I've been using the Olympus OM 10 for a lil while with its Zuiko 50mm and I'm struggling to find new lenses for that (old) camera.
Would you have any brand/model to recommend? I'm not particularly looking for a special kind of lens. That could be zoom or wide angle. I'd just like something new to play with that vintage camera.
Thanks!
OM mount lenses are typically available from used dealers, eBay and garage sales.
Lenses don't really come in "Best brand". Judge each lens on it's merits. Any lens specified as "OM mount" will work on your camera.
If you're in the US try keh.com.
If you're in the UK try ffordes.com ( yes, a double-f is correct ). I've dealt with Ffordes.
Possible lens choices might be :
The Tamron is an "Adaptall" lens, which were desigend to mount on most 35mm film cameras via adapters. If you get a Tamron adaptall make sure you get an adapter for OM as well. They can be bought on eBay cheaply I'd imagine.
Many of these old lenses can be mounted on modern MILC digital systems via cheap adapters, so there is some demand for them still. But they can still be found relatively cheaply.
I'd recommend sticking with Olympus Zuiko glass. And I kinda love the hell outta my Zuiko 50/1.2, but these days, it probably costs about twice what I got it for, if you can even find it. The 18/3.5 and 21/2 are probably the most-sought collectors' prizes for full-frame digital shooters. If you want a portrait/telephoto lens, I'd say looking for a 135/2.8 is probably the easiest/cheapest.
The good news is Olympus OM lenses have a great reputation optically, and there was a pretty wide selection to choose from. The mir site can give you an overview of what OM lenses were made as well as the nomenclature. And this fredmiranda forum's Alt. Gear board thread might help with examples or experiences with a specific lens.
The bad news is, unlike Minolta MD/MD or Canon FL/FD, OM lenses are useful on dSLRs are well as mirrorless. Canon shooters can adapt OM lenses with simple rings to their dSLRs just like mirrorless shooters can; and Leitax makes kits for Nikon and Pentax. So you're competing with a pretty large pool of other folks to snag those nice little OM lenses. So, yes, these are rarer and more expensive on the used market than they were.
In the US, KEH, B&H, and Adorama would be my first stops to look for used OM glass, because their grading is reliable and they have return policies. You can also try eBay, but you need to make sure the seller has a return policy, or that you're really confident you can accurately grade/judge the lens's function from the listing. And that you have a good affordable CLA guy. :)
