Click on picture to see the full size version
Oly5050 from Clubsnap (Click here) posted a set of nice pictures of the new E-M5 along the superb Carl Zeiss Sonar f/1.5 (on the left of the image) and the upcoming new Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens. That lens will arrive this summer and NOT be weather sealed. The exact price is unknown but it will be certainly higher than the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 price ($399 at Amazon now). Some unconfirmed rumors from external websites say the price in between $700-$800. The lens is so good on the new [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink]!
[poll id=”132″]
Here are two more pictures (Click on them to enlarge):
E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name): Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.
Today Rankings:
USA: E-M5 on position 8/13 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 bad ranked (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 4 (Click here).
France: not available (Click here to see rankings anyway).
Japan: E-M5 on position 6/13/16 (Click here).
159 Responses
Silver lens on black body, ugly.
Yep, they need to make a black version too!
Olympus is wasting/losing money and liquidity in a serious economic situation!
I would have already bought the m.Zuiko 12mm/f2.0 and would buy the new m.Zuiko 75mm/f1.8 – but only in a black version!
I own the m.Zuiko 45mm/f.1.8. It’s a superb lens – but I have to fret every time I use this ugly silver design wallflower on my black Olympus bodies. I am a long resting Olympus fan and have preordered the amazing OM-D E-M5 (black version!) but …
I am so angry about these silver sorry efforts that I am supposing to buy the black beautiful Voigthlaender 17,5mm/f0.95 and some of the new professional weather sealed black Panasonic Zooms (12-35mm/35-100mm).
http://distilleryimage3.instagram.com/dcebfaf68fa011e1a87612313804ec91_7.jpg
Weather sealing is an important reason to buy too.
Olympus could have an USP (Olympus Outdoor Adventure Series, Olympus Wild Life Versions) with the OM-D E-M5 and weather sealed 12mm-, 17mm-, 45mm- and 75mm-High Grade lenses versus Sony Nex and others. Providing weather sealing for the 12-50mm zoom, the new 60mm Macro lens, the bundled flash and the HLD-6 Battery Holder is the right decision!
But Olympus seems to be too profitable to reach the final break through and follow their customer’s needs – they do not want my and many others money.
Honestly? You won’t buy a camera lens because of the color of its plastic? Not only that, but you’re ANGRY about a silver-colored lens?
I don’t think I can say this without sounding like a jerk, but here goes: you’re blowing color WAY out of proportion. It’s not a catastrophe to use a camera that isn’t beautiful. Or I should say that if it is you should sell everything you’ve got to buy a Leica, because there is no better camera on the market for someone who wants a pretty camera.
Who says black camera with silver lens isn’t pretty?
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/M9WITHLENS1.jpg
Dear Cris K,
thank you for your sophisticated reply – I fully agree with you.
It is not only about design.
The main reason for my denial of silver bodies and lenses – you can’t disguise your gear in wild life and street photography efficiently due to the massive reflections.
I have no problem with silver lenses in a studio environment.
150mm equivalent is, shall we say, on the extreme tele side of street photography.
For whatever its worth, my 2¢, street photography is not about being disguised and or hidden. Thats paparazzi stuff. Its about being trusted as a person and ignored as a photographer. You are close to the subject, you are in interaction, the subject knows you have a camera, that you can frame and shoot at any moment, you get him not to pose for the camera. It has more to do with social skills and agile handling with a relaxed smile than about the eventual reflection of the lens, which quite frankly must not be that worse.
Great post Jules. I have a bit of an ethical problem when street photography is all about stealth and capturing people who do not want to be photographed or do not even know about it, then using the image. I like your thought much better that it is actually about social interaction. Kudos to you. You have given me new perspective.
Personally I greatly prefer the look of the silver to the black!
As far as wildlife goes – if you are that concerned with reflections then disguise your camera better. Wrap it in some dark or camo cloth. Color of the lens doesn’t really matter…
well the 75mm F1.8 IS a studio lens for Portraiture, that’s probably also why it isn’t weathersealed. The MAcro 60mm IS weathersealed.
Chris K, have you got the 45mm 1.8 lens? I do. Its a great piece of glass, but the “silver” finish ages REALLY badly (mine already showing some paint peeling off) and it sticks ridiculously shiny in front of a black camera. Its the first lens I’ve had that looks this bad after just a few months of (careful) use. So, yes, I’d rather have a black version that is both more durable and less ridiculously shiny. YMMV of course.
Silver on black ugly? I think it looks unconventional, but not ugly. Anyway, it might look ok on a silver body.
The 45 weathering? If so, not good (mine is 5 months old, and no sign of weathering). Hopefully the 12/2 and the 75/1.8 has a better stamina — they both have metal finish while the 45 has plastic finish.
Should they have been weather sealed? Yes, please. HOWEVER, it is more important that the 60/2.8 macro and a possible future bird lens (300 +/-) are weather sealed. I don’t see myself crawling around with the 75/1.8 — isn’t it more an indoor event/zoo gorilla portrait lens? Sure, it would be good were it weather sealed, but I don’t see it as a show stopper.
Is the silver shine a disadvantage? To some degree. But against a white T-shirt, a silver body+lens may be more anonymous, look more old-fashioned/less pro than the black version.
It has nothing to do with the silver finish and everything to do with the use of inferior material.
Chris is right, the comment he is responding to is ridiculous. The OP is so silly as to chastise Olympus for not offering him his color of choice “in a serious economic situation”.
Well, you have to blame Olympus for making the camera in two colours, it’s understandable for people to then want a ‘matching’ lens.
Also, the Panasonic bodies are predominantly black, so it’d seem to make sense for Oly to offer black versions of all their lenses.
Not that it’d stop me buying any of them I guess, but I’d much rather have a black one and would delay my purchase if it looked like black may be available in the future (specifically I’m interested in the 45/1.8)
Yeap i have the silver one!!! But
I will really love to see a 45mm 1.8 in black , it’ll be awesome -^^
Plus 1
+1
Silver lenses on the silver EM-5 don’t look that good either. Black lenses look better in both cases.
The “silver” EM-5 is still mostly black.
That’s the matter of preference. For me, silver body is perfect with everything(even the ugly old panny grey-black lenses).
Well sure aesthetics are always subjective. Its fine that you like silver.
But when the camera body is mostly black, silver lenses doesn’t match, simple as that. Whether you like is a different issue. Its like white shoe laces on black shoes. Some people might dig it but most people dont. The problem is we don’t have a choice.
Its different with the PENS which are all silver. silver lenses would look fantastic on them.
Well.. Actually I hate silver E-P3(I have a white one).
If I have a black shoe with white soles, I think any kind of laces or socks would fit wouldn’t it?
Dude I think your taste is outside the box – which is great. But thats not the point. You don’t expect apple to launch an white-only ipad or Panasonic to to launch a pink only GF3. They start off with Black, then give people a couple other options.
“But when the camera body is mostly black, silver lenses doesn’t match, simple as that. Whether you like is a different issue. Its like white shoe laces on black shoes. Some people might dig it but most people dont. The problem is we don’t have a choice.”
—-
I fully disagree, here.
People don’t complain *too* much about chrome lenses on black Leica bodies… It’s a matter of preference, and I like how a black PEN camera looks with the smaller silver Oly primes.
What about white lenses on black bodies? It seems to be a status symbol in the Canon world…
Considering the size of the white lenses in question, you hardly see the black body mounted on the rear.
Those Canon lenses really aren’t some shiny/bright white but more like matt colour closer to beige.
“Those Canon lenses really aren’t some shiny/bright white but more like matt colour closer to beige.”
Which is terribly ugly.
The white L lenses served a functional purpose because when Canon first started introducing fluorite elements, they were concerned that the formulation they were using was less tolerant to thermal effects and painted the lens white so it would absorb less heat.
That’s not to say that there isn’t a marketing-based motivation in it, but the decision was initially grounded in technical reasons.
As to Oly putting cheap silver-painted plastic finishes on their lenses, I would berate them more for the cheapness of the finish than the cosmetic intent.
You disagree with what … People DO have a choice ?
Yeh but Leica bodies are not Olympus bodies. Leica bodies are better looking and even then they barely pull off chrome on black. Black still looks better than chrome lenses in this example as well.
@MrJr yeh I was wondering which bit he was disagreeing with.
IF… one is offered.
the silver E-M5 is a better choice regarding the silver lenses. its not mostly black, its black & silver in a balanced way. thats why both silver and black lenses look good on it.
I actually think silver and black go very well together. It’s no surprise that the silver E-M5 has black elements in its design — or that any black car does for that matter. Any lens will look good on it. Imho, of course.
The silver EM-5 is more a black body with silver accents. Its inspired by retro bodies. The difference is those retro bodies came with BLACK lenses. The way it is supposed to be.
Silver lenses on a black body seems no worse to me than a black car with aluminum wheels. I won’t use the “supposed to be” rhetoric since in the end it’s all a matter of taste. You’re right though that black lenses look more like cameras did in the past, which is what I think you meant to say.
>Silver lenses on a black body seems no worse to me than a black car with aluminum >wheels.
Its more like a black car with a silver bonnet imo i.e visually jarring
Very cute.
Silver lenses look great on my silver E-M5. I shoot with the 12/2 and 45/1.8 and both look fantastic attached to the body.
You’re right. All those black suits with white shirts… Totally off, right?
Sure. What about all those silver & black iMacs, Macbook Pros, and iPhones?… You’re right, I guess Apple never had much success with those products either.
YUCK!!
How many Canon shooters complains that the L-lens’s white and red color doesn’t match that of the black bodies?
.
I thought they did a black 75mm when i saw the image on the left. How disappointing.
Still excited about the lens.
But black primes ffs! Olympus does so many things right, then they drop the ball on simple things like lens color and focus peaking.
I hope my E-M5 ships soon.
+1
The Zeiss looks better and is NOT silver… The Oly silver on 12 and 45 is not very discrete during street photo.
Only a radically better sensor/processor can make me stay in m43.
The Zeiss looks better by a big margin. As good or better than the 25mm f0.95 which imo is the bets looking native M43 lens.
I think a lot of that is due to the fact that the Zeiss looks like a “real” lens—by that I mean it has an aperture ring, and depth of field scales on it. Also Zeiss does a lovely job of the knurling on their lenses. The Olympus lens will be very nice optically, I am sure (although as someone that owns Zeiss glass for the past 35 years, I won’t make comparisons)—but the lack of “detailing” makes many autofocus lenses look more like toys. (Don’t get me started on “focus by wire” either…)
Alan, totally. What you describe is a big factor.
I’m with you on that. They are just lumps with glass at either end. The old lenses of the 1960s onward to the digital era were mostly black but they had interest, rings that worked, scales (coloured), for DOF and diaphragm and they looked great on a black or chrome camera. Today just ugly lumps with glass at the end. Even the silver/chrome ones look dull.
y no weatherseal
Why doesn’t Panasonic make fast and stabilized prime telephoto lenses? It is difficult to take hand-held videos with unstabilized telephoto lenses by using panasonic cameras due to too much shaking. Panasonic has only 45mm f/2.8 stabilized, which is not so fast for low light video. Olympus has both fast 45mm F/1.8 and also 75mm f/1.8 is coming soon, but they are not stabilized.
I thought the Panny cams were being announced today. Any news?
700-800 USD for non-sealed lens? That is a joke, right?
500 USD max., and they should re-work all the goodies to sealed ones. The price for 12mm/2.0 is just ridiculous without that…
+1
It is a Sonnar 50/1.5 no Sonar!
I have a nice Fujinon-TV 75/1.8 c-mount lens. It is tiny, lightweight and black. No need for this monster.
In italy you can find the 45mm f1.8 at 270€ include vat….I hope the 75 f1.8 will be in the 600€ range.
I voted yes but I’d rather buy a sealed version – while I don’t mind the least if it’s silver or black.
What I want is an E-M5 in British Racing Green Metallic – the colpour of the Jaguar Racing Formula 1 cars some years ago. Black an silver both aren’t for me, nonetheless I ordered the black E-M5 for its qualities.
Olympus. I wil not buy a single silver lens so no black lens then no sale. Besides, it’s a color option not a new design for each model so make both or lose many sales. Very clueless marketing. Like when Samsung made TVs with red trim, think of that on a green wall in a home. Stupid designers with no concept of the the market.
welcome to panny lens. for me i dont care black or silver. if the lens good i buy it,weather seal is a bigger factor than just colour.
Why isnt that lens sealed???
I shall decide which lens to buy when the Panny 35 – 100 2.8 comes out.
But the 75mm 1.8 sure looks tempting.
For 700$, yes.
For 700 Euro, never!
I don’t care for silver lenses either. Didn’t I read that they use a different shade of silver on the lenses than they do on the body? I wonder what the advantage of that is?
75 mm is fine on full frame, but it’s sort of a bastard focal length on m4/3, as a 150 mm, residing between 135 and 180 mm.
Olympus is funny, in that they pull an arbitrary number out of the hat and say, (hey, lets make a lens that long) regardless, if no one has ever found it useful in a hundred years of photography. One thing is for sure, with the Olympus management, at least they are consistent and you can pretty much bet money that they well make another stupid decision and make it soon. 😉
Funny. Nikon made a few lenses that went to 150mm.
Focal lengths and fields of view are also subjective. 50mm isn’t *really* normal, based on the FF diagonal. It just happened to be the lens that came with the camera because it was an easy focal length to design and build for.
People got used to it, and it became standard.
Legend has it that 50mm became normal for 36mm x 24mm when camera companies reused their normal lenses from 3cm x 4cm roll film cameras.
It was common for a standard lens to have a focal length approximately equivalent to the diagonal of the film. As the diagonal of a 35mm film is 43.3mm many 35mm cameras were sold with lenses close to that size. Offerings being different from company to company and model to model, most were fixed lenses. In the interchangable lens cameras the same applied with ‘standard’ usually being between 40 to 50mm some went to 58mm. I think that manufacturers were more inclined to change the focal length to get a result they wanted than they are today. If you trawl through ebay looking at lenses by mm size you will often find some for any nominated focal length.
As other film sizes were mostly fixed lens cameras the 50mm being a flow down from other formats is unlikely.
it seems the dominant use of black on lenses and academic style FL are burnt in your head that much, that you can’t accept anything else then that. Luckily enough other people are much easier in this.
+1
This cosmetic craze baffles me even more than IBIS vs OIS mania
Well, for one most would agree that black is a much more reasonable color for photographic tools. It IS more discrete and business like after all. But, putting aside any “aesthetic” considerations, the real problem is that the silver finish of Oly lenses gets really ugly after a few months. I know, I have the 45mm…
My 43 looks *exactly* as it did when I bought it — and — I *have* used it. And the 12/2 and 75/1.8 are all metallic, which the 45/1.8 is not.
Well maybe everyone that would have liked to have had a 135mm equivalent micro4/3 portrait lens, can’t afford to knock a hole in the wall of their studio, to get far enough back, so they can take head and shoulder shots with a 150 mm equivalent lens. Lets just stand the whole world on it’s head, to accommodate the whims of a dysfunctional camera maker and screw everyone else huh. Silver lenses that don’t match the bodies are, well, why not just make them baby shit brown, if it doesn’t matter? 😉
Why not use the 45 then? Oh, you would have to remove your bar disk then?
I want silver, silver or chrome or alloy, not paint for ALL my lenses with numbers in black, with some in yellow or green. Must be numbers like 16,22,8 2.8, 1.4 and lines in black grouping some of the numbers with the other set of numbers that show distance.
As http://gizmodo.com/5828807/please-stop-calling-gadgets-sexy said, do you really plan to fit this lens in your ass?
If that is what you mean, please post pictures.
Otherwise, please stop this stupid fad of calling photographic stuff sexy. They are just tools for a job. Period.
LOL 🙂
+1
Don’t need it and it’s too expensive, but … if I had the money I’d buy it!!! 🙂
I rather like the look of my silver 45mm on my black E-P2. The chrome trim helps I guess.
Anyway, it’ll be a bare metal E-P2 pretty soon 🙂
…anyway, buying a lens based on it’s colour ? How sad is that.
This 75mm f/1,8 is quite big, but i guess this will be a great lense (and expensive).
The promised availability of the 75/1.8 is the main reason I am staying with M43 instead of jumping to some alternative such as Fuji or Sony. I photograph a lot of stage performances, and a 75 on M43 will be ideal for me. Currently, when I need something longer than the 45/1.8, I go to a 1961-vintage 100mm f/2 Canon rangefinder lens… often it’s a bit too “tight,” so a 75 should be right on the money.
And I’ll finally have autofocus! I used to tell myself I didn’t really need it, until I got the 45/1.8 to replace my previous short-tele lens (50/1.5 Nokton.) Having the option of AF is HUGELY more convenient.
Yeah, I wish it were black, but that’s not going to stop me buying it. The 45/1.8 is chrome, of course, and I’m using it on a GH2, so it looks extra-funny. But I don’t care.
For me,
photographic tools, especially in this price range
should have:
Distance scale
Depth of field scale
No need of software correction.
Anything else is more a toy.
…then what are you doing here? Those three “features” are not coming (outside of adapted MF optics, or the 12/2 by-wire cludge) and were never promised. Fuji caters to your market.
Thank you Olympus!
If that rumoured price is true, I will get the 85mm Samyang or Panny 35-100..
But on DP they were speculating $500 based on 45mm-ish mount and build (no weather sealing etc). At that price it’s a possibility..
I wont consider it if the 75 comes out above $650. it is bad enough that the 12mm is $800 and not weather sealed. Olympus needs to rethink their pricing strategy
the samyang seems to be a best buy for its price
OT, but maybe useful for those considering the Samyang.
I bought the Samyang 85/1.4, and a Contax/Yashica mount Zeiss 85/1.4 Planar. I bought these for astrophotography, which is extremely sensitive to lens aberrations and quality, so I wanted to compare. The Samyang benefits from a modern design, but poor QA (mine has fixed coma across the field, consistent with misaligned elements), and feels cheap. The Zeiss feels great and is well made, but the optical design is old, and it really shows, with very bad coma off-axis.
Anyway, the Samyang is probably the best overall, and should be sharper across the frame, but don’t be surprised if you get one that seems ‘soft’ despite all the rave reviews. The focus feel isn’t great, a bit sticky and too tight, and it also makes an annoying “whoosh” noise when you focus.
BTW I decided the best lest out of these two was: neither. They both have to be stopped down so much, they are overly large and expensive. Even stopped down, the Zeiss still has bad coma off-axis. I’m going to use the Zuiko 100/2.8 that I already have. The Zeiss 85/2.8 Sonnar looks like it might be worth a look for astro stuff, but with all things Zeiss is overpriced and probably vastly overrated.
I have the Samyang 7.5mm and I feel the same way about it. The focus was super stiff at first. Despite the rave reviews on how sharp it was, I felt mine was way too soft. I ordered another to compare but it turned out even softer. Maybe third times a charm. ;(
BTW just to be clear, I will be getting the Oly 75/1.8. When I say “…the Samyang is probably best overall…”, I mean in comparison with the Zeiss (specifically for AP, before anyone jumps on me).
I own an Canon FD 85 f1.2L, which I bought for about $600. I also own a $50 MFT to FD adapter…
Why would I need this new silver/grey lens?
You’re one of a very lucky few. Most times I see that FD 1.2L go for at least $900.
AF
the 85mm 1.2’s are excellent performers, great out of focus background, The current ones are very expensive, even used. The MF can be high priced too, you were lucky to get it for this price(though in the U.S. better deals can be had), and indeed you dont need the silver zuiko i guess 🙂
Add my name to the long list of people that want BLACK versions of these new Olympus prime lenses. I don’t understand what is taking Olympus so long to simply produce a black version ???
As was mentioned before, m4/3 primes are great quality, but way too much money. I don’t buy the argument of “it’s cheap compared to a full frame 150mm 1.8 equivalent.”
Almost every 75-85mm 1.8 lens from Pentax, Nikon, Canon, etc is far less than $800.
dbas, I agree, but I think that as long as there are buyers, they’ll continue to sell as high as they can while they can.
What we need to remember is that regardless of the sensor size, a lens’ focal length is a set thing. That this is a 75mm lens, at $800 (if this is where it comes in at) it is about twice as expensive as the average 85mm f/1.8 AF / non-IS, (Black) metal offering from most any other system manufacturer. That it is a 150mm equivalent because it’s being cropped into by way of a smaller/cheaper to manufacture sensor with fewer materials (less cost here as long as they’re doing it right as well) it is a bit frustrating that they’re selling as high as they are. I know, I know the R&D involved needs to be taken into consideration, but this still should not demand a double in pricing to me. But, this is what they’ve offered, and many of us continue to pay it, so it seems to be purely a supply and demand situation.
This all being said, I would really like to see this lens come in nearer $550-600. That, to me, would be a very realistic price for a lens like this (assuming it is optically sound) and I would gladly part with some hard earned money at that point. If votes are being counted, I too would like the option for a black version, but it isn’t a total deal breaker for me 🙂
I agree, however WRT price I suspect it is related to 20+ year old 135 format 85/1.8s *at the time of their introduction.* Inflation hasn’t touched classic optics for the most part (leave that to the manufacturer’s and their “mark 2’s”) only the introduction of new product. The Pentax 77mm limited is probably right in line with the Oly.
By that logic, Panasonic should be charging $2200 for their 14mm f/2.5, since Canon charges that much for their 14mm f/2.8.
It seems a reasonable argument, and one often used for 4/3 lenses too, but I disagree.
The manufacturing tolerances to get that optical quality must be fairly strict. I have yet to see any lens from any manufacturer that comes anywhere close to the optical quality of the ZD 150/2. It’s truly amazing, comparable to dedicated optics for astrophotography. This can’t be said of the Canon or Nikon 300/2.8’s. They’re “good enough” for AP, and certainly very good lenses. Of course when you consider the system as a whole, sheer optical quality is not the only (and probably not the most important) factor, and astrophotography is at the most extreme end of pixel peeping.
In addition, the (m)4/3rds lenses have the benefit of being designed from scratch for a digital system and are not legacy lenses that show their flaws once given a good-enough sensor.
Given the vast difference in quality, I think it’s fair to compare the (m)4/3rds lenses to the 35mm equivalent focal length.
I much prefer the silver.
I cannot WAIT to get my hands on the 75mm….I don’t care if it is $800…based on what is out there it is totally worth it if it preforms like the 20mm and the 45mm Oly lenses!!!!! Hell-bokeh-yeah!!!!!! I don’t care if it is pink. LOL!
To some of the posts above…the lens is going to be all metal so I cannot see Olympus pricing this under $700-800 as it is the only AF lens of its kind for MFT. Would I like it to be $400..sure…but that is not a reality in the market for this product.
With you 100%.. what 20mm Oly lens o_O? Did I miss something?
OH….so sorry….I meant the 12mm!!!!!! My mistake! I was too excited about the 75mm, that I lost my head!
LOL!
Tell me about it! These silver beauties made me lose my mind too. I bought the 12mm and 45mm from my excitement.
Can’t wait for my E-M5 to arrive.
E-M5 looks like a great camera.. I have a GX1 w/LVF2 and a G3…they really complement each other in features. Plus it is nice to have two bodies around your neck when using primes. I think the image quality should be about the same for all three of these cameras..BUT, you will definitely have a faster frame rate and the advantage of IS for these lenses…nice. I am going to stick with the cameras I have and concentrate on making images…..maybe next generation I will change up! It’s all good!
That 75mm is one hunk-o-glass! Hope it specs out well!
wow all metal. unless these are rare earths or other noble metals… last time i checked metal wasn’t enough to justify a $400 premium in any product other than olympus camera lenses. oh whoops i forgot its got a pro label that must be it.
spare me the olympus marketing please
I guess you prefer plastic…the price could also be due to all of the glass in there that is not present in MUCH smaller lenses. M arrogant K.
lol whatever dude, call me arrogant; both of your comments look like it they were hatched in a corporate office somewhere. what is arrogant is charging 800 for a single focal length lens in a system that was meant for consumers.
your next camera.
http://images.johndeeregifts.com/images//products_jd/en_us/altview/large/TBEK34573_LG.jpg
keeps the cost of photography down for you…and HEY no metal (or glass!)
I come from DSLR world, I constantly hear people complain about the price of m43, it seems relatively cheap to me and especially this lens, 75mm f1.8 effectively 150mm, only a very small percent of people with m43 will buy this lens, and usually a lens as good as this would be in the thousands (if it’s as good as the 12mm or 45mm). These are high quality optics, and m43 is more than capable of performing in the pro market.
Exactly.
Wow, nice camera! Who made the sensor?
why…it’s a “John Deere”, of course! 🙂
Oh, My – Deere? A secret message?
As long as it’s not a ‘Dear John’
Is it bad to not buy work clothes for two years, so you can spend all your spare cash on camera gear?
If all Oly users have to complain about is black or silver or grey than its truly a new era. Congrats Oly for moving the discussion and nit picking to such minutiae. After Oly makes matching lenses maybe the complaints will be about neck straps. Bravo Oly!
+1
I have to admit – you have got a point!
It’s not exactly nit picking, I would not want silver on anything with high use and it’s a bad marketing decision. It is one thing to offer/not offer silver as on option but to only offer silver is really dumb. If you don’t think this will hurt sales significantly then you may consider a marketing class. As far as straps go, who cares, they can be replaced. Silver is also bright, stands out when not wanted and reflects light. I don’t think either color is sexy and that is a stupid reason to buy a lens but I find the silver impractical and distracting form a functional perspective and I need functional equipment not sexy neck gear.
When it’s not the color scheme then it’s the “hump”… and we’ve all but forgotten about the RF styled RF.
It’s not Sony or Fuji that Olympus should partner with, it’s Louis Vuitton.
Yes my collection will be complete 😛 12mm, 45mm, and this baby.
I wish they were weather sealed but whatever. Now if they’d make a 17mm or 20mm fast prime (same design) I’d be in heaven.
wow, a 150mm equiv. with f/1.8 is pretty interesting and very sexy indeed – to dislike a lens like this because it doesn’t match your dress’ color, seriously?
Ehm… I have a Jupiter 85/2 I bought for 80 EU, beautiful solid lens in black. Before the 1970s they were made in silver (aluminium), did anybody ever complain?
Oly knows its classics when going retro. Please note that the front is always black, so the subjects don’t really notice the difference.
Silver on black, black on silver were never the problem in a century’s history of photography.
You can argue for fun, but really mind the essentials. How well the lens is made and how much it costs. End of the problem.
+1
Now, how much for your Jupiter? 😉
With all the strong opinions and (boring?) traditionalist/conservative arguments for black lenses, I do hope you are more daring when taking pictures :-). What is pretty is more or less a matter of what you are used to.
In my view, the only interesting arguments against the silver color are weathering and that they might stick out. Personally, I would think black equipment is more visible than silver equipment against light/beige summer clothes, or against snow. The hump definitely looks more pronounced on the black one.
Let’s see some pros during “wildlife photograpy” – would they take the black or the silver lens m.Zuiko version?
http://www.steyr-mannlicher.com/typo3temp/pics/ba1cb0ee20.jpg
:-). The 12-45-75 are not for “manhunting” in the wilderness. The 60/2.8 macro and a possible bird lens are, however — I guess that also a bird lens should be weather sealed and preferably dark.
Regarding street shooting, I see that a lens that doesn’t stick out can allow for more relaxed subjects/targets. At the same time, I think people should have the right to know that they are being photographed, and that it is good ethics to ask for permission — at least if planning to go public with the picture.
My take on street shooting is that people notice me when I use a normal or wide angle lens, because that means I’m close. No one notices me at 150 mm, because then I’m too far away for that.
Interesting comment regarding ethics on shooting a subject regarding street shooting, my take is that once you have approached the subject the shot has been lost as they have become instantly aware of the camera, I say this from experience and the amount of images I have lost by not taking the shot when I’ve seen it, once the moment has gone it’s gone for ever and can never be repeated, by all means mention it afterwards if you feel you need to but take the shot first, the whole idea of street shooting is the natural aspect of it all.
Apologies for long sentence.
If only Panasonic would bring out a fast telephoto prime with OIS! Panasonic bodies lack IBIS and Olympus lenses have no OIS so the two don’t work together at long focal lengths with a narrow field of view, where hand shake inevitably causes image blur.
A fast Panasonic OIS prime somewhere in the range 70-90mm would go down well. On the other hand, up the ISO and shutter speed, shoot bursts and use a fine manual legacy lens.
The only gripe I have with the 45mm’s silver finish is that it comes off. My 12mm of course, looks brand new, even though it’s been banging around in my bag with the 45mm. Actually, I’m going to blame the 12mm for rubbing the finish off the 45mm. 🙂
That said, the black finish on the E-P3 isn’t durable either.
I ordered a silver E-M5 out of nostalgia, and that it was silver enough to use a silver lens, black enough to use a black lens, and that was probably the last I ever thought about the issue. Ultimately, though, I’m far more concerned about the color coming OUT of a lens, than the color OF the lens.
Besides, them telephoto L lenses from Canon… they’re all white. And their cameras are all black.
Jeez, We are lucky enough to get a new lens in this relatively new camera format (and a great one long focal length and bright, 75mm f1.8) and most of the discussion is about the silver colour (it doesn’t match the E-M5 silver either…).
I don’t think I have a use for this lens (what are other people using it for, indoor events?), so I’m not going to buy it, but I’m certainly glad to get another lens in the system line up, everything helps grow it and shows Olympus is committed to it.
The reason larger Canon lenses are white is because black gets ruddy hot when out on safari. This lens would suit safari works as would any bigger (focal length) one, I’d rather have it in a lighter colour than black if I was using it for that. There are always camouflage covers to put over the lens if that’s the reason you’re bothered about colour.
Yes , 75mm F1.8 finally . This is the type of lens I need desperately . I definitely rate this higher than the X lens 35-100 mm , F2.8 is still hard for me to accept with current M4/3 sensors .
Based on the comments, I think we need another voting option:
[ ] No, waiting for black version.
I use the silver 45 1.8 on a GH2. Does it look ok? Yes. Quirky? A little. I’d prefer it to be black, but, not really a show stopper. But I think I would be annoyed if I got an $800 silver lens and then they release a black version a few months later.
I also think it would be nice if Olympus showed some consistency. Make all your lenses in same colour by default (I’d vote for black) and offer other colours later as you see demand for them.
I think this 75 sounds pretty interesting to me, and I’ll probably pull the trigger if performs as well as the 45. But, I can understand why some people are upset and won’t buy if not black. Everyone should be allowed their own preferences and has differing needs.
I would be annoyed if I got a black lens and a silver version became available later.
I want a silver 12-60. (exchange that is, with no more to pay).
Oh yes and a silver e-m5 with real chrome not paint and brown leather not black.
OK, a black lens like the style of the Zeiss above is fine. Maybe a Voigtlander 21 or 25!!! The panny 25mm is dull dull dull.
$400-$550(max) in a heartbeat, but for $700 for a f1.8 lens, that’s too much despite being the sexiest for m43.
A lens out-resolving m43 sensor size makes less sense after a while or cost. If we’re talking larger sensor, the lens obviously makes sense. I really don’t think any m43 lens should exceed $600 max.
-End.
For $700, I wouldn’t think twice. I’ll hang on to my GF1 and GH1 to get this before I’d invest in a new camera body. This is the last piece of the puzzle for me. Only thing that might keep me from this is if the Panny f2.5 35-100 or whatever it is, turns out to be reasonably priced in the same range.
it looks interesting.
i would be more interested if available black.
why not weather sealed? that is a terrible omission.
om body
12mm
45mm
75mm
150mm
all you need. all fast lenses. no zooms and all these are compact= easy carry and storage.
You must have a 25 (20 up to 28) or close to it in your listing! Or you do not have a classic set.
You have selected (in 35mm standard) the 24, 90, 150 and 300 lenses. You will need something, either 1 or 2 additional lenses between 24 and 90mm. I assume you are talking OM-D here. If you are talking OM then replace the 12 with 15 or 21.
However there is the overlap to contend with, why have one lens of each focal length, if you had fast lenses and slower lenses with different characteristics you would have more scope to release your creativity, just look at the collections some people have to satisfy their creativity, (maybe four or five different 50mm lenses for the M9 or such) .
The simple alternative is one zoom lens from Oly and another from Panny, often enough for lots of creativity and more money to celebrate the brilliant shot you will undoubtedly get.
I understand the idea.
in 35mm I almost never use my zuiko 50mm f 1.4 with my legacy OM.
My standard user lens is zuiko 28mm f 2.8 = low distortion close focus and pin sharp.
I would sacrifice a m43 standard lens for the 75mm or the 150mm.
for portraits and street i think the 45mm and 12mm together are more than adequate.
the only cameras I now use with standard lenses are fixed lens; my minolta autocord cd1 and fuji gw 690 – of course medium format. very cool.
Yes I have a Bronica gs-1 with lots of bits. bit different to the E-30 and EP2.
Nice lens. Overkill for such a little sensor.
Why?
You need to ask???
In response to the price/buy poll, what reason do they have to price this at 2X the price of the Canon 85/1.8 which is a superb FULL FRAME lens that currently goes for $420ish. I’ll skip this at this price.
In response to the silver colour discussion, my main objection is that the finish on the silver line varies from lens to lens and even from the silver camera bodies; it looks cheap and half baked. Nobody is objecting to the Leica silver or Canon white, but at least they all look that they came from the same company.
the reason that they need to price it like this is because the Olympus gangsters/bloggers who comment on this site told fanboys it is metal, will be “pro”, and that the lens quality and the price are a real bargain.
Oly. should just sell a special felt tipped black marker and let the aesthetes colour in their silver lenses.
I have a great big beige coloured Zuiko lens I attach to my black 4Ti. I don’t give a toss about how it looks, just how well it performs. It could be yellow with purple dots for all I care.
It’s fine that your yellow with purple dots clown camera serves YOUR needs, but most users and in fact ALL other camera companies are more discerning with thier industrial design and manufacuring.
You fail at reading comprehension. Try again.
sensitive much? …for someone who claims to not give a toss…I guess you do, even you wouldn’t want to shoot with a clown camera after all, you fail to get the point that dozens of people in this thread are commenting on: design, consistency and attention to detail do matter to a lot of people regardless if you give a toss or not, try again from the top!
I think the industrial design people fail miserably, the marketing people are in charge. As a consequence, if “A” makes a black camera and it sells, “B” will follow and then “C” and so on until they all look like clones with tiny little differences. Cars do this until one successfully breaks the mould and then off in that direction for all the rest.
Ah! You say that’s because the ergonomics have been worked out to perfection and therefore they must look the same. I say not so, we constantly see argument here on handling. Also RF v DSLR v mirrorless and pocket cameras.
Look at lenses they are all lumps no character just see the twp above one has character the other is an improvement but still not there yet, probably one of the the best of digital lenses.
Look at cameras all plastic (black with some ‘startling’ alternatives hear and there). All the non plastic have faux leather/fabric, in black, of course, why not brown? I think a chrome E-M5 with brown leather would look great.
Btw, I heard that a yellow lens with purple dots is coming for the new Pentax line of cameras.
Good one 🙂
Yellow camera purple lens! Sounds like they made a song out of that. No it was a purple people eater.
Think of it! The yellow K-01, a yellow lens with pink dots, against a yellow shirt with pink polka dots! The perfect street photo combo: noone would notice the gear and definitely not suspect anything.
Why oh why is this lens not weather sealed? I am sure it will kick ass optically but what’s the point of a premium lens on the premium weather sealed m4/3 body with no weather seals! Every 4/3 lens from high grade and up is weather sealed
Is it just me or are all (and I mean ALL) the current crop of lens for whatever camera you fancy just too damn BIG!! In my opinion the manufacturers should leave all the camera announcements and tweaking alone – we have every camera we could ever desire!! What’s required is some descent SMALL lenses! Ever since the M43 format was launched we have been promised small lenses and we have a couple of pancakes and the rest are HUGE!! Personally I don’t read new camera reviews anymore, I just scroll through the mention of fast lenses and when one day someone makes one that fits on a modern camera and doesn’t look like a telescope then I will buy that lens and what ever camera it is on! The Sigmas are close, very close – but no prizes because they aren’t fast. This is obviously a design problem at the moment so until the boffins invent a new lens let’s just go buy non-photographic stuff with our pennies :0)