Olympus 17mm f/1.8 shipping in Asia. And some info directly from the lens designers!

First unboxing pics have been posted at Mobile01. Click on the green links to open the images. And Olympus OMD facebook posted the text from Planning Manager Eiji Shirota and Development Leader Kazuya Nishimura. Both developed the 17mm lens. They say: “Although a large front element may provide an attractive exterior appearance for a lens, we decided on an efficient aspherical front element which minimizes thickness and diameter, helping us achieve the compact size of the M.ZUIKO DIGITIAL 17mm F1.8 lens while providing extraordinary picture quality. We urge you to confirm this image quality with your very own eyes.” As you know this lens left some mixed feelings on reviewers like Ming Thein, Robin Wong and Pekka Potka. Hmmm….does it really have an extraordinary picture quality??? A good lens it is…but extraordinary probably nope :)

Shipping status: The lens will ship on Dec. 20th at Amazon Japan. It’s still uncertain when the lens will be available in US and EU. BHphoto removed the shipping date (which was mid December) and Amazon US even doens’t even list the lens. The new Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens can now be preordered at Adorama, BHphoto and Amazon DE.