The MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 on Micro Four Thirds Review

As promised in the latest and last edition of the OSP magazine, here’s the review of the MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 on Micro Four Thirds Camera. The test photos that belong to this review are on my gallery. (The lens is also available for: E, FX, M4/3, EOSM, NEX)

I really like using old lenses, especially Olympus Zuiko OM and also M42 and PK lenses. However, you always need to use an adapter, and no matter how well that works, you still have that extra length that comes with your lens. That is why I also like to own a manual lens kit with a dedicated mount. For me, it’s mainly about the smaller lenses, because from telephoto it doesn’t matter much whether there is an adapter in between or not. By smaller lenses I mean wide angle to standard lenses. I already have a Laowa 10mm f2.0, so I wanted a lens with a slightly narower angle, that’s how I found and ordered the MCO Plus 14mm f3.5. There is very little to be found on internet about this lens, so I think this review could be interesting for any other potential buyers.

This review is about whether this lens is easy to handle, and whether it takes pleasant pictures. Sharpness ? any lens is rather soft than sharp fully open, sometimes even the expensive ones. It usually improves when you stop down. In the end it’s all about how deep you want to go into your wallet, in case of the MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 it’s not that deep. The MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 costs about €170, Since I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the slightly cheaper TTArtisan 23mm, I was curious how this MCO 14mm would perform.

A 28mm lens on 35mm film or Full Frame used to be the most commonly used wide-angle lens, and this MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 corresponds to that on micro four thirds.

Specifications :

Focal length 14mm – Aperture range f3.5 – 16 – Filter M52 – Weight 240gr – Actual dimensions L 55 x D 60mm (the dimensions of the lens do not match those of the official MCO Plus website) – Lens angle horizontal 78° – Fixed metal hood, Full metal lens – Available for : E, FX, M4/3, EOSM, NEX – Link: http://www.mcoplus213.com/productshow.asp?ArticleID=47UQ862ZSX

Unboxing :

The lens comes in a simple cardboard box, packed in a bubble foil bag. There is no manual or warranty card. The specifications of the lens are on the outside of the box. The rear cap of the lens comes off (to) easily and cannot be firmly secured to the m4/3 bayonet lens mount. The lens front cap has two buttons and a spring, and is easy to mount. The Lens has a fixed lens hood, so it cannot be removed. The lens hood is also made of metal, just like the entire lens. Also included in the box is a soft lens cloth.

The lens :

The aperture sits against the camera and goes from f3.5 to f16 and is clickless, with the necessary resistance, but during focusing I also accidentally changed the aperture several times. The aperture ring has a width of approximately 10mm. The aperture ring is difficult to set precisely because it goes from f3.5 to f16 in about 12mm. The lack of click stops does not make setting easier. The next 10mm contains the DOF scale and distance settings, in front of that is the actual focus ring, which is also about 10mm wide. The last 25mm is lens hood. The focus ring needs almost half a turn to go from 0.15cm to infinity. The ring has a good and pleasant resistance.

First impression :

The lens feels sturdy due to the all-metal construction, the fixed metal hood helps protect the lens from accidental impacts – but probably not everyone will like this. Personally, I find the fixed metal lens hood an advantage. Despite the lens hood, the lens remains compact enough and the design is like a classic lens from the 70s – 80s. The aperture ring could have been better, it is difficult to set precisely, and easily moves out of place during focusing. The DOF scale is less clear than on the TTArtisan 23mm but ok. The focus ring moves pleasantly, but where infinity precisely is located is a mystery, from the infinity sign the setting ring still passes by almost 5 mm. Because the distances are close together, and the aperture is difficult to set, it is also difficult to use the DOF scale to set hyperfocal distance. Applying an UV or protective filter is also not easy, because the lens hood is in the way, screwing on a filter is problematic, and with a “smart” filter almost impossible I think – so only standard filters can be used.

There is not much space to screw in a filter !

Size comparison MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 – TTArtisan 23mm f1.4

In practice :

With an Olympus camera you can focus manually in two ways, via focus peaking, and via magnify. The latter can be done at 3x, 5x, 7x, 10x and 14x – more magnification possibilities than on a Fuji camera actually, and that is very handy ! Focusing goes reasonably well, although you sometimes get the impression that you are not fully focused on camera. However, on computer all photos are (reasonably) sharp – at least from a distance – and certainly not on photos that have been taken completely open. This is not a lens for pixel peepers ! The lens performs best at f5.6 – f8 – only, that is not so easy to set, because the f values are very close to each other.

Because I paid a little more for this lens (€170) than for the great TTArtisan 23mm f1.4 (€120), I am a bit disappointed, although the photos taken with this lens are certainly acceptable.

Alternatives:

A Samyang 14mm is a lot better, but it also costs more than double, weighs more than double, and the lens is a lot bigger too. On the other hand, there is a much better image quality. It’s all about choices, I myself was looking for a smaller, not too expensive, and in the style of a vintage 28mm lens, and the MCO Plus 14mm f3.5 fits that choice.

Pro : Solid build quality, built-in lens hood, small compact lens, cheap

Con : aperture clickless, aperture values too close together – making it difficult to set precisely, built-in lens hood difficult for mounting filters, smart filters impossible

Samples overview – to see these pictures in detail on my gallery – click here or on the picture below :

Thanks for reading !
I hope you liked my review and found it helpful.
Hope to see you here again !

La Gallerie

The photo gallery of Open Source Photography, Olympus micro 4/3 system, Vintage Lens Photograpy, Film Simulation, PictureFX, HDR – Photographer : Marc R.