When OM System split from Olympus, the revived camera brand narrowed its focus to cameras built for the outdoors – and the company’s latest lens makes that outdoor push exceptionally clear. The new M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III, on the surface, is just a refreshed kit lens – but it also means that even some of the brand’s cheap optics are coming with weather-sealing now.
Launched alongside the long-awaited OM System PEN on September 09, the 14-42mm is a compact, budget kit lens. But while the lens comes at a $349 / CA$499 price – and even less when part of the PEN kit – the lens carries the same weather-sealed rating as the new camera body.
The new kit lens is IPX1 rated. That’s not as robust as OM System’s IP53 rating across its pricier camera bodies and lenses, but it’s impressive considering the price point. The X in the rating means it wasn’t tested for dust resistance, but the lens is sealed against rain and snow.
Mixed with the OM System PEN launch, there’s an obvious theme here – that even the brand’s most affordable options are beginning to arrive with some level of weather-resistance. The newly announced PEN is rare in its mix of weather-sealing and stabilization for the price point, but of course, the camera needs a sealed lens to go with it – and the M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III is that lens.
The lens continues the brand’s compact, lightweight kit lens design, coming in at 50.5mm / 1.98 inches long when retracted and 125g / 4.4 oz.
Beyond the zoom range, the kit lens aims for versatility by allowing autofocusing as close as .13m / 5.2 inches from the front of the lens. Adding in the Micro Four Thirds crop factor, that creates a magnification of up to .53x in 35mm equivalent.
Image credit: OM System
Image credit: OM System
Image credit: OM System
Image credit: OM System
An affordable kit lens launch like this probably won’t make many Micro Four Thirds shooters immediately rush out to buy one – but a weather-sealed camera without a weather-sealed lens isn’t really rain-resistant at all, so it’s nice to see OM System build an affordable sealed lens to go along with its new sealed camera.
The new kit lens will add $100 / £50 / CA$150 to the body-only price of the OM System PEN, but the new lens will also be sold separately for $350 / £349 / CA$499. Like the new camera, shipping is estimated to begin in late October in the US and late September / early October in Europe.
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