Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Zuiko 100mm f/2

Olympus · Olympus OM · 1985

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Olympus OM Zuiko 100mm f/2 · Zuiko Auto-T 100mm f/2 · Zuiko Auto-T 100mm 1:2 · OM-System Zuiko Auto-T 1:2 f=100mm · Zuiko 100mm f2 ED · ズイコー 100mm F2 · OM ZUIKO AUTO-T 100mm F2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Zuiko Auto-T 100mm f/2 Olympus OM 1985 — —
  1. The launch year. mir.com.my says the lens "occurred quite late in 1984" and that it followed the OM-4, and reproduces it from a 1985 OM-4 sales catalogue; the Olympus lens data carried on the eSIF site comes from the Lens Handbook of October 1985, which lists it. The page carries 1985; a late-1984 announcement is mir.com.my's alone.
  2. Weight. The Olympus SIF table, Wikipedia's transcription of it, Phillip Reeve and om-mania all give 520g; mir.com.my's own spec box gives 500g. The table carries 520.
  3. Price. om-mania gives a list price of ¥99,000 with no year; mir.com.my gives US$700 at the time of writing (about 2003) and US$550 "a few years earlier", neither a launch price. No dated list price has been found, so the price fields are empty.
  4. No serial-number blocks, production total or discontinuation year for this lens have been found in any source consulted. Alan Wood's serial tabulations cover the macro lenses only.
  5. The ED claim. mir.com.my says the lens was "one of the two 35mm lenses under 180mm focal length in the market to use ED glass" at its launch, the other being Leica's APO-Macro Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8. That comparison is mir.com.my's; Olympus's own text says only "special low dispersion glass and extraordinary partial dispersion glass".
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Built-in hood, 55mm filter, 72mm long and 70mm across: the f/2.8 has a 49mm filter and a screw-in hood
  • Nine aperture blades (Phillip Reeve); f/2 to f/22

Zuiko Auto-T 100mm f/2:

  • Black barrel with a built-in sliding hood, 55mm filter, 520g: twice the weight of the 100mm f/2.8
  • Focuses to 0.7m, a fifth life size, where the f/2.8 stops at 1m
  • Engraved OLYMPUS OM-SYSTEM ZUIKO AUTO-T 1:2 f=100mm; no ED marking on the ring, though every source describes the glass as ED

Specifications

Formula
7 elements in 6 groups, ED and anomalous-dispersion glass in the front groups, floating rear group for close-range correction
Construction
7 elements / 6 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/22
Diaphragm blades
9
Min. focus
0.7 m
Dimensions
70 × 72 mm
Weight
520 g
Filter
55 mm
Years manufactured
1985
Country
Japan
Coating
Multicoated throughout; one version only

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Chromatic aberration
axial on metal
Vignetting
noticeable at f/2
Flare & ghosting
poor into sun
Distortion
slight pincushion
Optical formula — 7 elements in 6 groups, ED and anomalous-dispersion glass in the front groups, floating rear group for close-range correction

History

Olympus had sold a 100mm f/2.8 since the OM system began in 1972, a five-element lens the size of a standard 50. The 100mm f/2 is a different thing altogether: seven elements in six groups, a floating rear group for close-range correction, and in the front groups what Olympus’s sales file calls special low dispersion glass and extraordinary partial dispersion glass. It weighs 520g, twice the f/2.8, has a built-in hood and a 55mm filter, and focuses to 0.7m for a fifth life size, which is close to macro territory for a lens of this type. mir.com.my says it came late in 1984, after the OM-4; the Olympus Lens Handbook of October 1985 lists it, and this page dates it 1985.

It belongs to the group of fast, expensive Zuikos Olympus produced in the early and mid 1980s alongside the 21mm f/2, the 50mm f/2 macro, the 90mm f/2 macro and the 250mm f/2, lenses built for reputation rather than volume. mir.com.my’s claim, which no other source repeats, is that at launch it was one of only two 35mm lenses under 180mm with ED glass on the market, the other being Leica’s APO-Macro Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8. Takayama Jin, an optical designer writing on lensreview.xyz, traces the design to patent JP S57-111506, in which two groups move together during focusing so that the correction holds from infinity to the close limit.

Reviewers agree on the essentials. Phillip Reeve, who calls it one of his all-time favourites, finds it very sharp in the centre and the corners at f/2, with bokeh that is “just always super smooth”. Braddon-Mitchell’s guide says the same in fewer words: very sharp across the frame from wide open, outstanding bokeh. om-mania’s Japanese verdict is flawless rendering to the edges from full aperture and, above all, good colour. The faults are also agreed: noticeable vignetting at f/2 that clears by f/2.8, a small amount of pincushion distortion, axial colour on bright metallic edges that the ED glass reduces but does not remove, and a real weakness shooting into the sun, where the built-in hood is too short to help.

There is only one version. No source consulted records a change of engraving, coating or optics, and none publishes serial blocks, a production total or a discontinuation year; Alan Wood’s serial tabulations stop at the macro lenses. What it cost is likewise only half on record: om-mania gives ¥99,000 without a year, and mir.com.my gives US$700 around 2003 with US$550 a few years earlier, neither a launch price. On the used market it has been dear for a long time, US$600 to 800 in Braddon-Mitchell’s guide and US$440 to 590 in the mu-43 thread of 2018 to 2020.

When buying, work the sliding hood and the focus ring through the full 0.7m to infinity range; the floating group adds a second helicoid, and any roughness or play is a sign it has been apart. Check the front and rear groups for haze against a torch, and count the nine aperture blades for oil. There is no earlier or cheaper version to be confused with, only the f/2.8, which has a 49mm filter, a screw-in hood and half the weight.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Zuiko 100mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $780 across 33 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-18 (middle half $600–$960). First day tracked.

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Show 52 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-09-18. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Zuiko 21mm f/2 · Zuiko 50mm f/2 Macro · Zuiko 85mm f/2 · Zuiko 90mm f/2 Macro

Sources (9)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.