First OM Digital Solutions Lens Launched

2021.11.05

The transition of Olympus towards their new owners was initiated at the beginning of this year and a long period of silence followed. Existing owners of Olympus photography gear rightfully started worrying with little known on the future of their brand. Of course with Panasonic also producing both Micro Four-Thirds cameras and lenses, there was going to be platform continuity for the foreseeable future. Olympus Imaging assets were spun into a company called OM Digital System which is mostly owned by JIP with a small stake at the hands of Olympus that continues to exist as a Medical Imaging company.

This morning a sigh of relief echoed in the Olympus community with the launch of the M.Zuiko 20mm F/1.4 PRO. The lens is labelled as OM System and retains the M.Zuiko branding yet certainly fits the lineup like every other premium Olympus lens. This is promising for continuity of quality.

The OM System M.Zuiko 20mm F/1.4 PRO is a professional-grade prime lens with a bright maximum aperture. Its 20mm focal-length is equivalent to a normal 40mm on a Full-Frame camera. Inline with premium build quality that Olympus was famous for, the 20mm F/1.4 PRO is weatherproof and freezeproof to -10C. It comes with an IPX1 rating, a rarity among camera gear. At 247g, this is a fairly light lens and it fits into a compact 64mm cube. This is crucially the most important factor that OM Digital Solutions must keep hitting to ensure that Micro Four-Thirds maintains its unique avantage.

For a Premium Micro Four-Thirds lens, its remaining specifications are fairly standard. There is a 9-blade iris to render smooth bokeh when shooting wide-open. The lens can focus down to 25cm which gives a magnification of 0.11X. A front filter-thread accepts compact 58mm screw-on filters.

This new lens is expected next month for $800 USD or $1000 CAD. Expect a critical look at it when it becomes available since no one knows yet how OM Digital Solutions have changed their production pipeline in order to aim for profitability. Check out the M.Zuiko 20mm F/1.4 PRO specification page for more details, including some pre-ordering options for those ready to try it before everyone else.

• Lens