Photography Gear News

The Micro-Four-Thirds (MFT) system is clearly the most mature micro-camera system on the market. Consumers can choose between a large variety of cameras as well as lenses. However, to date MFT covered primarily the budget to mid-class market segment only - possibly because the high-end approach of Four-Thirds (classic) failed so both Panasonic as well as Olympus were probably a little shy of entering again. The Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 created some buzz though so there is a market here after all. Olympus has now finally released its first professional grade MFT product - the Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 ED. They've thrown in a couple of new technologies both in terms of optics and mechanical implementation. The pricing is quite brave with an MSRP of 800EUR/US$ although the usual street price is generally lower, of course.

The field-of-view is equivalent to 24mm in full format terms so it's a moderate ultra-wide angle lens. The max. aperture of f/2 is certainly fast with respect to light gathering but don't expect wonders in terms of depth-of-field - in the MFT scope you are are effectively "loosing" about two f-stops so it "behaves" like a "24mm f/4" here. This is still sufficient for quite shallow depth-of-field images if you move close enough though...

Alongside the PEN E-P3, Olympus has announced the PEN Lite and PEN Mini. These closely-related sister models (formally called E-PL3 and E-PM1) feature similar specifications but smaller bodies that borrow heavily from the styling of the company's XZ-1 enthusiast compact. Both cameras are aimed at the point-and-shoot upgrader and feature 460,000 dot LCDs, rather than the E-P3's OLED display but otherwise retain much of that camera's capability, including what's claimed to be the world's fastest AF. We've been using a PEN Lite for a while and have prepared a brief hands-on preview.

Although it retains its predecessor's styling, the Olympus PEN E-P3 shares very little else with its forebears. There's still a 12MP Four Thirds-sized sensor at its heart, but its autofocus, rear screen and movie capabilities have all been radically overhauled. Crucially, Olympus has also managed to squeeze a flash into the body. Now sitting at the top of a three-model range, the E-P3 is clearly positioned as a camera for enthusiasts. So, do its third-generation refinements and promises of world-beating AF performance make the E-P3 into the camera that the PEN series always promised to be?

I’ve written several times here, on our site, that, in my humble opinion, small, fixed-focal lenses are the biggest strength of mirrorless systems - they don’t take a lot of space, attached to a body, they are physically light and they provide a great image quality at the same time. These lenses don’t have to be typical “pancakes” but their dimensions should fit the dimensions of a body well. The Micro 4/3 system features the biggest number of such lenses because two companies have actively supported its creation and development. You can list here the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17 mm f/2.8, the Panasonic LUMIX G 14 mm f/2.5 ASPH or the Panasonic LUMIX G 20 mm f/1.7 ASPH, which have already been tested by our team.
Lately the offer has been enlarged even more. On 30 June 2011 the Olympus company decided to launch the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 12 mm f/2.0 ED and the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45 mm f/1.8. These two instruments aren’t typical “pancakes” but still they remain small and relatively light, fitting well the whole idea behind the 4/3 system.
Due to a very quick reaction of the Olympus Poland company we are able to present the full test of the first of those two lenses. The Olympus E-PL1 body, used during the testing, was lent by the Fotozakupy.pl shop.