Olympus has announced the impending release of its new M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/1.8 wide-angle lens for OM-D and PEN cameras.
The new M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/1.8 prime lens. (Source: Olympus.)
Providing a focal length equivalent to 34mm in 35mm format, the new lens is designed for a wide range of applications including photojournalism, street photography and travel photography. Its fast maximum aperture of f/1.8 makes it ideal for low-light shooting and the Olympus MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) AF system provides fast but silent autofocusing for both stills and video. Its special manual focus clutch mechanism makes switching between autofocus and manual focus straightforward.
The optical design of the lens uses nine elements in six groups, with two aspherical and one ultra-high precision Dual Super Aspherical (DSA) lens element for outstanding edge-to-edge sharpness. A single high-refractive index element ensures accurate correction of spherical aberrations. Sharpness and bokeh are well balanced and ZERO (Zuiko Extra-Low Reflection Optical) multi-coating is applied to lens surfaces to ensure optimal contrast and flare resistance.
The M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8 has a metal lens barrel with a premium finish. A depth of field scale is engraved into the focus ring and lens barrel to provide rapid hyperfocal snapshot focusing capabilities. An all-metal knurled focusing ring and lens barrel gives this compact lens a premium finish. The Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 lens is available in silver from December 2012. Its recommended retail price is to be announced. Accessories include the new metal LH-48B hood and LC-48B/LC-48 metal lens caps. Full details are available at www.olympus.com.au.
