Olympus Imaging Corporation (President: Masaharu Okubo) is pleased to announce the expansion of its Micro Four Thirds System lens lineup with two new zoom lenses in the first half of the year 2010 : a super wide-angle 2x zoom lens and wide-angle-to-telephoto 10.7x zoom lens. Both lenses will maximize the design advantages of the Micro Four Thirds System standard to offer outstanding optical performance in an unprecedentedly compact and lightweight package.

The Micro Four Thirds System standard meets the telecentric requirements of dedicated digital design, where light rays must strike the imaging element nearly head-on. But it enables much more compact design than the Four Thirds System standard because it reduces the outer diameter of the lens mount by 6mm, and the distance from the lens mount to the focal plane (the flange back distance) by about half.

The super wide-angle zoom lens (35mm format equivalent 18-36mm F4.0-5.6) currently in development will maximize the advantages of compact Micro Four Thirds System design with a length of only about 50mm, making it significantly smaller than the Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm F4.0-5.6, which has an identical zoom range.

In the same manner, the high-power telephoto zoom lens (35mm equivalent 28-300mm F4.0-5.6) currently in development will be extremely compact, with an unprecedentedly small lens barrel diameter of only about 65mm. Offering a zoom range that covers all the most commonly used focal lengths, the lens will be compact enough to conveniently leave mounted on a camera full time.

Both lenses will use ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements to suppress the color aberration that can degrade image quality, particularly at wide-angle focal lengths. As a result, they will be able to offer truly uncompromising image quality and brightness in an extremely compact package.

The two new lenses are being designed for use with the OLYMPUS PEN E-P1, the OLYMPUS PEN E-P2 announced today, and all other current and future cameras that comply with the Micro Four Thirds System standard. When mounted on an OLYMPUS PEN E-P1 or E-P2, users will also be able to take advantage of the camera body's built-in image stabilization system, which offers effective camera shake compensation at all focal lengths.

These new super wide-angle zoom (35mm format equivalent 18-36mm F4.0-5.6) and high-power telephoto zoom (35mm equivalent 28-300mm F4.0-5.6) lenses are currently undergoing intensive development. When they are introduced to the market in the first half of 2010, they will be lenses that fully realize the size and performance advantages the Micro Four Thirds System standard offers. And the roadmap of ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses is updated.

Product Name & Launch Date

Category	Product Name	MSRP	Launch Date
Interchangeable lens	M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm F4.0-5.6	TBD	First half of 2010
	M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-150mm F4.0-5.6	TBD