Olympus lens disappointment. Please Olympus and Panasonic, do surprise us!
I confess, I am not really happy with todays Olympus announcement. I understand that there is a “marketing reason” why those lenses have to exist. Maybe zoom lenses is what “normal” people buys when they go in store. But we are still missing a Zuiko MFT lens we can be really proud of. We have some good lenses like the 9-18mm, but no fast prime lens, no high-quality and reasonable fast zoom, and only one pancake lens! And most of the current lenses are copies of already existing Panasonic lenses (or is Panasonic copying the Olympus lenses?). Take a look for yourself:
Panasonic 7-14mm – Olympus 9-18mm
Panasonic 14-140mm – Olympus 14-150mm
Panasonic 45-200mm – Olympus 45-150mm
Panasonic 100-300mm (to be announced soon) – Olympus 75-300mm
Panasonic 8mm fisheye – Olympus 8mm fisheye (on roadmap)
Panasonic 14mm (to be announced soon) – Olympus 12mm (on roadmap)
Thousand of 43rumors readers voted for High-Quality prime, pancake and zoom lenses in many of our polls. We need more “WOW” lenses like the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. But we also need lenses that are essential for a complete lens repertoire (where is the normal 25mm f/1.4 lens?).
There will be no need to switch to a NEX or NX system or any other system if the lenses are good enough! So please stop playing cat and mouse, stop to fear the market. Try to have some vision like when you imaginated the MicroFourThirds system. Surprise us!
That’s just my personal opinion, feel free to comment this post…
Me, 43rumors.
Brian
3 years ago |I am really sorry but Olympus can go to hell! This was the last straw. Overprized bad lenses, and nothing for the enthusiasts, or professionals.
I’ll wait for Panasonic or till Canon launches some proper fast lenses and compact system.
Jac
3 years ago |I have the E-PL1, best of all Olympus cameras in sharpness and resolution. I don’t waste it with Olympus or Panasonic AF lenses, except for UWA, and use superior manual focus lenses instead.
So, Olympus’ releases doesn’t worry me, I am no Olympus lens fan, don’t care also for the so-called SHG ones. And to someone spoiled with the best in DSLR AF, m4/3 AF is so slooowww anyway, one will get better results doing MF with the VF-2 EVF.
Anyway, Olympus has nothing to offer now, even their new E-5 is nothing new, only good for Olympus diehard cult.
Well, one should not be tied to brands. Others are coming soon with even better cameras.
Waiting eagerly to see how Voigtlander’s 25mm will fare, though. Fast lens of this kind that is not a CCTV lens is rare
Jac
3 years ago |The new fisheye m4/3 can’t compare optically to the Samyang 8mm though. Beautiful optics on the Samyang, although stupid design where one has to go calibrate focus by themselves. Not for amateurs.
Chris
3 years ago |Nailed it there. You have to wonder, is there any pride left in the Olympus lens design team? Designing and building run of the mill lenses, repeating stuff already done a few years ago but for a slightly shorter back focal length, and not doing one exceptional lens during that time? As an engineer or designer, that has got to drive you nuts, or to another company.
Seriously, did Olympus lose its lens team and start from scratch with what was left?
VilleV
3 years ago |I seriously had that same thought a while ago. Maybe all of the real Zuiko designers were pissed off after they heard that 4/3 line is being shut down. Most of the main engineers quit their job and some summer vacation students and random replacements were all that was left.
And this is what we get from them.
cobra
3 years ago |Do you know how Oly market their m43 camera in Japan?
It is a camera for girl.
Panasonic also market their m43 camera for housewives. Do you know how they call the GF-1 in Japan? it’s “Fashion Single Lens” (Fashionable Single Lens Camera”
Having that said, I don’t think lens quality is top priority for both companies.
Bookervrk
3 years ago |Really hope Pentax will join the m4/3
But it seems to Be also Aps-c mirrorless one.
The line-up of current Pentax primes
seems the Ideal type for m4/3.
But it seems the main players in M4/3
didn’t have the taste.
REThink about it.
Aps-C with the slim body and cute primes
is a top killer for m4/3.
Let’s wait and see, if the O P don’t face the music.
Eden
3 years ago |i want fast prime too… though i am not liking the slow zoom released by oly… i would think they are aiming at the camcorder market… yeah, they do not have a camcorder… but panny just launched one which helps the competition in the u4/3 … i am thinking oly does not want to lose in that battle…
patrick
3 years ago |I still wonder if at least some of you get the point that the guys who are talking about their equipment in forums etc. are not Average Joe.
The need of some enthusiats is not what’s going to sell and make money. Olympus tries to satisfy the mass market. The products are targeted at people that are currently using bridge cameras. Of course, Panasonic won’t produce any further DSLR, but Olympus does. I promise, the Oly 40-150 would sell more often and generate more gain than Cosina’s 25mm f/0.95.
I guess Olympus was the wrong decision if you guys really need those amazing fast lenses and annoy the world with portraits that show just some sharp lashes. If you really want a superb lens, try the 35-100 f/2.0.
kman
3 years ago |The 35-100 f2 is the best lenses that I’ve ever had, and I’ve been into photography for a long long time.
I question whether you are right about the average joe being the target market for Olympus, though. Maybe for the m4/3 line it’s more obvious… Olympus has never tried creating a fast prime for any of their DSLR camera, so how do they know what will or won’t sell?
Peter
3 years ago |900 euro’s for a f/6.7 zoomlens without built-in stabilization. Really Olympus, don’t you want to _sell_ those lenses or what?
I completely agree with the 43rumors editor, this announcement is disappointing, and doesn’t convince me to buy into m43 (I would love to replace my Canon 20d setup with something smaller and lighter for travel).
A 80-200 f/4 lens that is smaller/lighter (and optically comparable) to my Canon 70-200 f/4 L), now _that_ would make me sit up! Add a decent 12-xx walkaround zoom and I would be hurrying to the shop
kman
3 years ago |Peter,
you are right, the price for the lens is crazy for what you get. 1 correction, though. You will not find any Olympus DSLR lens with build-in stablaization, cause stablization is built into the bodies of most of their modern SLR’s. That is one real advantage of the Olympus DSLR cameras that is often overlooked.
Peter
3 years ago |I know Olympus has IS in the camera body. That should allow a lens at a lower cost. If they had announced a 900 euro lens *with* IS (because “at long focal length in-lens IS performs better” (yet unproven)) I could at least somewhat understand the pricing.
Olympus just has a habit of pricing itself out of the market (remember the 4/3 300mm f/2.8?)
Inge - M.
3 years ago |Maybe Fuijfilm Micro-S10 EXR is a surprise for us all?
kman
3 years ago |As far as fast primes, I really would love to see olympus create 1 or 2 for either 4/3 or m4/3 (I don’t care which, just want to see some effort) but I don’t have conficence that it will happen ever. Look back at the history of their DSLR line of cameras. We’ve been asking for faster primes since the E1 days, and they just don’t seem interested. I don’t think that it is a goal of theirs to make fast lenses, and they don’t really care what kind of noise that we create around the topic.
Nomen
3 years ago |I’m disappointed that Oly is leaving off 4/3 in favor of M4/3, because I’m totally into optical viewfinders (SLR’s are my No.1, TLR’s and rangefinders No.2).
Oly already have some really good 4/3 lenses:
25/2.8 … maybe not as sharp as it should be, but very good prime for kits (remember those days when 50/1.7 used to be standard?); it could be a bit faster, but f/2.8 is also fine – see Ai-P Nikkor 45/2.8, SMC Pentax M 40/2.8 etc.
50/2 Macro … very compact, very sharp, fast enough
9-18/4-5.6 … excellent budget wide-angle, very sharp wide-open, very lightweight and quite compact for such range
14-35/2 and 35-100/2 … wonderful pro-grade lenses (maybe a bit overpriced)
What I would really love to see is a successor to legendary OM-1 and OM-2:
- E-450 based body
- E-PL1 based sensor, electronics and stabilization
- bright viewfinder with 100 % coverage and 1.0× magnification (internal flash can be left out to make a room for it)
I am ready to replace my E-420 with such a wonderful body.
And as a replacement of my beloved Zuiko 9-18 mm, I would love to have a 12 mm f/2.8 (preferably pancake) prime. Of course 4/3, not M4/3.
bob
3 years ago |Although I have an L1 and 25mm f/2.8, I see Pany or Oly’s m43 offerings as evolutionary dead ends. No fast normal primes, except for the Pany 20mm f/1.7, but that should be a $120 lens (just like Nikon, Canon and eveyone else’s 50mm normal lens), not $350-400. Canon and Nikon’s 50mm f/1.4 are cheaper in comparison. And it shouldn’t be so difficult to build a fast normal lens–even Canonets from the 1960′s and 1970′s had 40mm f/1.8 lenses.
And WTF are Pany and Oly thinking when releasing a FISHEYE lens–that is a very limited use lens–WHY????