NewsFebruary 2005

Previous news story    Next news story

Olympus announces three 4/3 lenses

Pre-PMA 2005: Olympus has today announced the development of three new Zuiko Digital Four Thirds lenses compatible with the E-system. The first two are the wideangle Zuiko Digital ED 14 - 35 mm and telephoto zoom Zuiko Digital ED 35 - 100 mm lens, which are said to be the only interchangeable lenses to offer the world's first fixed aperture of F2.0 across the entire zoom range. The third new lens designed to appeal to sports and nature photographers is the Zuiko Digital ED 90 - 250 mm. All lenses are dust and splash proof and use Super ED or ED glass elements to minimize chromatic aberration.

Press Release:

Range of ZUIKO DIGITAL Zoom Four Thirds lenses set to expand

LONDON 17th February 2005 Olympus is today announcing the development of three new FourThirds standard, professional-grade interchangeable lenses for the Olympus E-System. Each of the lenses boasts exceptionally wide, fixed apertures and photographers can look forward to shooting with increased versatility and efficiency.

The ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm (35mm equiv: 28-70mm) 1:2.0 and ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 35-100mm (35mm equiv: 70-200mm) 1:2.0 are understood to be the world’s first fully interchangeable lenses to feature an aperture of 1:2.0 across their entire zooming range. These two lenses give photographers the freedom to apply a 1:2.0 aperture from a wide-angle focal length of 14mm (35mm equiv: 28mm) to telephoto 100mm (35mm equiv: 200mm).

The ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90-250mm (35mm equiv: 180-500mm) 1:2.8 also provides high brightness right up to its ultra-telephoto extreme focal length of 250mm (35mm equiv: 500mm). The power of the lens will make it especially attractive to exponents of sports or nature photography where fast framing is often necessary.

Together with the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm (35mm equiv: 14-28mm) 1:4.0 lens, due to arrive in March 2005, Olympus will soon offer a comprehensive range of fixed-aperture zoom lenses to meet professional specifications, extending from an ultra-wide-angle 7mm (35mm equiv: 14mm) to ultra-telephoto 250mm (35mm equiv: 38-114mm).

All three lenses are splash and dust-proof and utilise Super ED or ED elements, ensuring that chromatic aberration is all but eliminated to deliver only the finest image quality with unparalleled sharpness and definition. Furthermore, photographers can use the shallow depth of field resulting from the wide aperture to deliberately blur the background thereby emphasising the subject.

The Olympus E-System is the world’s first digital SLR system to be based on the FourThirds Standard jointly developed by Olympus and Kodak. This professional system has been designed exclusively for digital photography. It currently comprises the Olympus E-1 and Olympus E-300 SLR bodies plus a range of interchangeable lenses and other accessories. For more details, please visit www.olympus-pro.co.uk

All ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses are designed to maximise the performance of digital SLRs based on the FourThirds Standard. This enables full cross-manufacturer lens interchangeability among camera systems applying the standard, as well as the use of lenses that are small and light but also have a large aperture. Near telecentric optics ensure images have perfect colour, clarity and brightness from the centre to the periphery of the frame. The lenses’ high resolving power makes sure the image sensor obtains the detail it needs to achieve its full potential.

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm (35mm equiv: 28-70mm) 1:2.0

With a zooming range spanning 14-35mm (35mm equiv: 28-70mm), the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm is set to become the brightest all-round interchangeable lens available+. Boasting a 1:2.0 aperture across its entire focal range, it offers photographers exceptional flexibility to boost their effectiveness while on assignment.

Preliminary features

• Ultra-bright 1:2.0 fixed aperture
• Super ED and ED glass elements for absolute minimum chromatic aberration
• Splash and dust proof construction to enhance reliability
• 2.5x wide-angle zoom performance 14-35mm (35mm equiv: 28-70mm)

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 35-100mm (35mm equiv: 70-200mm) 1:2.0

Increasing the focal length but maintaining the aperture at an impressive 1:2.0 over the entire range, the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED is the bright choice for the professional photographer. Together with the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm, a zooming range of 14-100mm (35mm equiv: 28-200mm) is available at an unprecedented, exceptionally fast fixed aperture of 1:2.0.

Preliminary features

• Ultra-bright 1:2.0 fixed aperture
• Super ED and ED glass elements for absolute minimum chromatic aberration
• Splash and dust proof construction to enhance reliability
• 2.9x zoom performance 35-100mm (35mm equiv: 70-200mm)

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90-250mm (35mm equiv: 180-500mm) 1:2.8

Even at the full, ultra-telephoto 250mm focal length (35mm equiv: 500mm), the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90-250mm (35mm equiv: 180-500mm) maintains its bright 1:2.8 aperture. As such, sports, nature and other photographers that rely on fast framing will find particular favour with this lens.

Preliminary features

• Ultra-bright 1:2.8 fixed aperture
• 2.8x telephoto to ultra-telephoto zoom performance 90-250mm (35mm equiv: 180-500mm)
• ED glass elements for absolute minimum chromatic aberration
• Splash and dust proof construction to enhance reliability

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm (35mm equiv: 14-28mm) 1:4.0

Designed for use by pros, the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm 1:4.0 affords photographers with ultra-wide-angle shooting capabilities to enable extraordinarily expressive compositions. With a focal length beginning at merely 7mm (35mm equiv: 14mm) it offers a 114° angle of view – currently the world’s widest for digital zoom lenses+. The minimum working distance (from object to front lens) is just 10cm, allowing exaggerated perspectives.

Main features

• Ultra-wide-angle performance 7-14mm (35mm equiv: 14-28mm) 1:4.0
• 10cm minimum working distance (distance from object to front lens) for expanded shooting capabilities
• Large aperture lens combined with world's first double-sided ED glass-moulded aspherical camera lens of greater than 50mm diameter
• Two Super ED and two ED glass elements for absolute minimum chromatic aberration
• Multi-coating process to significantly minimise ghosting and flaring
• Splash and dust proof construction to enhance reliability

The whole range of ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses now runs from 7 to 300mm (35mm equiv: 14-600mm) :

• Available now! ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm (14-28mm) 1:4.0
• NEW! ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm (28-70mm) 1:2.0
  (available from Autumn 2005)
• NEW! ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 35-100mm (70-200mm) 1:2.0
  (available from Autumn 2005)
• NEW! ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90-250mm (180-500mm) 1:2.8
  (available from Autumn 2005)
• ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm (22-44mm) 1:2.8-3.5
• ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-45mm (28-90mm) 1:3.5-5.6
• ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-54mm (28-108mm) 1:2.8-3.5
• ZUIKO DIGITAL 40-150mm (80-300mm) 1:3.5-4.5
• ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50-200mm (100-400mm) 1:2.8-3.5
• ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50mm (100mm) 1:2.0 Macro
• ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 150mm (300mm) 1:2.0
• ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 300mm (600mm) 1:2.8

Nb: Specifications are subject to change without notice