Photography News | Issue 67 | photographynews.co.uk
21 Techniques
Olympus
Micro Four Thirds lenses
Olympus’sMicro Four Thirds cameras continue to drive innovation and design standards Style and substance
Creator of the Micro Four Thirds standard, which took the previous Four Thirds sensor design and dispensed with the need for an optical viewfinder, Olympus launched its first mirrorless model in June 2009 with the stylish PEN E-P1. Enjoying a dinky size compared to previous cameras and influenced in design by Olympus cameras from the fifties, it spawned a range built on the ethos of being lightweight, portable and powerful. Three years later, in 2012, Olympus launched the OM-D range, aimed at professionals and serious enthusiasts, and it now spans five mirrorless models. The latest in the OM-D lineup is the OM-D E-M1X, which despite being the first mirrorless camera to come with an integrated battery grip, is still small compared with a full-frame body with an accessory grip. There's a report on how the OM-D E-M1X performed on safari in this issue. Within the range, there’s also the OM-D E-M1 Mark II, the E-M5 Mark III and E-M10 Mark III, each of which uses a DSLR-style central EVF and sculpted handgrip. On top of that, Olympus has the PEN-F and E-PL8 and E-PL9, all three of which use a gripless, slimline body, and while the PEN-F has a built-in EVF, the E-PL cameras do not, cutting their size even further. The OM-D E-M1X and OM-D E-M1
Above It is with telephoto focal lengths where the space-saving benefits of Micro Four Thirds really come to the fore Micro by name, massive by nature There’s a huge range ofMicro Four Thirds lenses out there to enjoy
Above The Olympus OM-D E-M1X, introduced earlier this year, is packed with innovation, including an advanced AF system
Both Olympus and Panasonic have built a huge range of Micro Four Thirds lenses over the past decade, covering everything a creative photographer could conceivably need. The shared mount means lenses can be used on either brand's cameras, although some specific functions might be lacking. Both ranges include fast f/2.8 zooms covering an equivalent of 14-300mm, and there are some exciting primes, too, like the Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.2 Pro and Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 DG Nocticron ASPH Power OIS lens proving superb portrait options. The advantage of a smaller sensor can clearly be seen in a lens like Panasonic’s Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 ASPH Power OIS, which gives an effective 200-800mm lens at under 1kg. But of course it’s not only Olympus and Panasonic who make Micro Four Thirds lenses; the third-party market is really booming. For instance, there’s the Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC, which fills the tilt-shift shaped hole in the MFT range, and the company produces other affordable wide-angle options, too. If you want fast glass, Voigtländer makes a suite of f/0.95 Nokton lenses including 10.5mm, 17.5mm, 25mm and 42.5mm versions, and though they’re
Mark II share the same 20.4-megapixel Live MOS sensor, but while the Mark II is no slouch in speed, the former ramps things up by adding a second TruePic VIII processor, as well as a redeveloped gyro sensor for up to 7.5EV of image stabilisation when used with the 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro lens, and 6EV alone. In comparison, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II hits 6.5EV of correction used with the same lens and 5EV alone, so still very impressive. As pro-spec bodies, both have a
very solid build, weather sealing and very fast AF, including excellent subject tracking, and this has been reworked on the newer model to include additional focus points and a sophisticated algorithm for shooting planes, trains and automobiles. Another advantage of the E-M1X’s vertical grip is that it takes two batteries, doubling your shooting time, which can be important when using power-hungry functions like the EVF. It can also be charged by USB, which is handy for location shoots. A little down the pecking order come the OM-D E-M5 Mark II and E-M10 Mark III, which cut down on the size and weight slightly from the pro-spec models. The former keeps the weather sealing, the latter doesn’t, and it’s the same for the handgrip, with the E-M10 being a little slimmed down. These cameras use 16.1-megapixel sensors, but in AF it’s the E-M10 that has the slight advantage – being a newer camera it has more AF points and a faster system. Conversely, while both use in-body IS, the E-M5 Mark II is superior by a stop. Completing Olympus’s range are the PEN-F, E-PL6 and E-PL7, all with more rangefinder-inspired styling than the OM-Ds’ digital SLR design cues. The PEN-F is particularly notable, packing many leading-edge features into a comparatively tiny body. There’s five-axis image stabilisation, a 20.3-megapixel sensor without a low-pass filter to deliver extra detail, a 50-megapixel high-resolution shot mode and shooting up to 10fps. Overall, it’s an impressive, but pocket-friendly package that’s very much at home with spontaneous shooting and street photography via its three-inch vari-angle touchscreen.
manual focus, there’s focus peaking through the viewfinder. Also just launched is Kamlan’s 50mm f/1.1. Sigma and Tamron also make MFT lenses, including the versatile Tamron 14-150mm f/3.5-5.8 Di III and Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary, which equates to a 60mm f/1.4. Also of note is Tokina’s Reflex 300mm f/6.3 MF Macro, a compact telephoto mirror lens, only 66mm long and 298g, but giving a hefty equivalent of 600mm on MFT cameras. Above Superfast lenses such as the Olympus 45mm f/1.2 are perfect for lovers of fine glass
Above Olympus’s range features consumer products such as the PEN E-PL8 (top) and enthusiast cameras like the popular PEN-F (bottom)
Above The Micro Four Thirds lens mount is well supported by third-party brands (from left to right) Tokina, Voigtländer and Sigma
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