Sigma today announced development of 18 - 50 mm F3.5 - F5.6 and 55 - 200 mm F4.0 - F5.6 lenses which will be compatible with the "Four Thirds System". The Four Thirds System was devised by Olympus as a new standard for lens interchangeable digital SLR's, it consists of a standard sensor size, lens mount and body to lens communication protocol. At PMA last month Olympus announced that Panasonic, Sanyo and Sigma had joined itself, Fujifilm and Kodak as the group of companies supporting the Four Thirds System. This is the first announcement from anyone other than Olympus who are producing compatible equipment.

Press Release:

Interchangeable lens development for "Four Thirds System"

The Sigma Corporation has announced that we will support the "Four Thirds" Digital SLR Camera System standard by developing interchangeable lenses for this system.

As demand for digital SLR cameras increase, this decision is mainly aimed at developing products for the Four Thirds System, and is intended to meet the requirements of users who wish to enjoy the benefits of a wider range of product selection.

We are going to enhance our advanced interchangeable lens development technology, and maximize our efforts to develop attractive products, which will be utilized by the Four Thirds System.

Production will start with the 18-50mm f3.5-5.6 and 55-200mm f4-5.6. Pricing and availability are yet to be confirmed.

In addition to this new effort, we will continue the development of our SA camera mount lens system and interchangeable lens technology overall.