So we get to drool a bit over the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM (pictured here), the EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM, and the EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM (pics after the break).

Why would you want IS on the wide angle? Our illustrious Web Guru (and recovering Four-Thirds user), Derek, says that there was a lot of good to be said about being able to just pick up your rig and shoot one-handed at all focal lengths. Also with the prevalence of HD video recording on D-SLR bodies having IS to smooth out your jittery cam-hands is a plus.

After the break, there’s a few comparison tables and MTF charts. By the way, those MTF charts should give you an indication about how much better this new 24-70 will be than the old.

	EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM	EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Price	$1,399.00	$TBA
Focal Length & Maximum Aperture	24-70mm, 1:2.8	24-70mm, 1:2.8
Lens Construction	16 elements in 13 groups	18 elements in 13 groups
Diagonal Angle of View	84° – 34°	84° – 34°
Focus Adjustment	Front-focusing method	Inner-focusing with USM
Closest Focusing Distance	0.38m/1.25 ft.	0.38m/1.25 ft.
Zoom System	Rotating Type	Rotating Type
Filter Size	77mm	82mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight	3.3″ x 4.9″, 33.6 oz.(2.1 lbs.) / 83.2mm x 123.5mm, 950g	3.5″ x 4.4″, 28.4 oz.(1.76 lbs) / 88.5 x 113mm, 805g
MTF Chart Wide Angle
MTF Chart Telephoto

Olympus Imaging Corp. and Panasonic Corporation jointly announced the Micro Four Thirds System standard in 2008 and have since been working together to promote the standard. Now we are pleased to announce that three more companies have recently declared their support for the standard and will be introducing products compliant with the Micro Four Thirds System standard.

ASTRODESIGN, Inc., a developer of advanced imaging-related equipment, such as the 4K camera system, that incorporates the latest technology; Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd., one of the world’s leading manufacturers and developers of interchangeable lenses for digital and film SLR cameras; and Tamron Co., Ltd., an internationally renowned manufacturer of precision optics who has been providing powerful, high-quality lenses for a wide variety of fields for more than half a century. With the addition of exciting new products from these companies, the Micro Four Thirds lineup will become much more diverse, further increasing the potential of this advanced digital imaging system.

As the originator of the Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, Olympus Imaging Corp. will continue to develop and enhance the product lineup for both standards to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

ASTRODESIGN, Inc.

A Japanese company established in 1977 that designs and develops professional video equipment and measurement/analysis-related equipment. Well known for developing the world’s first programmable signal generator and the Ultra HDTV image processor devices used at Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan.

ASTRODESIGN, Inc. Website
http://www.astrodesign.co.jp/english/

Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd.

A Japanese company established in 1957 that designs and develops a wide variety of photographic supplies and optical products. It is Japan’s largest manufacturer/seller of lens filters.

Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. Website
http://www.kenkoglobal.com/

Tamron Co., Ltd.

A Japanese company established in 1950 that designs and develops interchangeable SLR camera lenses, lens units for surveillance, as well as ultra-precision optical components based on the integration of advanced optical, electronic and precision machinery engineering technologies.

Tamron Co., Ltd. Website
http://www.tamron.co.jp/en/

The outlines of the standards can be checked at the Four Thirds website

http://www.four-thirds.org/en/
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/index.html

The full name of this beastie is Sigma APO Macro 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM, which tells us it’ll be equally suited for full-frame and APS-C sensors and auto-focus on Nikon’s budget-line D-SLRs. Oh and it’s a 180mm f/2.8 with optical stabilization.

Check out the full specs on Sigma’s site here and read the press release here.

Coming are the 30mm f/2.8 EX DN and 19mm f/2.8 EX DN. One to two stops faster than the kit zooms that typically come with either system, it’ll be exciting to see them in action. And we’re pretty sure that Sigma can make a prime -just recently our Website Manager, Derek, picked up an older Sigma AF 28mm f/2.8 for Nikon and has been pretty much besotted with it.

As for the alphabet soup, the new DN designation stands for “Digital Neo.”

You can read the offical press release here, and the post from Sigma’s blog here.

• Wide-angle converter DMW-GWC1 converts the 14mm (28mm equiv) to 11mm (or 22m equiv)
• Telephoto converter DMW-GTC1 converts the 42mm (84mm equiv) end of the kit zoom to 84mm (168mm equiv)
• Macro converter DMW-GMC1 reduces your minimum focusing distance down to .14m (5.5″), but doesn’t tell how to calculate the change in magnification from such.
• Fisheye converter DMW-GFC1 er, makes things fisheye. A 120 degree one, though.

Compatability for them is as follows:

And, did we mention it’ll cost just $500, and not the $1,700 of the 1.4. And, hey, you can preorder it now, too.

Well, here’s a trick I used when I was switching systems from Olympus to Nikon and had to shop all new lenses that didn’t really line up nicely with what I was used to using. If you aren’t shopping for a special needs lens (all-in-one, macro, fisheye, tilt-shift), but just a regular ol’ lens, then you can use your exisiting photos to give you the best insight into what focal lengths you actually need in your bag. And, as always, I recommend the assistance of Adobe’s stellar Lightroom.

First off, fire it up and look at your library. Lovely, aren’t they? Your photos? Of course they are. Now, let’s get them to tell us some useful data. For this, we’ll use Smart Collections. Smart Collections are a way for us to use the embedded EXIF in our photos, where we store them, and what we’ve done to them and tagged them with to build collections that update as our catalog grows. Very useful things.

So, here’s what you do:

1. Go to the “Library” View

You can click on this in the top right, or, if you’re a shortcuts kinda person, Ctrl+G or Command+G will get you there (think G for Grid).

2. Find “Collections” In The Left-Hand Bar

3. Click the “+” Button

This’ll open the Add Collection Dialog. Select “Create Smart Collection”

4. Pick A Focal Length Range

What you want to do now is tell Lightroom to only show you photos that fall within a certain focal range. I recommend a focal “range” because with zooms it’s unlikely all of your photos will be at one of the common marked focal lengths. Most will probably be within a range of similar focal lengths: Ultra Wide, Wide, Standard, Short Tele, Tele, Moderate Tele, Super Tele, and (for some of you), Exotic. Some recommendations I have for useful focal ranges are below.

Full Frame:

• 14-24 (Ultra Wide)
• 24-35 (Wide)
• 40-60 (Standard)
• 70-90 (Short Tele)
• 100-190 (Tele)
• 200-290 (Moderate Tele)
• 300 (Super Tele)
• 400 (Exotic)
• 500 (Exotic)
• 600 (Exotic)

Crop Sensor:

• 10-16 (Ultra Wide)
• 18-24 (Wide)
• 28-40 (Standard)
• 50-70 (Short Tele)
• 80-100 (Telephoto)
• 100-190 (Moderate Tele)
• 200-290 (Super Tele)
• 300 (Super Tele)
• 400 (Super Tele, Exotic)
• 500 (Exotic)
• 600 (Exotic)

5. Create A Rule

Now, to create the rule. From left to right, you want to select “Focal Length”, “Is In Range”, and then whatever focal lengths you want for the current rule. Don’t forget to give your collection a name you’ll recognize.

Note: Depending on your workflow, you might want to rule out certain conditions, such as a picture being in a “B-Sides” folder, or being tagged “Commercial” as opposed to “Personal.” The above shot shows how you can add multiple filters to isolate just the part of your collection you’re interested in. All are completely optional, of course.

5. Save, And Examine Your Collection Count

6. Repeat For All Applicable Focal Lengths

Once you’ve made similar filters for all focal lengths you use, you can quickly see what lengths are actually useful to you. For example, let’s take a look at my own catalogs results:

What can I deduce from this? Well, off the bat, here are a few observations I have:

1. The 70-90mm range is my most commonly kept focal length for personal photos. When combined with a realization that they’re mostly pictures of people, this indicates that I might benefit from an 85mm f1.4. And is why I have recently ordered a Sigma 85mm f1.4 to that end.
2. The 40-60mm range is rarely my preference. This means that while many people might rave about the joys of a nifty 50, I personally wouldn’t benefit much from it, as its field of view is clearly not one I prefer.
3. I shoot a lot at the extreme ends of my focal lengths, with a preference for ultra-wide and super-telephoto. Lenses that specialize in these areas but don’t cover much of the ground in-between will benefit me more. A 28mm prime would be a good fit for me. A 35mm would be less so. It also means that a 70-300mm was a better purchase for me than a 70-200 would have been. Knowing that matters going in.

Conclusion

So. Now you know how to use Lightroom to help you make future lens choices, especially if you’re starting to be tempted by the cheaper fast primes that have been so hot lately. You can use photos that you already like to help get a feel for how you shoot. Look through them and see what you shoot in those ranges. Are they available light pictures of people? Then yeah, maybe that fast prime in that range is a good plan. Are they studio shots at f11, or landscapes in at 1/4000 of a second? Maybe a sharp zoom with slower apertures will do you just as well as that f2.8 constant your buddy keeps suggesting. A little know how and an existing photo collection can tell you a lot about how your upgrade path should look. What’s yours telling you? Let us know in the comments.

And, in addition to all that, this is the first M.ZUIKO lens from Olympus to feature the build quality and weather-sealing that made their mid-range ZUIKO line-up for 4/3 so respected. I personally owned two lenses from that line-up, and got to use a third for a while, and I can attest to their quality and weather-sealing, so, if this new one lives up to that legacy, it’ll be a trooper, and lend some much anticipated “pro” quality to what for years now has focused on being a consumer system. Now, if only it were a bit faster, but, I suspect there’ll always be compromises inherent in making compact zooms.

The 12-50 EZ will begin being available sometime in January, with an MSRP of $499.99. It’s up for preorder on our site here, and you can read the press release after the jump.

Olympus® Introduces a New Micro Four Thirds® Lens – That Delivers PEN Performance In the Toughest Conditions.

Olympus’ First Micro Four Thirds Lens with an Electronic Zoom is Quiet, Versatile and Designed to Deliver a Range of Images in a Compact, Dust- and Splashproof Body

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., December 14, 2011 – Olympus adds to its powerfully simple and growing PEN family with the first fully-compatible interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lens to incorporate an electronic motorized zoom. The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ (35mm equivalent 24–100mm) delivers smooth, quiet zooming that gives you versatility, portability and maximizes the performance of the Olympus PEN® compact system cameras.

The sophisticated new lens has a zoom ratio of approximately 4.2x, allowing photographers to capture anything from detailed, wide-angle group shots to medium telephoto-range images so you can get up close and personal for intimate portraits of children and pets – even indoors. The photographer can control the zooming speed by turning the barrel – slowly for drama, quickly for performance, or at an intermediate rate. Manual zooming is also available for those looking to take full control.

In macro mode, which can be set by pushing the zoom ring forward while depressing the macro button on the side of the lens, focusing is possible between 8 and 20 inches for close-up shooting with a maximum image magnification of 0.72X (35mm camera equivalent). The L-Fn (Lens Function) button suspends the autofocusing operation temporarily to avoid unintended focusing on obstacles that appear suddenly between the camera and the subject.

Perfect for brilliant still images and high-definition (HD) video capture, the Movie & Still Compatible (MSC) M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ has also been enhanced with a linear motor that drives smooth and quiet autofocusing for stress-free shooting.

New lens elements and glass materials ensure the clearest possible imaging performance, and the proven dust and splashproof mechanism originally featured in the Four Thirds SHG (Super High Grade) series lenses is now incorporated for the first time in a Micro Four Thirds System lens. Multiple sealing rings, fitted throughout the lens body, prevent water splashes and dust from penetrating, making the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ a versatile zoom lens for the toughest conditions.

U.S. Pricing and Availability
M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ: Available Mid-January 2012
Estimated Street Price: $499.99

For a complete list of specifications, visit: http://olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1582

Journalists interested in more information, review units and high-resolution images of the Olympus PEN cameras and M. Zuiko lenses and accessories should contact Keith Gordon, Mullen Public Relations, 212-885-3218, keith.gordon@mullen.com, or Jennifer Colucci, Olympus Imaging America Inc., 484-896-5719, jennifer.colucci@olympus.com, or visit the Olympus website: http://www.getolympus.com.

Pricing and availability aren’t known yet, but we’ll go ahead and get this up for preorder for all you NEX users looking for what we can only hope will be a cost-effective alternative to Sony’s own superzoom offering. Press release after the jump.

TAMRON Announces 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC (Model B011), Tamron’s first high-power zoom for Sony’s NEX-series mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras[1] 

 

Innovative lens is lightweight, compact, and features a striking new form factor with two color options to suit the NEX design.

 

December 8, 2011, Commack, New York : Tamron Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of optical equipment, announced the introduction of an exciting new lens, the 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III[2] VC (Model B011). The new high-power all-in-one zoom lens is designed for the Sony NEX (E-mount) series of interchangeable-lens, lightweight and compact digital cameras. Tamron, the zoom lens pioneer, brings 19 years of high-power zoom lens development technologies to this new product. The lens will begin shipping in the U.S. December 15, 2011.

With the 18-200mm Di III VC (Model B011), Tamron has created a high-power all-in-one zoom lens that is compact and lightweight, featuring a 62mm filter and weighing only 16.2 oz., while at the same time delivering superlative image quality. This compact size lets users easily shoot across an extended range – from wide-angle to full telephoto – with just one lens. The focal length coverage is 18-200mm. Converted to the coverage of the 35mm format, this is equivalent to a range of 27mm wide-angle up to 300mm full telephoto[3]. This allows the user to easily take wide-angle shots of expansive landscapes and powerful telephoto images that enlarge the details of distant subjects-all with one lens. In addition, by setting the lens at the telephoto end (200mm) and moving in to the minimum focus distance of 19.6″, flower petals, jewelry and other small objects can be shot as expanded close-ups.

 

Product Features

• Compact and lightweight: The high-power 18-200mm all-in-one lens is a lightweight and compact zoom weighing 16.2 oz. with a 62mm filter, designed for exclusive use on the E-mount lens system on Sony’s NEX series mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras.

 

• Built-in stabilizationenables easy handheld shooting from 18mm wide angle to 200mm full telephoto: Equipped with Tamron’s acclaimed VC (Vibration Compensation), and thanks to its light weight and compact size, this lens allows easy handheld shooting of sharp images with no camera shake over a wide range of settings, from everyday snapshots to memorable travel scenes.

 

• Stepping motor adopted for the AF drive, a construction that accommodates contrast-detection AF and shooting video: The AF drive has a stepping motor that is optimal for the Contrast-detection AF system employed by NEX series cameras. This also gives the drive a quieter operation, which is ideal for shooting video in which voices are recorded. In addition, ease of operation is enhanced with the Direct Manual Focus (DMF) function, which allows the user to make fine manual adjustments after initially focusing by AF.

 

• Striking appearance worthy of the NEX series design: The metallic lens barrel exterior is available in two colors: black and silver.

• About the stepping motor: The B011′s autofocus mechanism uses a stepping motor that is an ideal match for the Contrast-detection AF system used in Sony’s NEX series cameras. The stepping motor’s actuator allows finely tuned control of angular rotation, and since it drives the focusing mechanism directly without an intermediate reduction gear, it also provides superbly quiet performance.

 

• About the VC (Vibration Compensation) system: Tamron’s VC mechanism employs a three-coil system, whereby three driving coils activate the shake-compensating VC lens group electromagnetically via three steel balls. The VC lens elements are held in place only by contact with the steel balls, achieving smooth movement with little friction. This provides a stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking performance that eliminates the blur from handheld shots for cleaner, crisper shots.

 

• About the new VC mechanism (moving coil system): Tamron’s conventional VC (Vibration Compensation) unit has a moving magnet system with heavy magnets in the vibration-compensating lens. However, the new VC mechanism adopts a lightweight moving coil system that reduces the load on the drive system. This allows the drive to be operated with smaller coils and magnets, reducing the weight and size for the entire VC unit. In addition, improvements to software and other elements of the VC mechanism used in the 18-200mm Di III VC have made the mechanism even quieter.

 

About Tamron

Tamron is a leading manufacturer of photographic lenses. Among its many optical and mechanical innovations since the founding of the company in 1950, Tamron’s development of mass-produced hybrid Aspherical elements paved the way for today’s compact high power all-in-one lenses when, in 1992, this technology was incorporated into the ground-breaking 28-200mm. Tamron continues to lead in this category of lenses with the new 18-270mm Di II VC PZD – the world’s smallest and lightest 15X zoom lens featuring Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) system for blur-free hand-held shooting of photos in low light and at telephoto settings and PZD (Piezo Drive) autofocus system for fast and quiet AF operation. Tamron has garnered international acclaim for its extensive line-up of professional and consumer lenses.

• 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 – this is the standard kit zoom, with an effective focal range of 27-81mm. Notice the inclusion of VR, as well. This lens will come in colors coordinated to your chosen body. This lens is so far only available in a kit.
• 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 - 81-297mm equiv. This is the expected telephoto brother to the standard kit zoom. It looks like if you buy this in a 2 lens kit it’ll also be color coordinated. If you want to pick one up separate later, it’ll set you back $249.95, and we’ll maybe carry it in either black or white. We’re still looking into that.
• 1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 pancake lens - No mirrorless system is complete with a small pancake prime for the street photography crowd, and for the Nikon 1 system that’s this 27mm equivalent prime right here. It’s available in some 2-lens kits with the bodies where it’ll be, you guessed it, color-coordinated. You can add it separate for $249.95, same as the other lens, and also probably in black or white.
• 1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 - aimed at people wanting to shoot movies more, the 27-270mm equiv all-in-one zoom also features a powered zoom mechanism (ie, you don’t have to twist a zoom ring by hand, more like the rocker switch on point-and-shoots). The rocker switch can be seen towards the bottom of the lens, where you’d normally expect to see the AF/MF switch. This lens adheres to the Henry Ford policy and only comes in black, and so far as I can see can only be bought separately for $749.95