The new 75-300mm MFT lens and the XZ-10 compact camera have been announced and here is the official press release:

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., January 29, 2013 – Olympus makes high-performance super-telephoto shooting more accessible than ever before by introducing the affordable M.ZUIKO ED 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II lens (35mm equivalent 150-600mm). Olympus has redesigned the lens to match the distinctive OM-D E-M5® and PEN® Micro Four Thirds® series cameras and added a new advanced ZERO (Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical) coating to keep scratches off, and eliminate ghosting and lens flare even in bright lights.

The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II telephoto lens boasts the same high focal length and first-class components as its predecessor, the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7, and is capable of bringing faraway subjects like children’s faces, animals and landscape features vividly to life with superb-quality close-ups. Olympus fitted a circular aperture that ensures a professional-looking bokeh with smooth and even background defocusing.

The compact size and light weight of this tiny telephoto lens make it convenient to carry. Olympus has redesigned the lens to match the distinctive OM-D E-M5 and PEN series cameras. The lens includes Olympus’ near-silent MSC (Movie and Still Compatible) focusing technology to reduce the whir that can otherwise ruin movie playback on a High-Definition TV.

The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II benefits from the 5-axis image stabilization of the OM-D E-M5 and maximizes the performance of the Olympus PEN compact system cameras for brilliant still images and high-definition (HD) video capture.
U.S. Pricing and Availability

The Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75-300mm f4-6.7 II Lens will be available in March, 2013.
Estimated Street Price: $549.99

via DPreview. In french at OpenPN.

Press release about the new XZ-10 compact cameras are out at Techradar, Pocket Lint, ePhotozine, Photographyblog, Cnet Asia, OpenPN and so on… and ther eis also a new white XZ-2 (via OpenPN).

For those of you wondering what’s so special with the new “Sigma ART” definition check out the official Sigma website:
Sigma 19mm lens page (Click here)
Sigma 30mm lens page (Click here)
Sigma 60mm lens page (Click here)

As I wrote on MR days ago the word “ART” stays for the high quality photographer prime lenses. They are designed to be high quality alternative of other companies lenses but at the same time priced much lower than the competition. The official Sigma pages also contain the MTF, Distortion and Vignetting chart (you have to tab to “Performance chart” on Sigmas page).

With the Tamron 14-150mm zoom and Panasonic 14-42mm II kit lens we had a total of five new MFT lenses (althaugh most of them are just “updates” of existing lenses). And now tell me…

 Loading ...

Tamron just announced a new Micro Four Thirds lens. it is the 14-150mm F/3.5-5.8 Di III VC zoom. But sadly they didn’t unveil neither the release date nor the price. Source: DC.watch and Photoscala. Specs are here via Tamron website:

But the even bigger news comes from Sigma. They just announced the new 60mm f/2.8 prime lens for Micro Four Thirds! And there is also a new updated version of the current 19mm and 30mm f/2.8 primes! Here are the images (Click on them to see large size) and full press release:

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Jan. 29, 2013 — Sigma Corporation of America a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world’s most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, today announced the release of four new lenses for the ART product line, including three lenses for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras and one lens for DSLR cameras with APS-C size sensors. This announcement comes at the start of the CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show 2013 this week in Yokohama, Japan.

The new and updated Sigma lenses include the 30mm F1.4 DC HSM, which will be available in Sigma, Canon and Nikon mounts, and the 30mm F2.8 DN, 19mm F2.8 DN and 60mm F2.8 DN lenses, which are available for both Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-Mount camera systems. Pricing and availability on all of these lenses has yet to be announced.

The 60mm F2.8 DN lens is entirely new to the Sigma lineup, while the 30mm F1.4 DC HSM and the 30mm F2.8 DN and 19mm F2.8 DN lenses are existing focal lengths that have been redesigned with enhanced optical performance and included as part of Sigma’s new Global Visioncategory restructuring. All three DN lenses incorporate telecentric optical designs and a linear, auto focusing motor that ensures accurate and quiet focusing for video recording. They also boast metal exteriors and a simply shaped focus ring, with varying textures to distinguish each part of the lens. In addition, DN users can choose between a black or silver finish to match their favorite equipment.

“We’re really proud of the super sharp lenses we’ve produced in the past year and these new Art lenses will continue to impress our fans and critics alike. They’re ideal for the landscape, portrait, still-life, close-up and casual photographer who values creative, dramatic outcomes above compactness and multifunction,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “The lenses are entirely made in Japan and they boast the new product line’s sleek design and enhanced quality control. We’re quite proud of these changes – and additions – to our lens lineup; they’re further evidence of Sigma’s forethought in this fast-moving industry.”Here are more details on these new lenses from Sigma:

• 60mm F2.8 DN – Featuring the natural perspective of mid-range telephoto lenses, together with a shallow depth of field, this lens allows the photographer to capture a single part of a subject with great bokeh effects. It has an angle of view equivalent to 120mm on the Micro Four Thirds system and 90mm on the E-mount system (35mm equivalent focal length). The minimum focusing distance is 19.7 inches; the maximum magnification is 1:7.2. This lens also contains Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass, which helps minimize axial and transverse chromatic aberration.
• Sigma 19mm F2.8 DN – This high-performance, wide-angle telephoto lens has an angle of view equivalent to 38mm on the Micro Four Thirds system and 28.5mm on the E-mount system (35mm equivalent focal length). As a wide-angle lens with excellent mobility, it is ideal for studio photography, architecture and starry skies. Its minimum focusing distance is 7.9 inches and its maximum magnification is 1:7.4.
• Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN – This high-performance, standard telephoto lens has an angle of view equivalent to 60mm on the Micro Four Thirds system and 45mm on the E-mount system (35mm equivalent focal length). This lens, which is perfect for casual and formal portraiture, documentary photography, travelogues and everyday shooting, includes a double-sided aspherical lens that enhances its optical performance. Its minimum focusing distance of 11.8 inches and its maximum magnification is 1:8.1.

For information about Sigma Corporation of America, visit www.sigmaphoto.com. For the full press releases for each of these new lenses, visit Sigma’s news section at www.sigmaphoto.com/sigma-news.

via Dpreview.

.

The new Panasonic 14-42mm has now been officially announced. And it is certainly a nice upgrade although I imagine that not everyone was exactly looking forward for it :)

Here is the official press release from Panasonic:

Panasonic is pleased to announce a new compact standard zoom lens LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 II ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. for LUMIX G based on the Micro Four Thirds System standard. LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 II ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. offers a versatile zoom range of 14-42 mm (35 mm camera equivalent: 28-84 mm) suitable for a wide range of situations from landscape to portrait. Comprising of 9 elements in 8 groups, the lens system adopts 2 aspherical lenses to achieve further reduction of both size and weight yet maintaining its high optical performance at entire zoom range. The inner focus system driven by a stepping motor assures astonishing comfort to take maximum advantage of high speed contrast AF system and in video recording.

Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) makes it easy to shoot super clear shots even at tele end or in low-lit situations by suppressing the blur caused by a hand shake.

With its minimum focus distance of 0.2 m (14-20 mm) / 0.3 m (21-42 mm) even at full zoom, the new lens provides a maximum photographic magnification of 0.17x (35 mm camera equivalent: 0.34x). 7 aperture blades consists a circular aperture diaphragm and produces an attractive smoothness in out-of-focus areas even shooting at large aperture.

The new LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 II ASPH. / MEGA O.I.S. for LUMIX G is refined in its external design to offer metallic color options of black and silver to offer stylish look on the digital single lens mirrorless (DSLM) cameras of LUMIX G in shooting creative snapshots.

via Dpreview.