Olympus 300mm f/4 and 7-14mm f/2.8 lenses spotted at Photokina

Olympus has previewed the 300mm f/4 and 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO-series lens for mirrorless cameras with Micro Four Thirds sensors at the Photokina 2014 event taking place in Cologne, Germany.

The Photokina 2014 event is underway and more goodies are coming out of it. Olympus should have had a very interesting stand, according to the rumor mill, but a number of details have turned out to be false, such as the 4K support for the OM-D E-M1 and the full frame OM-D camera.

These rumors were a “long shot” anyway, but Micro Four Thirds fans should still pay a visit to the company’s booth at the world’s largest digital imaging event.

The new PEN Lite E-PL7, Silver E-M1, and the 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens will be there, while a couple of other surprises are waiting for you. They consist of two PRO-series optics, which have had their development announced earlier this year: the 300mm f/4 and 7-14mm f/2.8.

The Olympus 300mm f/4 lens prototype at Photokina 2014.

Olympus confirms that it will launch its next PRO-series lenses in 2015

Olympus is not letting anyone to touch its upcoming PRO-series lenses. Both units are “trapped” in glass boxes, but they are both labeled as “coming soon”.

The super telephoto version appears to be quite similar to the new 50-140mm f/2.8 in terms of build quality, but the internal construction will be almost completely different.

The representatives are claiming that both lenses will be released on the market in 2015, but they failed to give a more specific timeline or any price details in the process.

The Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 lens at Photokina 2014.

Olympus 300mm f/4 PRO and 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lenses previewed at Photokina 2014

Both the Olympus 300mm f/4 PRO and 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lenses come with a manual focus ring and it seems like an a “Fn” button will be present, too. The wide-angle version will also employ a zoom ring, which is natural since it is a zoom lens.

The 7-14mm f/2.8 lens appears to be larger than that of its main competitor, the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4 ASPH, which is available for about $970 at Amazon. The difference in size probably comes from a more complex optical design, as the maximum aperture is one stop brighter.

Getting back to the 300mm f/4 PRO lens, this will be a premium optic aimed at professional photographer who want to use it out in the field. However, it is worth noting that Olympus is already offering a faster 300mm lens, in the body of the 300mm f/2.8 ED, which costs about $6,500 at Amazon.

When they become available, the 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO will offer a 35mm equivalent of 14-28mm and the 300mm f/4 will provide a 35mm equivalent of 600mm.