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

Zuiko 85mm f/2

Olympus · Olympus OM · 1972

single source, unconfirmed via machine translation — corrections welcome

Also known as: Olympus OM Zuiko 85mm f/2 · Zuiko Auto-T 85mm f/2 · Zuiko MC Auto-T 85mm f/2 · F.Zuiko Auto-T 85mm f/2 · OM-System Zuiko Auto-T 1:2 f=85mm · Zuiko 85mm 1:2 · ズイコー 85mm F2 · OM ZUIKO AUTO-T 85mm F2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
F.Zuiko Auto-T 85mm f/2, silver nose, single-coated · 6 elements in 4 groups, with the close-range correction group (Olympus SIF, mir.com.my) Olympus OM 1972 100xxx to 115xxx (omexperience; theatreofnoise gives the same block) —
Zuiko Auto-T 85mm f/2, black nose, 116xxx block Olympus OM — 116xxx to 130xxx (omexperience; theatreofnoise) —
Zuiko MC Auto-T 85mm f/2, 5 elements, 200xxx block onward · 5 elements in 4 groups, with the close-range correction group (Olympus SIF, mir.com.my); one cemented pair of the F.Zuiko became a single element (omexperience) Olympus OM — 200xxx to about 204xxx, engraved Zuiko MC (omexperience; theatreofnoise gives 200xxx to 201xxx)
about 204xxx to 221xxx, engraved Zuiko only, later coating (omexperience; theatreofnoise gives 208xxx to 216xxx) 		—
  1. The 116xxx to 130xxx block. omexperience: black ring, marked MC, 5 elements in 4 groups. theatreofnoise: black ring, F. dropped, multicoated but not labelled MC, "6/4 or possibly 5/4". The two agree on the barrel and disagree on the glass and on the label. Nothing consulted here resolves it, so the block is a variant with no formula stated.
  2. Two sources for the serial blocks, but not obviously two independent ones: theatreofnoise (November 2024) sets out the same 100/116/200 boundaries as omexperience and adds a fourth split at 208xxx. Both are collectors' tabulations from lenses seen, not factory records.
  3. The black-nose F.Zuiko rests on Braddon-Mitchell's guide alone ("merely cosmetically different"). The single-source badge applies to that claim.
  4. Price. om-mania.com gives a list price of ¥64,000 without a year or a version; mir.com.my gives US$370 to 420 new from McBroom's Camera Blue Book, also undated. Neither is dated well enough for the price fields.
  5. Length. The Olympus SIF table gives 46mm; omexperience measures the later 5-element barrel at 48mm and the F.Zuiko at 46mm. The table carries the SIF figure.
  6. No source consulted gives the aperture blade count, a discontinuation year, or a production total. mir.com.my's 1986 catalogue scan shows the lens still current then.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • 49mm filter on every version, 260g on every version; the barrel is 60mm across
  • The engraving does the dating: F.ZUIKO is the 6-element lens, ZUIKO MC and the late plain ZUIKO are the 5-element lens
  • Silver filter ring means an early F.Zuiko; a black ring can be any of the later blocks

F.Zuiko Auto-T 85mm f/2, silver nose, single-coated:

  • Chrome filter ring, the silver nose; front ring engraved OLYMPUS OM-SYSTEM F.ZUIKO AUTO-T 1:2 f=85mm
  • The F prefix is Olympus's element-count letter: F is the sixth letter, six elements
  • Single-coated; no MC on the ring

Zuiko Auto-T 85mm f/2, black nose, 116xxx block:

  • Black filter ring; the F. dropped from the engraving
  • Multicoated. omexperience reads the ring as marked MC; theatreofnoise reads the same block as multicoated but without an MC label¹

Zuiko MC Auto-T 85mm f/2, 5 elements, 200xxx block onward:

  • Black nose; ring engraved OLYMPUS OM-SYSTEM ZUIKO MC AUTO-T 1:2 f=85mm on the 200xxx lenses
  • The last lenses drop the MC and reorder the engraving to ZUIKO AUTO-T 85mm 1:2; same 5-element optics
  • omexperience measures the later barrel at 48mm against 46mm for the F.Zuiko

Serial-range notes

100xxx to 115xxx
The single-coated F.Zuiko. Braddon-Mitchell says the F.Zuiko exists with both a silver and a black filter ring and that the two are optically the same; neither omexperience nor theatreofnoise records a black-nose F.Zuiko, so its serial position is not known.
204xxx onward
omexperience puts the change from the Zuiko MC engraving to a plain Zuiko engraving at about 204,000 and reads the plain engraving as the later coating collectors call NMC. theatreofnoise's own lens is in the 208xxx to 216xxx block with that engraving. The optics do not change; this is a coating and engraving note, not a variant.
201529
Arkady Shapoval's review lens: engraved ZUIKO MC AUTO-T 1:2 f=85mm, 5 elements in 4 groups, 260g.

Specifications

Formula
Short telephoto with a floating group for close-range correction: 6 elements in 4 groups on the F.Zuiko, recomputed to 5 elements in 4 groups on the later lenses
Construction
5 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/16
Min. focus
0.85 m
Dimensions
60 × 46 mm
Weight
260 g
Filter
49 mm
Years manufactured
1972
Country
Japan
Coating
Single-coated on the F.Zuiko; multicoated from the 116xxx block, engraved MC from the 200xxx block; a later coating on the plain Zuiko engraving from about 204xxx

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

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

Chromatic aberration
purple-green fringing
Flare & ghosting
hood advisable

History

The 85mm f/2 was in the Olympus OM line from the start in 1972, and it was built to the OM idea: a fast short telephoto no bigger than a standard lens, 260g behind a 49mm filter, with a telephoto ratio Olympus quoted as 1.06. Olympus’s sales file makes one specific claim for it, that it was the first telephoto in the world with a floating group for close-range correction, and mir.com.my adds that for years it was the only Zuiko telephoto to have one. That is why it focuses to 0.85m and holds its quality there.

Two optical designs wore the name. The first is the F.Zuiko, six elements in four groups, single-coated, and on the earliest lenses fitted with the chrome filter ring collectors call the silver nose. The letter is Olympus’s element count, F for six. At some point Olympus recomputed the lens to five elements in four groups, one cemented pair becoming a single element, and dropped the F from the engraving. mir.com.my says the new lens kept the old weight and the floating mechanism. Reviewers who have used both, Braddon-Mitchell among them, say the five-element lens is the sharper and more contrasty of the two.

Where the change happened is the argument. Two collectors’ tabulations, omexperience and theatreofnoise, agree on the serial blocks: F.Zuiko at 100xxx to 115xxx, a black-nose lens with the F. dropped at 116xxx to 130xxx, then a jump to 200xxx for the Zuiko MC engraving, with the MC itself disappearing from the ring at about 204xxx while the coating went on improving. They disagree about the 116xxx block. omexperience calls it the five-element lens, marked MC. theatreofnoise calls it multicoated but unlabelled and will only say “6/4 or possibly 5/4”. This page carries that block as its own variant and leaves the formula blank, because nothing consulted settles it. A buyer who wants the five-element optics for certain should look for a 200xxx number.

On the glass itself the reviewers largely agree. Wide open it is sharp enough to use, with a little veiling and a moderate amount of colour error; by f/2.8 it is confidently sharp, and the difference between f/2 and stopped down on a late lens is, in omexperience’s words, very tiny. The bokeh is the reason people buy it: neutral, smooth, unfussy. The recorded faults are purple and green fringing in the out-of-focus areas on the MC lens Shapoval tested, and a loss of contrast in back-light that wants the 49mm screw-in hood. The Japanese verdict on om-mania is a shade cooler, a little sleepy at f/2 and good from f/4.

What is not on record is what it cost when new, with a year attached. om-mania gives ¥64,000 without a date or a version; mir.com.my gives a US price from a used blue book. Nor does any source consulted give the blade count, the year it left the catalogue, or how many were made. When buying, check the filter ring for the engraving before the price, check the floating group by focusing to 0.85m and back for any roughness, and check the front element for haze, which is the ordinary failure of OM lenses of this age.

Expand Collapse

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 taken with the Zuiko 85mm f/2
OM-System Zuiko 85mm f/2 (Hinnerk11) — Hinnerk11, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Zuiko 85mm f/2
OM-System Zuiko 85mm f/2, second view (Hinnerk11) — Hinnerk11, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sample photo taken with the Zuiko 85mm f/2
F.Zuiko 85mm f/2 (256g on the uploader's scale) with the G.Zuiko 28/3.5, G.Zuiko 35/2.8 and E.Zuiko 135/3.5 (huzu1959) — huzu1959 from Saitama, Japan, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Zuiko 85mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $350 across 26 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-18 (middle half $300–$440). First day tracked.

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

Show 23 more listings

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

Related: Zuiko 100mm f/2 · Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 · Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 · Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 · 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.