(FT5) New 15mm f/8.0 lens specs….
I still have no info about the price of the lens but here are the specs:
Focal lenght: 15 mm (equivalent to 30 mm on a 35 mm camera) :
Aperture: F8 fixed
Dimensions :Max.dia.Ø56(2.2in.)× length 9 (0.4 in.) mm
Design: 3 groups, 3 lenses
Focus: 0.30 m (11.8 in.) to infinite. Manual Focusing (Three settings)
Weight: 22 g (0.8 oz.)
I have been told there is no data communication between camera and lens. For reference the until now smallest m43 lens is the Panasonic 14mm that is 2.06 cm thick and weights 55g. I have no diea how Olympus will market this lens. WOuld be nice if they give it to tu fro free on any future m43 camera you buy! 
Woodent
10 months ago |ок, I was almost right about free-focus
TomR
10 months ago |Yes, very close. But there still needs to be some kind of focus. For me it is a shame you can’t use the wheel to toggle between three focus points. Anyway, I’m still interested.
E
10 months ago |It’s a 15mm f8.. everything _will_ be in focus.
mpgxsvcd
10 months ago |Could this be a 3D lens?
Esa Tuunanen
10 months ago |Yep, as in three dimensionally flat like body cap.
Sunny
10 months ago |I don´t want to get this lense. Even if it´s given for free.
There are many many lenses I´d like to see for mft:
17 1,8
14-50 2,8-4,0
14-75 3,5-4,5
12-60 2,8-4,0
50-150 4,0
Why wasting ressources for such a nons(l)ense?!
Mal
10 months ago |This is probably a task for one of the junior lens designers. They gotta start somewhere and learn the trade…
Dreamgirl
10 months ago |What’s up with yous guys? Have you never heard of “f8, and be there”? “Education, education, education!” And such wimps scattered throughout the postings – my great grandfather had to manage with an f14 lens [no that's not a typo for 1.4] and carry a boxful of glass plates, etc…..
Booe
10 months ago |You forgot about 6-600/1.2
DonTom
10 months ago |Admin, I agree it would be a great alternative to a body cap for Olympus. Nice marketing trick for them.
Nico Foto
10 months ago |But the lens shade, in classic olympus style, is going to cost you a hundred box, lol!
Farrukh
10 months ago |+1
Ojojo
10 months ago |Has anyone complained it will only be in silver?
It will be so small even by pancake standards, perhaps there should be a new name. Maybe they could make it orange and call it a ginger thin?
Jon Villa Photo
10 months ago |+1
VJVIS
10 months ago |Yeah, but we are not living in your grandfather’s days. Unless it is a 3D lens it is pretty useless. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter since I won’t be buying it, but you can’t put down people who have an issue with it.
Martin-K
10 months ago |and you can’t just state that it will be pretty useless if not 3D. It might be, for you. maybe not, for others.
Documensony
10 months ago |$ 89.00?
TomR
10 months ago |I reckon you might be close
cL
10 months ago |That sounds about right. Basically it’s a slightly better Holga lens with Olympus branding. Probably a fun lens, but it doesn’t sound like stellar performer. Probably target toward Lomo people. I almost bought a set of Holga lenses, but those are plastic lenses. Hope Olympus one is a made with real glass. No communication with the body means no distortion correction also….
Nico Foto
10 months ago |What a ridiculous proposition. Why would we want an olympus branded holga lens? Why would you want a non-plastic holga lens by the way? The idea is to embrace the aberrations, not try to solve them.
Furthermore, by f/8 diffraction is already taking its toll on this system. Shouldn’t it be more like f/5.6 to achieve “best” (whatever that is for this nonsense lens) performance? That would be like f/11 in FF terms for dof, quite reasonable if you ask me…
Anyway, i don’t see myself buying this thing anytime soon…
Martin-K
10 months ago |yes. but it can still be sharp enough for many users/usecases. people have different needs. diffraction at f8.0 is not that bad. and as others have mentioned there is another reason for f8.0, enough DOF.
lol
10 months ago |lol who cares if you’re not buying it? other people might. nonsense lens? i barely think so. you, on the other hand, are spouting nonsense.
Nico Foto
10 months ago |LOL @ lol
cL
10 months ago |Just FYI, the Holga lenses set I wanted includes an el cheapo fish eye lens. Sometimes we just want to shoot for fun, and buy a super expensive FE lens is just not very smart decision. I do care for IQ a lot with my more professional photos, but there are times I just want to shoot Lomo….
While most of us are “enthusiasts” but the largest pie of the market is consisted of people who don’t understand nor care what aperture is. It’s easy to forget about them
. But to companies, it’s a good business. People don’t think nearly as much when the lens is cheap. I’ve been thinking about getting an SHG lens, and now I am still thinking. ;-D A $80 f/8 lomo lens? Probably a nice add-on purchase at the check-out line.
matt jones
10 months ago |As Nico Foto say’s with the limit of diffraction this will be ok on a 12Mp M4/3 but will lose contrast and sharpness on 16Mp M4/3. It seems a regressive step.
Narretz
10 months ago |Too much. I bet $60 maximum.
Milan
10 months ago |We’ve seen kit zooms sold with the body for that price (3x zooms, covering an APS sensor, with IS, ultrasonic focusing motor, etc…).
They cannot charge for this lens when sold with a body. If they sell it separately then yes, but no more than $25.
Nico Foto
10 months ago |Plus extra $$$ for lens shade, lol.
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Nico Photo
“Furthermore, by f/8 diffraction is already taking its toll on this system. Shouldn’t it be more like f/5.6 to achieve “best” (whatever that is for this nonsense lens) performance? That would be like f/11 in FF terms for dof, quite reasonable if you ask me…”
Exactly my arguments.
Rinaldo
10 months ago |At least they are breaking paradigms, e.g. 5-axis, and that’s cool. Let’s see if other companies follow this in the future.
fdfdf
10 months ago |The 5 axis “paradigm ” as you amusingly label it has been in Panasonic video cameras for a while now long before the E-M5 .
RyanWoo
10 months ago |Perhaps it’s splash proof. and set the hyper focal distance, This could be great street photography combo with E-M5.
After all, it has to be cheap, like 50 USD.
Danny
10 months ago |Pentax DA 40mm XS has the same 9mm thickness but is f2.8, optically very good and covers 35mm.
http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/smc-pentax-da-40mm-f2.8-xs.html
It’s quite possible to make a tiny lens without these kinds of compromises…
Miroslav
10 months ago |In order to be the smallest possible, its FL should be around 19mm (for m4/3) and that is covered by Panasonic 20mm and Sigma 19mm and is not wide enough ( for the target audience at least ). The question is whether 9mm is total lens length or is it the length of the part that sticks out from the body when the lens is mounted.
Mar
10 months ago |Pentax is like an iceberg – it’s got more lens INSIDE the mount than outside IIRC, so the overall package is probably 2x as thick.
emde
10 months ago |I do not see any purpose for such a lens. I am interested, which prose the press release will use to substantiate this lens…
Desmond
10 months ago |This is gonna be the default mount cover ~
Lars Beduhn
10 months ago |Only thing I see… bright day street lens. For people that use (LARGE) zone focusing.
And you know… f8 is kind of slow… but other things have been done
To quote wikipedia on Arthur Fellig:
“Most of his notable photographs were taken with very basic press photographer equipment and methods of the era, a 4×5 Speed Graphic camera preset at f/16 at 1/200 of a second, with flashbulbs and a set focus distance of ten feet.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weegee
Sadly I recalled it wrongly. I thought it was NO flash, but f8 he was using… but whatever.
Miklós
10 months ago |Let me guess…
We proud to announce the darkest fixed focal lenght normal-ish lens ever created!
Miroslav
10 months ago |So it’s MF only! It really should be under 50 USD and be bundled with every body instead of sensor cap.
OTOH, knowing Oly lens hood policy, I’m not certain that will happen.
zzvisual
10 months ago |This is not the lens and even not the cap – it a filter working without lens!
TomR
10 months ago |The only way this lens makes sense to me is if it is high grade optics for enthusiasts and particularly street shooters – but could also have application for landscape.
This lens with no manual focus is not good for most users as they will not know how to use it. Not useful to come free with a body. People will just think they have a dud camera.
I am waiting to see samples. It could be interesting. Sometimes restrictions are the key to creativity. Maybe I’ll spend some of tomorrow walking around with my 20mm set to f8 – pre focused to about 10m.
If oly get the optics right I see this lens being loved by a small but passionate group. Just not sure if I will be in that group.
Stageshadow
10 months ago |Should be bundled with a flash!
Miroslav
10 months ago |Should be bundled with the next issue of Amateur photographer
.
Narretz
10 months ago |Haha, that would be great.
fdfdf
10 months ago |should be bundeled with the next issue of “I am a guilable Olympus fanboy and I will buy any BS they tell me “
zzvisual
10 months ago |1. From my (prosumer’s) prospective the idea to make a fixed-aperture, high-optical quality, ULTRASHARP, street-photo oriented, inexpensive lens is a good one. However, as usual, the devil is in the details.
1) Aperture f/8.0 is irrelevant for such a concept since it will stipulate using high ISO with more noise (what is in contradiction with high optical quality I’d expect form such a concept). If I designed this lens, I would put fixed aperture at the f/4-5.6 range. In terms of DOF it corresponds to f/8-11 on FF what is fine for a 30 mm FF-equivalent universal.
2) If it is designed as ultrasharp, it must have continuous focus, otherwise even high DOF will not correct for the softness due to the permanent out-of-focus.
3) If it is designed as a catch-the-moment lens, it must have AF.
2. Consumer’s point. I do not think that three-position manual focus is very attractive for the point-and-shoot amateur audience.
So, the question to Oly: for whom it this product dedicated ???
Miroslav
10 months ago |1) With larger fixed aperture, it could hit shutter speed limit in daylight and DOF would be too thin in certain situations.
2) At F8 you won’t have to worry about DOF. At such aperture, it won’t be ultrasharp, either.
3) With three position MF only it is exactly catch-the-moment lens, because you don’t have to wait for camera to focus. Set focus distance and shoot…
2.
1) Wouldn’t one look cool turning the focus ring
? It’s on many camera commercials, so one could look more “pro”.
2) Many in point-and-shoot amateur audience shoot with mobile phones that have no AF, so as long as they set focus to infinite, they’d be at home with this lens.
Tobias W.
10 months ago |Many funny comments here.
I agree with some here, guessing this is aimed at the Instagram/Lomography crowd out there.
The lens has be really cheap. By really cheap I mean less than the cost of a good steak.
Stevey
10 months ago |Even if it costs less than a steak, I’ll still have mine medium rare please.
That Panasonic 14 f/2.5 looks tasty by comparison eh ?
Milan
10 months ago |And two hard boiled eggs!
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Miroslav
1.
“1) With larger fixed aperture, it could hit shutter speed limit in daylight and DOF would be too thin in certain situations.”
Shooter limit. Didn’t you try to use a PL/ND filter in sunny days (it is always useful, irrespective to the limit)? In my experience (I stay in Italy now with a lot of sunny days) I only reached the limit once with a prime at f/4 and ISO 800. But I agree that ISO25/50 on m43 cameras would be a must.
Thin DOF. Starting form several meters (most common street photo range) this is not an issue on 30 mm f/8-11 FF equivalent. Otherwise, there will be issues with higher noise. And thiner DOF coud be nice if you shoot people from close. At the end, fixed aperture is always a compromise.
“2) At F8 you won’t have to worry about DOF. At such aperture, it won’ be ultrasharp, either.”
This is th reason why I do not see this concept with f/8 useful for prosumers. Only an ultrasharp (and inexpensive, due to the simplified design) lens would be attractive.
3) “With three position MF only it is exactly catch-the-moment lens, because you don’t have to wait for camera to focus. Set focus distance and shoot…”
Suppose you are on the street and shooting a feast. There are people/horses. etc which are constantly coming and leaving from your right range. I cannnot imagine how switching between the ranges by hands can be faster than AF on an entry level m43 camera. Esp. if you are an amateur and have a bad internal “range finder”. Finally, you always can shoot with a fixed aperture/focus on your pancake, if you are lazy to AF
.
2.
“2) Many in point-and-shoot amateur audience shoot with mobile phones that have no AF, so as long as they set focus to infinite, they’d be at home with this lens.”
This is exactly my point: for this audience the lense should either have a fixed focus, or an autofocus, but not the three-point focus which will be confusing (see 1.3)). Otherwise it should be written of the cap explicitly: “Set focus to the third position if you are an amateur”
.
Second, I do not think this audience will buy m43 rather than smartphone (or RX100 etc at best).
Once again, I fail to understand who is the target audience for this product.
zzvisual
10 months ago |PS Another interesting concept is to make fixed-aperture, ULTRASHARP (in the focus) lenses with the smallest possible aperture numbers. This, however would be a sort of the Lensbaby territory.
Miklós
10 months ago |Stop repeating this ULTRASHARP foolishness. f/8 is a way beyond the diffraction limit of the 16MP 4/3″ sensors. It cannot be ultrasharp. Forget it. Period.
Anonymous
10 months ago |O12, O45, O75, PL25, P7-14, P12-35: looking at the sharpness graphs on slrgear, it looks all these great lenses are pretty sharp at f 8.0, and most of the times sharper than wide open.
This is true for O12, O45, O75 & PL25, while P12-35 is better overall at f 8.0 at the wide end, better in the corner at f 8.0 and better in the centre wide open at the tele end. P7-14 is the only one that clearly performs better wide open, but it still is a very solid performer at f 8.0.
Guess 9 mm / 3 lenses will be the real limiting factors for sharpness rather that diffraction…
Macx
10 months ago |The diffraction limitation of the 4:3rds sensor even at 16 megapixels is grossly overstated. Look at the recent reviews of the 75 mm/1.8, for example. It performs well up to and including f/11 on the ‘M5.
You’ll be able to get a sharp image from f/8, even with a 16 megapixel sensor.
chronocommando
10 months ago |not more than 20€/$ or less is an acceptable price as of now.
If the results are stunning maybe 40$/€ might be ok then.
zzvisual
10 months ago |If you read my arguments carefully you’ll see that I use ULTRASHARP as an argument against this f/8 crap.
zzvisual
10 months ago |If you read my comments carefully you’ll see that I use ULTRASHARP as an argument against this f/8 crap.
Daniele Frizzi
10 months ago |E-pl2, this lens, auto iso and grainy black and white art filter.
It has the same target of the 25mm holga lens for m43.
A 50 years step back in IQ, but could be good for some old-looking images
I’m buying this if the price is right.
Agent00soul
10 months ago |This is no doubt a specialty lens for Lomo-type photography. But it suprises me if it has no communication at all. At least it should report focal length etc for the exif. How hard can that be for Olympus?
Stageshadow
10 months ago |No communication means less costs, so i hope it is in the sub 80€ range…
Henrik
10 months ago |If you get it for free, they should include a voucher for free sustainable deposable at your preferred neighbourhood trash dump.
Mungo
10 months ago |I think this lens exists (if it does) because someone changed ordinary cakes for magic brownies before Olympus top-notch Marketing & R&D dept. joint monday meeting.
Nico Foto
10 months ago |Good one, lol! “Anyone wanna some of this cookies? Made with natural herbs in the inside! Try them!”
Anonymous
10 months ago |Lol that should have been a funny meeting !
beautemps
10 months ago |It is of course bundled with a high resolution 64.000 ISO Sensor!
Thats why it is f8!
Reza
10 months ago |In the face of all this fierce opposition, I’ll gladly pay 100 or 150 bucks for this lens. See, there are people who will buy this sort of lens. Just for the heck of it (and for making mft cameras pocketable, a great achievement).
Actually, I’m amazed with the cooke triplet design, which can successfully control all the first order optical aberrations. All your iPhones use this sort of lens design by the way.
And if Olympus decided to use aspherical glass (which is not impossible, many cell phone triplet lenses use them), it might very well control the second order aberrations as well.
P.S. I actually bought an old kodak camera that uses a cook triplet to retrofit the lens for m4/3 as a DIY project, but never quite got around to it. Now, I can leave that project alone and just enjoy Olympus’ version!
Martin-K
10 months ago |+1 I will buy this lens for street/daylight/landscape if it has decent image quality and pricing (I predict 99$), no matter what many here say.
peevee
10 months ago |You will pay $100-$150 for this? Why not buy a $50 P&S then, or shoot with your cellphone? You will get the same quality, and proper EXIF too.
Martin-K
10 months ago |coz I believe (hope) that IQ will be better than with a p&s. Also the mFT cams I already have (so why buy another p&s cam) have a much better button layout, build quality, lcd, evf … than a 50$ p&s cam. But we will see and have to wait for some image quality tests anyway I’d say.
Reza
10 months ago |Not really. Under enough light (outside, daytime) you can shoot at base ISOs and get very clean noise-free results which no P&S can provide, even at their base ISO.
(That’s in theory though, let’s wait to see this thing’s IQ. But f/8 is not enough reason to dismis its IQ).
zzvisual
10 months ago |“+1 I will buy this lens for street/daylight/landscape if it has decent image quality and pricing (I predict 99$), no matter what many here say.”
It already will not give you high resolution since it does not have precise focusing (only three positions) – even f/8 will not save, see my last comment underneath.
Martin-K
10 months ago |??? of course you need to have a correct focus to get a sharp image, but with f8.0 on m43 you will have a very correctly focused sharp image from a distance like 1 meter to infinity (and this will do for many or maybe most cases with street shooting). sharpness will not have to suck as so many here seem to believe.
you need the two other focus positions only for shorter distances like 30cm to 45cm and 45cm to 1 m.
It all depends on what you want to do with this. Having a fun lens and being able to shoot good pictures ultra fast without AF while having a more pocketable solution for maybe 80$ could be interesting.
I really don’t get all this you need AF for this, because you don’t and there are a lot of other lenses with AF (bigger and more expensive). If you must have AF then buy a lens with AF.
I really don’t get this f8.0 is not enough and too dark either, because it will do well enough in light gathering during the day outside, even when cloudy, especially with 800 ISO which is good enough for many too (see the exact light gathering calculations another seemingly competent user named Reza has made here).
I also think Olympus has some experience in making lenses and will not bring out a totally crap lens.
Of course it will most likely not be pro and many will have no need for it at all, so what? That does not make this a useless nonsense lens or a lens that nobody will buy. I repeat, others may have other needs. Let’s wait and see. Image quality and price will decide if it’ll be successful or not. we can’t know yet.
deniz
10 months ago |what part of the world are you all living that is not bright enough for some f8 street shooting?
Reza
10 months ago |Just to debunk all the f/8 naysayers, let’s add up the exposure value numbers, shall we? At f/8, ISO 100 and 1/125 shutter speed (proper speed for street shooting to stop human actions), you can capture a scene with EV 13, that’s how much light is there right before sunset. Ok, we’re dealing with m4/3 cams here, so all of us agree that up to ISO 800 everything’s still good, right? That means that you can easily shoot with this lens under EV 10, that’s how much light is there AFTER the sunset.
Granted, to shoot indoors you need 3-4 EVs more, which means 1/30 shutter speed (still no need for IBIS) and ISO 3200, which could be acceptable or not. Then again, this is an outdoor lens, and it gets enough light in.
NOTE: I’m not saying it will have awesome IQ, that is yet to be seen based on the glass used. But I don’t think people should dismiss it based on its aperture size.
Anonymous
10 months ago |I’m with Reza on this. I think this lens has an appeal all of it’s own, yes a lot depends on IQ but I have no reason to think it will be nothing but superb, Olympus has a wonderfull record of lens design. Yes I could use the 14-42 and manually set it to F8.0, but that lens is hardly a stellar performer nor small, I just have a feeling this lens will go down as something special with people clambering for one.
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Deniz
“what part of the world are you all living that is not bright enough for some f8 street shooting?”
The key word in your comment is “some”: if it is a cloudy day or you are close to evening it is very easy to drop from ISO 800.
peevee
10 months ago |Reza, your calculations are way off. Indoors, in a room lighted by 2 lamps, E-M5 with 12-50 at 50mm/6.3 hits ISO 25,600 already at shutter speeds of 1/15-1/30 (depending on a corner of the room, darker or lighter). f/8 is daytime outdoors only if you want to shoot handheld, even with IBIS.
Reza
10 months ago |I tend to disagree. See here: http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm
That table and my calculation are correct. My film camera does not have light meters (well I use an Oly trip 35 which does have one, but its battery is out and doesn’t work), and I just judge the light value based on what I know and see. At night at home, in a room with 2 or 3 light bulbs, the EV is indeed around 5 to 6.
zzvisual
10 months ago |I would agree with you if such a 150$ device provided outstanding optical quality (interesting for prosumers), but it certainly will not.
zzvisual
10 months ago |@ Martin-K
“??? of course you need to have a correct focus to get a sharp image, but with f8.0 on m43 you will have a very correctly focused sharp image from a distance like 1 meter to infinity (and this will do for many or maybe most cases with street shooting). sharpness will not have to suck as so many here seem to believe.”
Take the 14 mm zoom (pancake), set aperture to f8.0, take 3 focus distances (minimal, few meters and infinity). Then make series of pictures out of focus. Then make 100% crop: you will see that in many combinations when the object is out of precise focus the image is not sharp enough: it is QUITE sharp but not PERFECTLY sharp (as if it was focused precisely).
“I also think Olympus has some experience in making lenses and will not bring out a totally crap lens.”
I do not doubt they can do good glass, what I doubt is their marketing (or even ergonomic) skills – we were so many time disappointed by the Japanese manufacturers. I do not see the lens would be much more expensive with the fixed aperture between 4 and 5.6 (8-11 FF eqivalent) and continuous focus ring, but it would give superior quality and versatility (low light scenes) without compromise, don’t you agree on this ?
” I repeat, others may have other needs.”
As I wrote many times 2day, I really love this concept and would first buy it, but I am disappointed with the lack of continuous focus (and f/8 secondly) which most probably will kills the great idea from the IQ point.
” Let’s wait and see. Image quality and price will decide if it’ll be successful or not. we can’t know yet.”
Yes, let’s wait, but I can bet in advance that the resolution will suffer (from what it could easily achieve) in many cases due to the approximate focus.
peevee
10 months ago |Wow, no communication? So IBIS does not work, unless you set 15mm manually in the menu? This should slow down lens changes… Seriously, what are they doing, simple chips (like those in lenses) are so small and practically free this days…
Martin-K
10 months ago |setting the 15mm (once) for ibis takes far less than 1 minute. There could be some kind of communication with the camera too, giving the focal length and other infos. The info that this lens has manual focus does not (by itself) exclude that possibilty (and it would make sense). Just speculating.
peevee
10 months ago |Once? What about again when you change the lens? And no, it is not “less than 1 min”, especially on a camera without a touchscreen.
And if it says “no data communication”, it means “no data communication”, not “some kind of communication”.
Mymaco
10 months ago |Mumble… I use the Voigtländer 17.5mm and SLR Noktor 50mm on my E-M5: it takes less than a minute to me to set the IS, and I do it going through the menu, not touching options on the touch screen. I admit it can be annoying and it would have been nice to have to possibility to save a couple of focal lenses, instead of manually doing it. Still, I got used to it. About this lens: I will decide wether to buy it or not after some pictures will be released.
Martin-K
10 months ago |alright, it is less than a minute for me. And I do not intend to change that lens every few minutes because that would defy the purpose of having a p&s like always ready for quick shoots camera with me. Others may do otherwise.
the part with maybe some communications nonetheless was just a speculation (and hope) from me, as I said, because even FT5 is still a rumor and not written in stone
if it has no communications at all I can still live with it. Others may not.
amne
10 months ago |I usually shoot raw with my favourite lenses selected for focal length, their look, bokeh, flares, etc. Afterwards i do lots of postprocessing so my images have “my look”. It’s a elaborate task, but i’m happy with the results.
Recently i got some 25mm C-mount CCTV lens for fun and used it with the art filters of my OM-D. I have to admit, it’s fun and fast. Press the shutter and you have a nice image.
Do these images have “my look”? Of course not, they have the typical Oly-artfilter look. But not everyone wants to invest that much effort and still get some nice images. That’s where the art filters and this lens come in.
I most likely will not buy this lens, and most of the time i won’t use the art filters, but if it makes people happy and helps Olympus gain market shares it’s a win-win for everyone.
Anonymous
10 months ago |Lens value = 2 cents
The plastic option costs = 1 cent !
Mr. Reeee
10 months ago |If it’s cheap, then why not? It could be a fun lens to use. But, then, I’ve even considered getting a Holga lens for $20.
Bob .B
10 months ago |Great lens for Artic OR Antarctic!
st3v4nt
10 months ago |Let’s wait if Olympus really market it as a lens….my suspicion is they prepare something with this thing perhaps another breakthrough concept?
zzvisual
10 months ago |It can be a great tactile fun to touch such a tiny gadget
.
Uberzone
10 months ago |On the bright side, the Panasonic 3D lens will now have a friend to collect dust with on store shelves.
Achiinto2
10 months ago |Remind me of Olympus Trip. I guess if EM5 is a tribute back to OM, the next EPM2 is coming with this lens as a tribute to Olympus Trip. I guess it will look retro again.
peevee
10 months ago |Yeah, somebody at Olympus had a trip all right.
AtlDave
10 months ago |Maybe they found a warehouse full of EPL1 bodies and need a way to sell them at $200 with a lens.
Given the number of people that use cheap lenses with an adapter on their cameras there probably is a market for this. If it is cheap (and it better be) it could be fun to play with.
zzvisual
10 months ago |I may agree if the price will be below 25$ (i.e. essentially the price order of the lens cap
) it may be indeed an alternative to the lens-free bodies to make the entry price of m43 as small as possible. An then the profane might grow to the better glass 
.
Reza
10 months ago |Not gonna happen. $70~$100 is much more likely.
Also, depends on the IQ.
zzvisual
10 months ago |To provide the marketing success on the “amateur” audience its price should be at least twice as small compared to the chippest zoom (like 14-40 of Panasonic for 100$).
Andrey Yashin
10 months ago |I don’t understand, who and why need this lens?
flash
10 months ago |As this lens is quiet. No auto focus etc. Maybe it is, because the new Olympus Pen is also quiet. It probably is just for marketing, so Olympus can have the cheapest mirrorless system camera.
The lens might be of use for me, I like having an always available camera, in my pocket. It just has to be much better then my cell phone though. If it is I can carry the new PM-2 with me instead of a regular Point and shoot; I doubt if many others have this need. This zone focus has me worried. Price should be 50 dollars US or less.
Maybe, it will be given in addition to the regular kit zoom lens. This could be done to get the m43 buyer use to changing lens and making it more likely that they will buy additional lens instead of never changing or buying other lens then their kit lens.
jules
10 months ago |3 elements in 3 groups..
Even limited to F8, I don’t hold my breath over quality IQ.
bidou
10 months ago |So it’s basically an high tech lens cap…
peevee
10 months ago |Low tech.
uiti
10 months ago |Price is €100 with metal hood.
robert
10 months ago |I predict that this lens will be a breakthrough marketing concept for Southern Europe, where I live and where m43s have not been popular. Here I can see a photographer using an Olympus only if I pose in front of a mirror.
Here’s one of my reasons:
Some contributors on this site and especially on the dpreview forum have maintained that there is a combination of m43 camera and lens that is actually “pocketable.” Well, I don’t deny that in North America and Northern Europe where you wear bulky coats and where your wives will let you wear cargo pants, this may bear some relation to the truth. The ratio between body size and camera size may also play a role here. But where the temperatures have been over 110f/44c for most of the summer, and where the winters have become all but indiscernible (I have sold my coats on ebay to a Norwegian), my epl-1 is becoming increasingly difficult to carry around. So we are looking forward to a new combination of lens and camera: the 15mm plus the new epm?, for example, that we can carry around in our “slim-fit” Armani jackets. Despite the rumors, some Europeans, at least this one, are too macho to carry a “man purse,” and so a smaller camera would sell like pasta — if we had any money, but that’s for a different forum.
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Robert
1. Why this southern audience has not bought out all Panasonic GF with the 14 mm pancakes so far ?
2. Why do you think this Armany jackets people will prefer a system camera to the latest high end compacts from Sony, Panasonic or Samsung ?
robert
10 months ago |Dear zz
1)The 14mm is way too long, 2.5cm. And way too fast, a lot of wasted aperture. Here in Rome the sun is so bright, except for two weeks in February, that f8 is even hard to manage. In fact, I suggest that Olympus sell a Southern European version complete with an ND filter. Remember I have an epl-1, which has a max shutter speed of 1/2000. If I just think of going outdoors, my camera’s shutter warning light begins blinking.
2) This is the country of the cell phone. Italians have more cell phones that any other population. This is because we need to be in constant communication with our mothers. Many Italians have a dedicated “mamma” phone, since girlfriends, mistresses, wives and work have a much lower priority. So a compact is a third thing we have to carry, and now with the great cameras on the iphone and the Samsung, compacts are not popular.
Jerome LaPlume
10 months ago |O.T.Se passi in Liguria, almeno un altro Oly-shooter lo trovi!:)
Martin-K
10 months ago |+ 0.5 and a double lol !
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Robert
Dear Robert,
” 1)The 14mm is way too long, 2.5cm.”
) the advantage will be not so impressive. I bet if all the system will be 1 cm thinner it will not make revolution in sales for the smallest m43 cams in Italy (let see). Do not forget that flange dystance of m43 is 19mm and no cam can be smaller than 3 cm with something.
This Oly lens is 1 cm, but do not forget that the body has the width too – when you attach it to GF3/5 (http://www.43rumors.com/amaozn-lighning-deal-gf3-with-14mm-pancake-for-349-00
“And way too fast, a lot of wasted aperture. Here in Rome the sun is so bright, except for two weeks in February, that f8 is even hard to manage. ”
What you need is just an ND/PL filter which never adds much to the size. In my experience (btw I stay in Tuscany now with a lot of sunny days too
http://www.panoramio.com/user/6350093) I only reached the shooter limit once with a prime (no ND/PL) at f/4 and ISO 400 (I have however G2 with 1/4000). But I agree that ISO25/50 on m43 cameras would be a must.
“In fact, I suggest that Olympus sell a Southern European version complete with an ND filter. Remember I have an epl-1, which has a max shutter speed of 1/2000. If I just think of going outdoors, my camera’s shutter warning light begins blinking.”
Fitted ND on f/8.0 is not a good idea: as soon as you enter the shadow, close to evening or have clouds (not to say entering the theater) you will go above ISO 800 – do no exagerate the brightness of these altitudes. Fitted ND deprives the all-round spirit of this device.
“2) This is the country of the cell phone. Italians have more cell phones that any other population. This is because we need to be in constant communication with our mothers. Many Italians have a dedicated “mamma” phone, since girlfriends, mistresses, wives and work have a much lower priority. So a compact is a third thing we have to carry, and now with the great cameras on the iphone and the Samsung, compacts are not popular.”
To me this is a good argument against the success of any m43 system camera in the pockets of these people
. Perhaps you want to say that m43 fits better to the region than other system cameras and I agree with you, but so far that alone did not bring much success to m43 there.
PS Once again, I do love the concept of fixed aperture lenses (with at least continuous focus, better AF), but I do not like this particular implementation which to my opinion is missing its marketing targets: poor (mainly due to the lack of precise focus), IQ for the pros, too complicated for the P&S-ers with the 3-point focus. Still I do not claim the present device will not have success if it is very chip (significantly chipper than the chippest m43 kit zoom).
FlemmingS
10 months ago |Sort of reminds me about the Olympus Trip 35 film camera which I bought last year for less than 15 $
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Trip_35
Even Ken Rockwell (not an Olympus fanboy) likes it
Great fun shooting with as a street cam, as it has only 4 position focus zone.
Buth then again it has a very good 40 mm F:2.8 Zuiko lens.
This 15 mm F:8 Lens will only be of interest to me if I can get it very cheap (less then 60 €) or as a cash-back from Olympus.
Neonart
10 months ago |I think people are way on the edge about everything. Why must everything RULE or FAIL!? Why must everything be the best or suck?
I think there are plenty of photogs who will buy an affordable (~$100), fun lens just for the heck of it. Who cares if it’s f8, or has 3 elements? Just have some fun with it. I have a glass-case full of old cameras and lenses, many purchased on eBay just for fun. Some never worked, some do and I occasionally use them or stick the lenses on my m43 body. Its fun to try them. (Not to mention boxes of caps, lights, adapters, and other junk that rarely gets used.)
I believe that if this lens has ok image quality in the daytime, and looks cool, it’ll be great from the “just have some fun” perspective. I can totally see going on a day walk with this lens and the camera set to B/W, click one of the three focus zones, and snap.
JeremyT
10 months ago |No communication?
This lens, quite frankly, makes no sense at all. I think somebody is joshing our dear Admin…
Even if Oly wanted to release a weird pinhole or Holga toy lens, they surely would have at least included the contacts for sending lens data to the camera.
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Neonart
.
Lenses for fun (special effects) is no problem, but in this particular case I have a problem to understand why you need to pay for this sort of fun separately: just set the aperture on your pancake to f/8 and focus to infinity
Martin-K
10 months ago |because some people might not have (or need) a probably far more expensive pancake already ???
admin
10 months ago |Wanna bet with me?
zzvisual
10 months ago |You can do the same trick with your kit zoom
.
zzvisual
10 months ago |@Martin-K
.
You can always do the same trick with your kit zoom
Martin-K
10 months ago |and again I repeat: I cannot do this with my kit zoom, if I want it small and light and pocketable. And I cannot do this with my pancake, if I don’t have a pancake.
Olly
10 months ago |IMHO, the whole point about such a lens is its size: the current crop of m43 rangefinder- or P&S-style bodies are small enough to fit in any trousers pocket with the body cap on. Put a lens on it, even as small as the 20mm f1.7 or 14-42PZ, and it only fits in a jacket pocket.
If the quality is adequate (doesn’t need to be stellar but better than a toy lens), I can well see myself buy one, put it on my GX1, and keep the combo in my pocket any time I go for a walk to enjoy some sunshine, as opposed to just taking the camera when I specifically intend to take pictures and constantly have the camera in my hand.
Not to mention that you can still go with the body + “15mm f/8 lens cap” in one pocket and another lens in another, just in case: easy to carry, plenty more photo opportunities.
If the price is right (max 50€), I’ll get one right away. If it turns out dearer, I will be more demanding on image quality, and it may take much longer until I take the plunge.
peevee
10 months ago |Buy a used P&S for $20 and will beat a crap out of $900 E-P3 with this lens.
Martin-K
10 months ago |repeating this bs with ‘ just buy a very cheap p&s cam and you have better image quality ‘ over and over again does not make the statement true you know. by the way last time it was a 50$ p&s, now it is only 20$. the cheap p&s with tiny sensor will never match the mft. nor will it match the build quality, handling, lcd, viewfinder…
anyone else beginning to think peeve and zzvisual start to look like someone paid by the competion? Jeez…
ulli
10 months ago |i consider this a lens making your mft body look like a p&s camera, making it easy to get it past the security at concerts,where interchangable cam/lenses are not allowed. you just have to stick that 100-300 between your legs during the entry, pretending being a john holmes type of stud.
Martin-K
10 months ago |+1 and rofl
Anonymous
10 months ago |Hahahahahaha ! so funny ! Is it the 1st April ? I don’t understand what’s the purpose of this lens ?
- Strange focal and not very usefull regarding the already existing (I could have understood 7/8/9/10 mm)
- ultra slow and fixed aperture ?
- Manual focusing
- no data communication
There must be something hidden ? it is razor sharp ?
Does it have a nice bokeh ? hahaha ! ok I go out…
zzvisual
10 months ago |Last 2 cents. I did a lot of tests with 14 mm and can be sure that even with f/8 sharpness will suffer (or even suck) in many situations, unless the object is not in precise focus. To me the lack of continuous focus is the the first drawback of the lens (the second is f/8 rather than 4 (4.5, 5, or 5.6). Maybe we will ever see the X version of this concept
… ?
Ab
10 months ago |Sounds interesting to me. Of course people who lack any imagination will always struggle to expand their thinking to include fringe products.
This is a product for fun, to hark back to ages past. You don’t like it, no probs, dont buy it… But Olympus already has you talking about it.
RMA
10 months ago |A lot of people on this thread have said they have thought about buying the Holga m43 lens. Well, I have one and shoot a fair amount with it. The first camera I bought was a Diana back in the 70s, and I have occasionally dabbled with various plastic cameras.
What’s disappointing about the Holga on my Olympus is the lack of lack of body leaks, flare across sprocket holes, misalignments, and double exposures. Also, the light falloff is just awful (in a bad way, not a charming way)–way worse than what I have had with plastic cameras. As a result, to get a good “lomography” image with a Holga lens on a m43 camera, you have to do a fair amount of post-processing, which kinda defeats the point.
I’m reserving judgment on this lens. I’m amazed at the range of firm opinions people can have before trying out a lens. I have shot a couple winners even with the glass-covered pinhole lens you can buy in m43 mount.
If it’s cheap, I’ll probably try it. Might make the camera more pocketable.
In the end, though, I’ll probably keep grabbing for my adapted Canon FL 50mm f1.2, big as it is.
hlbt
10 months ago |I have a Contax TVS Digital, which is pretty much fixed to infinite focus in MF mode. Its (now) slooooow AF and lousy LCD don’t mean a thing in that context, and the camera creates tasty images.
I’m sure plenty of readers here own multiple m43 bodies, and may find this lens breathing new life into older bodies with slow AF.
I’m looking forward to the release of this lens in that context.
Tom Ø.
10 months ago |If they give it away with the e-pm kit, it might be a way of getting beginners interested in changing lenses. Then creating a bigger market for additional lenses and eventually more enthusiast cameras. The new e-pm must have a great sensor for the ISO’s this lens will require. If such marketing scheme works, it’s a stroke of genius!
MM
10 months ago |This might be a good lens for video, as the lack of electronic connection means no added sharpening just like other manual and legacy lenses.
Daniele
10 months ago |My opinion on this lens on my blog:
http://danielefrizzi.it/2012/08/17/olympus-lens-rumor/
Zetton
10 months ago |what does it mean (the last sentense):
“if they give it to tu fro free on …”
(sorry, I’m not a native English speaker)
ANYWAY,
I’m hard to believe this rumor is FT5
no m4/3 protocol exchagen ?! then no exif info . Olympus is the linsensee of m4/3. Can it do such violating thing???
(or should not I response this rumor? laugh
BenjaminRK
10 months ago |I guess Olympus is going to manufacture some fine tripod, for F/8 lens only…
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