New article on our blog:
New Olympus 8mm & 7-14mm Lenses: Will They Fit Your Housing?
First Look at these Exciting New Olympus Wide Angle Lenses for Underwater Photography.
We had a chance to take a quick look at the new Olympus M.Zuiko ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye ($999) and Olympus M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f2.8 ($1299) PRO lenses yesterday in the store.
These beauties look to set a new standard in micro-four thirds lenses for underwater use. They are part of the new Olympus PRO line that started with the mz12-40mm PRO lens last year, that are dust, water and weather-sealed with all-metal mounts. No, you can't them underwater without a housing, but they will easily withstand wet hands, rain, dust, cold (to 14F) and humidity. These are extremely well-built and have a rugged design, with very low chromatic aberration.
Physically, the Pro series are very smooth and easy-to-use as compared to some of Olympus's earlier light-weight lenses in plastic mounts that sometimes bound a little. They are larger and not the size of those smaller self-storing "pocket" lenses. But the trade off is worth it. Compared to the Panasonic equivalent lenses, these lenses are much faster and should be quite a bit sharper.
But what difference does a fast lens make if you're stopping down while using strobes anyway? Auto focus speed is probably the biggest reason, especially with contrast autofocus bodies like most m4/3rds cameras, with the ability to use available light for larger scenes placing a solid second. (continued here...)
New Olympus 8mm & 7-14mm Lenses: Will They Fit Your Housing?First Look at these Exciting New Olympus Wide Angle Lenses for Underwater Photography.
We had a chance to take a quick look at the new Olympus M.Zuiko ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye ($999) and Olympus M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f2.8 ($1299) PRO lenses yesterday in the store.
These beauties look to set a new standard in micro-four thirds lenses for underwater use. They are part of the new Olympus PRO line that started with the mz12-40mm PRO lens last year, that are dust, water and weather-sealed with all-metal mounts. No, you can't them underwater without a housing, but they will easily withstand wet hands, rain, dust, cold (to 14F) and humidity. These are extremely well-built and have a rugged design, with very low chromatic aberration.
Physically, the Pro series are very smooth and easy-to-use as compared to some of Olympus's earlier light-weight lenses in plastic mounts that sometimes bound a little. They are larger and not the size of those smaller self-storing "pocket" lenses. But the trade off is worth it. Compared to the Panasonic equivalent lenses, these lenses are much faster and should be quite a bit sharper.
But what difference does a fast lens make if you're stopping down while using strobes anyway? Auto focus speed is probably the biggest reason, especially with contrast autofocus bodies like most m4/3rds cameras, with the ability to use available light for larger scenes placing a solid second. (continued here...)
Last edited:
