Lens News

It’s Macro SmackDown! If the cost were the same, which Olympus macro lens would you buy for your Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera, the 60mm f/2.8 or the 30mm f/3.5? We shot with both and came to a conclusion that might surprise you.

Olympus announced the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 (35mm equivalent 24-400mm) super telephoto zoom lens this morning. 

Olympus has introduced two new premium M.ZUIKO Digital PRO lenses: the M.ZUIKO Digital ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO lens (an ultra-wide-angle zoom with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 14-28mm) and the M.ZUIKO Digital ED 8mm Fisheye PRO lens, (f/1.8 aperture, with a minimum working distance of just 2.5cm).

The M.ZUIKO Digital ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO is ideal for wide-angle shooting in any weather condition. It includes weather sealing in 11 locations, enabling use in rain and snow or even on the beach—facing the hazards of ocean spray and dust. At just under 19 ounces, the M.ZUIKO Digital ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO is about 45 percent lighter than similar lenses.

Olympus took the wraps off a new version of its OM-D E-M1 mirrorless, compact system camera at photokina this morning and this Micro Four Thirds-based model now features a new silver look and is loaded with updated firmware designed to help studio photographers. Olympus also debuted the new M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm f2.8 PRO lens at the show.

It’s now widely appreciated that many great old lenses of the analog era can capture images that have that elusive quality known as character. Writers of the early 20th    century tried to express these qualities by describing them as “rounded” “luminous” or “plastic” rendition, but later writers and scientists dismissed such terms as imprecise and speculative, turning to resolution and later MTF testing to quantify lens performance parameters.

Professional photographers live by their lenses—they know they’re one of the keys to capturing high-quality images. That’s why they often spend thousands of dollars for a lens that’s optimized for their type of shooting, or gives them an edge over their competitors. But is it possible for serious photo enthusiasts without deep pockets or a business write-off to acquire lenses that deliver professional caliber imaging performance for a lot less money?

Lensbaby Spark: This lens is ideal for young enthusiasts, students or beginner photographers who want to break out of traditional photography. The Spark is a fun, affordable way to capture selective focus images with your DSLR camera. It features a unique selective focus optic and a tilting lens body—allowing users to capture creative images in-camera that have a sweet spot of focus surrounded by blur. It is an all plastic (except for multi-coated glass doublet optic) 50mm selective focus lens with a f/5.6 fixed aperture made for use with for Canon and Nikon DSLRs. Spark is compatible with the rest of the optics in the Optic Swap System, and with all Lensbaby 37mm threaded accessory lenses. The suggested retail price is $89.95.