally introduced in 1975

• Optical Design: 5 elements in 4 groups

• Aperture Blades: 6 blades

• Filter Thread: 49mm

• Weight: 221 grams

• Mount: Olympus OM mount

The build quality is exactly what you’d expect from vintage Olympus, featuring a solid metal body and a rubber focusing ring.

The focus ring on my copy is surprisingly smooth for a lens that’s nearly 50 years old.

The aperture ring is quite small and sits right at the front of the lens.

It’s an interesting design choice, as I usually prefer the ring at the back near the mount, but it’s certainly not a dealbreaker.

Honestly, this lens has given me some of the most fun I’ve had with vintage glass in years.

On the camera, the lens feels great. It’s light and easy to carry all day.

The focus ring is nice and large, which is helpful because the focus throw is about two football fields long!

As the name suggests, the macro capability is impressive.

Shooting wide open at f/3.5, the performance is reasonably good; your subjects stay quite sharp while the background melts away.

But stopping down for true macro work is where this lens really shines.

Take a look at this Hoverfly, for example. I think I shot this around f/8 or f/11.

Looking at the 100% crop, the detail is fantastic, especially around the eyes.

I definitely stopped down here because the background is more visible, yet the fine details are much crisper.

Another great example is this Zebra Blue butterfly.

At a 100% crop, you can see the tiny dots on the antennae, the texture of the wings, and even what looks like fine little hairs.

When it comes to the bokeh, things get interesting.

In close-up macro work, the background is incredibly smooth.

You don’t get much of that “vintage character” like bubble bokeh or busy specular highlights.

But when you use this for portraits, that changes.

You get these beautiful little “bubble” bokeh balls in the highlights.

It almost looks like someone took a bubble brush and painted the background.

However, a word of caution: while you can use this for portraits, you have to get uncomfortably close to your subject to get any real background separation.

It works for family and friends, but I wouldn’t use this for a paying client.

There are far better vintage lenses for dedicated portrait work.

The color rendering is another standout.

I noticed during editing that the colors are very deep, the greens especially are rich and dark.

Look at the edges of the mushroom in the samples; the rendering is just striking.

So, was it worth it? Absolutely.

Even though my Canon 100mm L is my professional workhorse, the Olympus 50mm has actually become my favorite of the two for pure enjoyment.

It’s made me want to take macro photos again, which is something I haven’t done in a long time.

Where does it fit in my collection?

I would say for now, it’s my go-to for macro photography and videography.

Because it can handle portraits in a pinch, it’s a perfect “walk-about” lens.

You can capture the tiny details and the larger world without switching lenses.

If I had to choose one, get the Olympus if you’re looking for a manual focus macro lens, and get the Canon 100mm f/2.8 L if you’re looking for a workhorse that can do macro and portraits equally well.

I’d recommend the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/3.5 to anyone who finds a good copy at a fair price.

If you have any interest in macro or just want a sharp, portable lens that can shoot anything, this is a fantastic choice.

Thanks for reading, and I will see you next time!