Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

Olympus also announced two new Micro Four Thirds lenses: The Micro Zuiko 12mm f/2.0 and the Micro Zuiko 45mm f/1.8. I have been wanting to use my own Micro Four Thirds system as a three lens camera, with the three lenses being an ultra-wide, a normal, and a short telephoto. The two lenses almost come close. I say almost, because what I really wanted was something along the lines of a 10mm f/2.8. Still, this is a f/2.0, so it will help with the slightly noisier Micro Four Thirds sensors. Also, the 12mm f/2.0 has something few Micro Four Thirds lenses have: A focusing scale to use hyperfocusing techniques with! The 12mm f/2.0 is shipping now for about US$800 (ouch), and the 45mm f/1.8 will ship in September for about US$400.

Also introduced is a slim compact flash, the FL-300R, which can pivot up and down for various situations. With a guide number of just 19 metres at ISO 100 however, I think bouncing its output is a bad idea. The flash is available now for about US$170. Photos of the 45mm f/1.8 and the flash at the news link.

"Olympus has announced a special "all black" kit for their E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera, and also released two new lenses while they were at it."

So Olympus has announced what essentially is a vanity kit for their E-P2 camera, and more interestingly, two new lenses. The new all-black kit doesn't come with the detacheable EVF, which I find more important than having all black accessories, but hey, I guess vanity has a price, and in this case it is a grand.

The two new lenses are telephoto zooms; there's the US$300 40-150/4-5.6 (to mimick the now very standard consumer 70-300mm zoom) and the US$900 (!) 75-300/4.8-6.7. While Olympus touts the latter as the smallest "600mm" lens, I can't help but think that for the price and the slow aperture, Olympus has made one too many compromise in making it smaller, but not small; compare Nikon's new 55-300/4-5.6 at 3.1" by 4.84" against the Olympus at 2.76" by 4.57". The Nikkor needs to make space for the VR motors as well as cover a larger imaging circle, and costs less than half the price. This is probably why all manufacturers are scrambling towards mirrorless I guess; potentially cheaper construction yet higher sale prices! Photos of the lenses after the break. Read more...