Olympus ZUIKO 7-14mm introduction
When the Four Thirds digital SLR system was first announced,
one of the most exciting prospects was a range of brand new lenses, designed
exclusively from the ground-up for digital use. The Four Thirds backers claimed these lenses could boast a number of benefits including lower distortion and light fall-off than rival systems.
Olympus, the primary Four
Thirds company, now offers no fewer than 23 ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses delivering
everything from budget zooms to extreme wide-angle, fast telephoto and macro
optics. Sigma also offers a selection of Four Thirds models and the choice
has recently grown further with Panasonic and Leica joining the fray.
Olympus groups its ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses into three ranges:
Standard, which includes the typical kit lenses bundled with Olympus DSLRs; Pro, which sports dust and splash-proofing and includes an
8mm fish-eye and 50mm macro; and Top Pro which adds a fixed aperture throughout
the zoom range.
Of the Top Pro range, which includes an optically fast 35-100mm
f2.0 and 300mm f2.8, the model which gets us most excited at Cameralabs is
the 7-14mm f4. Delivering a 35mm equivalent focal length of 14-28mm and a
massive 114 degree field of view when zoomed-out, Olympus claims it's currently
the World's widest digital zoom lens.
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In this review we'll take an in-depth look at the Olympus ZUIKO
DIGITAL ED 7-14mm 1:4.0 lens and compare its performance against other models
in the Olympus range. It's undoubtedly a classy product, but can it justify
a price tag of around $1500 US Dollars? (check the bottom of each page for the latest prices). We'll find out in our full review which has now been updated to include new coverage, results and gallery shots taken with the latest Olympus E-510 and E-410 DSLRs. To read how these cameras perform, check out our Olympus E-510 review and Olympus E-410 review.
NEW: For an overview of the headline features of this lens, check out our Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm video tour
Testing notes
The 7-14mm and other ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses in this article were
tested with Olympus E-410 and E-500 digital SLRs. The serial number
for the 7-14mm lens tested was 110002935. |
