The brand formerly known as Olympus is not sitting still, it looks like two new (or “new”) lenses are coming – 300–1200mm equivalent long telephoto and compact 18–36mm ultra-wide.
According to the rumour mill and leaked preorder photos, a new telephoto with the most reach will arrive next week, with an impressive 1200mm of equivalent focal length – OM System M.Zuiko 150–600mm F5–6.3 ED IS.
The other lens is an update for a forgotten M.Zuiko 9–18mm F4–5.6 ED, the only current lens that kept the original, retro-inspired design of the first iteration of M.Zuiko lenses – with a silver ring at the mount and Takumar-esque ribbed zoom ring.
What’s the fuss?
Long zoom is interesting for a few reasons – it is the lens with the most reach; 1200mm-e(quivalent) is significantly longer than what’s currently available – 800mm-e or 1000mm-e with integral 1.25× teleconverter found in M.Zuiko 150–400mm F4.5 ED IS Pro TC1.25X. Also, despite the reach, the new lens is not a Pro-grade lens, making it more affordable than M.Zuiko 150–400mm F4.5. On the other hand, the new lens is a rebranded Sigma 150–600mm F5–6.3 DG DN Sports lens made for Sony FE and L mounts meaning it is bigger and heavier than what’s strictly needed for microFourThirds sensors but should benefit from using only the central, best part of the image circle. Also, that Sigma lens is a pretty good lens on its own, so image quality should not be a problem, but weight could.
M.Zuiko 9–18mm F4–5.6 ED is the other rumoured and leaked update, and judging by the leaks, it will receive only the cosmetic update – it will get the current, modern look, with a fully black body and diamond-patterned zoom and ribbed focus rings. There are no rumours about the updated optics, it looks like that will stay the same.
The last part of this update is the new OM-1 II camera, with up-rated image stabilization, more buffer, new firmware and updated hardware.
This update is bringing new branding, as well – the existing OM-1 camera and M.Zuiko 9–18mm lens both bear the Olympus name, and this release will change that to OM System.
Despite the criticism about a “mild” update of the system, a new telephoto lens which extends the system’s total reach is strictly a good update. The updated design of the existing lens is also a welcome change, the existing lens sorely sticks out as an orphan of the old times, and finally, it looks like OM-1 II is more than just a hardware and software refresh.
But, let’s wait for a few days and see the first reviews and make judgment calls with a bit more knowledge.
