Olympus OM Equipment for Close-up and Macro Photography

Close-up lenses

Introduction

Olympus included 2 single-element close-up lenses in the range of accessories for the OM cameras, one for lenses with a 49 mm filter thread and the other for lenses with a 55 mm filter thread. Both lenses were the same strength, +2.5 diopters.


Olympus OM 49mm Close-Up Lens f=40cm	Olympus OM 55mm Close-Up Lens f=40cm

In addition to these general-purpose close-up lenses, Olympus also made the Close-up Lens 80mm MACRO f=170 mm which is intended for use only with the Zuiko Auto-1:1 Macro 80mm f/4 lens.

Versions

Only one version of each lens is known.

Features

	49mm f=40cm	55mm f=40cm
Focal length	400 mm	400 mm
Dioptre	+ 2.5	+ 2.5
Lens elements	1	1
Lens coating	Single	Single
Diameter	50.9 mm	57 mm
Length	7.0 mm
Weight
Rear filter thread	49 × 0.75 mm	55 × 0.75 mm
Front filter thread	49 × 0.75 mm	55 × 0.75 mm
Case	Hard clear plastic	Hard clear plastic
US catalog no.	104-001	104-002
Introduced	1972	1972
Discontinued	2003	2002

Accessories

The close-up lenses were supplied in a circular, clear plastic container. The Handy Copy Stand provides a convenient way of keeping the camera at the correct distance from the subject when using the close-up lenses.

Instruction leaflet

Reproduced with permission from the copyright owner, Olympus Optical Co., Ltd
Printed 0579

CLOSE-UP LENSES 49mm f=40cm, 55mm f=40cm

These two close-up lenses provide the most economical method of taking close-ups with the OM-1 standard lenses. The 55mm close-up lens is used with the standard 55mm F1.2 and the 49mm close-up lens with both the standard 50mm F1.4 and 50mm F1.8. With these close-up lenses, the minimum focusing distance of the standard lenses can be continuously varied from 45cm (17 ¾″) to 19cm (7 ¼″). At the minimum distance, a 12 × 8cm (4 ¾″ × 3 1/8″) area can be photographed full in the frame.

The 49mm close-up lens can also be used with the ZUIKO Macro 50mm.

How to Use Close-up Lenses

These close-up lenses thread directly on the standard lenses without affecting the automatic diaphragm mechanism.
Since depth of field is extremely shallow in close-up photography, the lens aperture should be stopped down between F8 and F11 to obtain maximum sharpness.
Make it a rule to use a focusing stage, tripod and cable shutter release to eliminate vibrations that could degrade the image quality.
For the best picture quality, light the subject area as evenly as possible.

OLYMPUS
OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO. LTD.
43-2 Hatagaya 2-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Alternatives

After Olympus shifted their emphasis away from the OM series, they introduced better-quality, achromatic close-up lenses for their fixed-lens iS-series SLRs. These close-up lenses were available in both 49mm and 55mm sizes, and were supplied with a plastic diffuser to fit over the camera’s built-in flash.

Olympus iS/L Lens A-Macro H.Q. Converter f=40cm

	iS/L Lens A-Macro H.Q. Converter f=40cm	iS/L Lens B-Macro H.Q. Converter f=40cm	iS/L Lens A-Life Size Macro H.Q. Converter f=13cm
Focal length	400 mm	400 mm	130 mm
Dioptre	+ 2.5	+ 2.5	+ 8
Lens elements	2	2	3
Lens groups	1	2	3
Lens coating	Single	Single
Length	12 mm	11 mm	19 mm
Diameter	56 mm	64 mm	60 mm
Rear filter thread	49 × 0.75 mm	55 × 0.75 mm	49 × 0.75 mm
Front filter thread	None	None
Weight	67 g	105 g	120 g
Case	Soft plastic pouch

These iS series close-up lenses can be used on OM lenses with 49 mm and 55 mm filter threads, and produce significantly better results than the close-up lenses designated for the OM series.