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New Pro Ultra Wide Lenses by Olympus
Olympus has recently announced the addition of two new lenses to the Micro 4/3’s professional lens series – the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye PRO, “The world’s first f1.8 high-performance fisheye lens”, and the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO, completing the triple zoom lens series by M.Zuiko with a fixed aperture of f/2.8.
Both the 7-14mm and the 8mm by Panasonic have been very popular among underwater photographers. Olympus’s lenses are intended for the more professional crowd, with brighter, faster lenses, incredible optics and weather sealing to complete the OM-D EM-1 and E-M5 Mark II weather sealed bodies.
M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8
The M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 is one full stop brighter than the Panasonic 7-14mm f/4. Olympus has used 14 lens elements in 11 groups to create very high quality optics in a small package (only 1.2lbs). Thanks to Zuiko’s Extra Low Reflective Optical Coding (aka Zero coding), ghosting and flaring is practically eliminated.
Just like the other lenses in Zuiko’s Pro lineup, the 7-14mm is dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof. The lens range has a 35mm equivalent of 14-28mm (field of view – 75 to 114 degrees) and maintains a fixed aperture of f/2.8 throughout the entire zoom range, which is excellent for low light conditions. The minimum focus distance is less than 3″ so you can capture some great CFWA shots.
Olympus has incorporated a lens Function button on the lens itself, which can be configured to control 27 different assignable buttons, creating a smoother shooting experience.
We are confident that this lens would be as popular as the Panasonic 7-14mm if not more and it will be one of the leading wide angle lenses for Micro 4/3’s systems.
M.Zuiko 8mm f/1.8
The M.Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 is the first f/1.8 fisheye lens released, which makes it 1.3 stops brighter than any other fisheye lens. This compact lens uses 17 lens element in 15 groups to optimize the end result, which is a 180 degree field of view, with minimal ghosting and flaring thanks to Zuiko’s Zero Coding technology.
Minimum focus distance is just 1″, making it more than ideal for fisheye macro shots such as capturing Nudibranchs with a nice background, or an other CFWA shot.
Olympus especially recommends this lens for UW photography use, showing a cool example taken in the Cenotes of Mexico, making good use of the lens’s bright aperture to light up the scene even in cave diving conditions.
You can’t go wrong with both of these new lenses. They will without a doubt lead the wide angle options for Micro 4/3 systems in next couple of years.
Seems like the lenses will start shipping July, 2015. Major manufacturers should release compatibility charts soon. We’ll keep you updated!
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