Another Lens Option for Focusing on Composition With Micro 4/3

Olympus 15mm f8 "Body Cap" Lens

Image Source: www.amazon.com

 
I've posted some images that I've taken with the Holga 25mm f8 lens for Micro 4/3 recently. Today, I read a nice post by Ray_S on mu-43.com, where he shared several pictures he took in Philadelphia, using the new Olympus 15mm f8 "Body Cap" lens. Ray_S has listed copyright protection on his images, so I didn't repost any here (too bad, I'd say it's limiting his exposure, but that's not my call).
 
So, (Click Here) to see his images.
 
I really like the composition and look of some of these pictures. There's clearly some processing going on here that makes them look like HDR to me. A bit artificial looking, again in my opinion, but the lens clearly works pretty well.
 
The Olympus lens is a 15mm (30mm field of view equivalent on full-frame 35mm sensors), fixed aperture f8 lens. Just like the Holga, it is a slow lens (f8 requires quite a lot of light), and has a little bit of focus adjustment capability, but it's only rough. At 15mm focal length, focus is not much of an issue anyway - the depth of field is enormous. The Olympus lens is wider angle than the Holga, and I'd venture to say the optics are higher quality than the Holga (not a high bar). The other cool thing about the Olympus lens is that it's tiny. In fact, as the name indicates, you can use it as a body cap for your extra Micro 4/3 camera body; it's only 9mm (~1/3 of an inch) thick. It can also focus close-up, to a minimum distance of 30cm (12 inches).
 
The Olympus lens is more "expensive" than the $25 Holga, but at ~$55, it's hardly going to break the bank for anyone who can afford a Micro 4/3 camera body. My conclusion is that the Olympus Body Cap lens adds nicely to the goal of Micro 4/3 gear overall - compact, easy to use, good (not extraordinary) image quality. Maybe I'll try one.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Wanna Turn Your Nice Micro 4/3 Camera Into A Holga? Olympus Body Cap 15mm Lens.

 

Olympus 15mm f8 "Body Cap" Lens

Image Source: http://www.photographyblog.com/news/olympus_15mm_f_8_body_cap_lens_for_micro_four_thirds/

 
Well, not quite a Holga. This little lens has a focus knob. But, if you push that to infinity, set your iso to 400, and shutter speed to 1/100 second, you've got yourself a "no-touch" craptastic camera, just like the Holga.
 
If you're not familiar with the Holga cheap plastic camera movement, (Click Here) to see the Lomography site.
 
That's right. This tiny little fix f8 (very slow, needs a lot of light) lens fits onto your Micro 4/3 body and can serve as both a body cap, and a rather constrained lens.
 
I found a nice post on Pekka Potka's blog about using the lens on walks with his dog. Pekka indicates all of the limitations of the lens, but still decides to have some fun with it.
 
(Click Here) to read Pekka's blog entry about this lens and see plenty of example images.
 
For me? Certainly not. But, at least Olympus is keeping it interesting.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com