New Olympus M43rds lenses 9-18mm and 14-150mm (in 2010:H1)

In addition to the E-P2, Olympus has revealed two new Micro Four Thirds lenses that will be released in the first half of 2010.

Big strategic mistake by Micro Four Thirds
And while there is nothing wrong with the lenses per say, their choice of lenses at this point in the life-cycle of M43rds is disappointing considering M43rds users are hungry for a diverse choice of lenses, yet Olympus will be releasing two focal ranges that are already covered by Panasonic lenses. Co-operation FAIL!

Some may try to partially justify this by pointing out that the Panasonic lenses offer MegaOIS, while the Olympus bodies offer sensor-shift stabilization. But that is a rather weak excuse when you consider that Micro Four Thirds is presented as a system, not two separate mounts that just happen to inter-operate.

Our opinion? Some of these stubborn people at Olympus that are self-sabotaging the company by forcing stupid ego-centric decisions like this (and xD, panorama, etc) need to retire ASAP and let the new wave come in and take the company to a whole-nuther-level!

M43rds was surfing along hot on the heels of the E-P1 and the GF1, however, this announcement (and what it implies about the two "partners") creates a few noticeable cracks in the M43rds excitement-wagon, and gives other upcoming EVIL systems some breathing room.

Olympus M-Zuiko 9-18mm f4-5.6
When "translated" to 35mm-eq, this is a wide-zoom lens, 18-36mm, giving photographers a good range to work with. Olympus claims that this lens will be significantly smaller than its Four Thirds counterpart, which has the same specs.

The lens will come out in the first half of 2010, which covers the range of January 1st to June 30th. No price estimate is given.

Olympus M-Zuiko 14-150mm f4-5.6
Hooray! A superzoom lens without image stabilization! Myopic? You betcha! Olympus does claim physical size benefits with this lens, the 14-150mm f4-5.6, which is the equivalent of a typical SLR-era superzoom 28-300mm. The Olympus bodies do offer sensor-shift stabilization, so those users are covered, but the lack of IS renders this lens not-as-useful to Panasonic users.

No price estimate is given. It will be released in H1 of 2010.

For more check Olympus et al.