New Olympus M43 PRO lenses in the works - due 2015

[SnappingShark]

Not sure if anybody saw this prior - but thought I'd throw it out there for any Olympus M43 owners, or even others who want to use these lenses on their M43 bodies.

Olympus announces the development of two new M.ZUIKO lenses, adding to its award-winning PRO series line-up, the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO (14mm-28mm 35mm equivalent) and M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 300mm F4 PRO (600mm 35mm equivalent). Both Olympus lenses deliver first-of-its kind performance to the M.ZUIKO PRO series and are scheduled to launch in 2015.
The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO is the first-ever wide-angle zoom lens in the M.ZUIKO PRO series. This compact and lightweight lens maintains a dustproof and splashproof design to compliment the rugged durability of the Olympus OM-D® E-M1 and E-M5. True to ZUIKO standards, the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO features sharpness to the edges of the image and excellent performance for professional use.

DANG!!! I want both of them!!! Lucky I have til next year to save!

 

[Derrel]

Oly's earlier line of pro-oriented lenses were AMAZING optics, priced very high, but with stellar MTF curves and astounding real-world field reports, but at that time, the smaller-format cameras were struggling badly, and as I understand it, Olympus quit producing those fine lenses. Michael Reichmann over at LuLa raved about the performance those lenses gave. My guess is that these two new pro-oriented lenses will offer stellar performance. A 300mm f/4 lens is about the same size and diameter/length as most 70-200 f/2.8 zooms, so it's not onerous to carry one, and you do not look like a freak when you have one out and about, like at the beach, so wow, 600mm effective FOV from a lens of that size, that oughtta' be a really AWESOME "big glass" tele for the m4/3 crowd.

 

[SnappingShark]

Oly's earlier line of pro-oriented lenses were AMAZING optics, priced very high, but with stellar MTF curves and astounding real-world field reports, but at that time, the smaller-format cameras were struggling badly, and as I understand it, Olympus quit producing those fine lenses. Michael Reichmann over at LuLa raved about the performance those lenses gave. My guess is that these two new pro-oriented lenses will offer stellar performance. A 300mm f/4 lens is about the same size and diameter/length as most 70-200 f/2.8 zooms, so it's not onerous to carry one, and you do not look like a freak when you have one out and about, like at the beach, so wow, 600mm effective FOV from a lens of that size, that oughtta' be a really AWESOME "big glass" tele for the m4/3 crowd.

Yeah - I'm slightly scared by the potential price tag though!! And it would also probably feel better on the small body if the body had a battery grip to make it feel sturdy - extra money.

 

[Derrel]

I figure it'll be priced at $1399 or so.

 

[SnappingShark]

Given the Nikon 600mm f/4 is just under $10k, and the 300mm f/4 is just over $1k

That's not TOOOO bad!

 

[jaomul]

Be a good wildlife lens if the camera focus is up to it. Do you find the olly as good as the Nikon at continuous af?

 

[The_Traveler]

I'll preorder at least the 7-14 when its available and probably the 300 too.
For sports ooh baby.

 

[SnappingShark]

To be honest, I don't use continuous AF much at all - but I can say that the Oly is super fast at focusing otherwise!

Continuous AF does hunt quite a bit, and just holding camera down by side turned on, you feel it constantly hunting.

 

[Ido]

Darn it, I want all 4 Olympus PRO lenses announced: 7-14mm f/2.8, 12-40mm f/2.8, 40-150mm f/2.8 and 300mm f/4. I myself am especially interested in the 40-150, especially if the price is around $1,000, because I do a lot of panoramas using these focal lengths.

 

[Ron Evers]

I'll preorder at least the 7-14 when its available and probably the 300 too.
For sports ooh baby.

Damit Lew, I wish I had your disposable income.

Ron, the poor pensioner.

 

[The_Traveler]

I'll preorder at least the 7-14 when its available and probably the 300 too.
For sports ooh baby.

Damit Lew, I wish I had your disposable income.

Ron, the poor pensioner.

My secret of success is that I raised 5 intelligent attractive children - and then sold them for a substantial profit.