ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm 1:2.0 SWD lens: World’s first standard zoom with a fixed 1:2.0 aperture The challenge: Excellent image quality, a fast autofocus and compact durability are high on every professional photographer’s list of what a lens should possess. But more often than not, high lens brightness tops such a wish list. With light being among the most essential elements for creating photographic compositions, that’s not very surprising. The majority of zoom lenses, however, lose part of their light-gathering power as the zoom factor increases. This is overcome with fixed focal length lenses – but at the expense of zooming flexibility. The engineering challenge therefore is to produce a lens that combines the versatility of a zoom with a bright aperture that remains consistent over the entire focal length range while retaining compact dimensions. The lens: The ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm 1:2.0 SWD bestows photographers an extremely bright 2.0 aperture throughout its entire zoom range (equiva- lent to 28-70mm in 35mm cameras). Furthermore, thanks to adherence to the Four Thirds Standard, the lens can boast a size and weight advantage over counterparts using other sensor types – while still E-3 with ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm providing enough headroom required for its bright, fixed aperture. 1:2.0 SWD lens The lens features an inner focusing mechanism, meaning its length does not change when zooming, nor does the lens’s end rotate when focusing. Instead, the intermediate lens groups change positions when focusing. As these groups are smaller compared to the front lens group, higher focusing speeds can be achieved. Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) This also results in more efficient energy con- sumption and therefore longer battery life. Automatic focusing is assisted by the Olympus- exclusive Supersonic Wave Drive (SWD) ultrasonic motor. It ensures ultrafast focusing, especially when the lens is attached to the Olympus E-3 professional D-SLR (see separate whitepapers available on SWD and also E-3 autofocus). Mean while, due to inner focusing and the lens’ floating mechanism (see appendix A), a minimum working distance of just 35cm across the entire zoom range is made possible. For the best image quality, the optical construc- tion includes two ED lenses, an ED aspherical lens plus one glass aspherical lens. While the extra-low dispersion (ED) elements prac- tically eliminate chromatic aberration, the aspherical shapes correct spherical and various other optical aberra- tions. Highly-developed lens Circular aperture coatings minimise flares and ghosting which are otherwise potentially caused by back-lighting, a large diversity of brightness across the frame or high brightness in its centre. Furthermore, with its circular aperture diaphragm, Cross-section of lens, showing the various lens elements including a beautiful defocusing effects are possible. glass aspherical lens (pink), two ED elements (green) and an ED glass aspherical lens (yellow). For a more detailed view, see appendix B. Making this lens an ideal choice for outdoor assignments, its outer body is sealed using a coated rubber material. Special sealing rings prevent dust and water from entering the lens’s interior. As the air volume inside the lens changes with the movement of the lens groups during focusing, a special textile is used that allows the lens to “breathe” while still maintaining dust and splashproof qualities. These pro features make the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35 1:2.0 a perfect com- panion for the Olympus E-3, which has the same outdoor qualities. Together with the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 35-100mm 1:2.0 Olympus provides two powerfully bright lenses that offer a constant aperture of 1:2.0 over a combined focal range equivalent of 28 to 200mm (in 35mm cameras). Both lenses together answer almost any shooting requirements. In addition, the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 7-14mm 1:4.0 (14-28mm) and ED 90-250mm 1:2.8 (180-500mm) extend the fixed-aperture range even further. Four Thirds System Advantages This is the first and currently only open standard for digital SLRs. As the name suggests, Four Thirds systems use a 4/3-type image sensor, the size of which allows the development of smaller, lighter camera bodies as well as of tailor-made interchangeable lenses. These too, are not only smaller and lighter, but also offer a greater light-gathering power than lenses based on the 35mm film format. All lenses are designed for compatibility with future sensor developments and guarantee cross-manufacturer compatibility. Besides Olympus, current members of the Four Thirds consortium include Kodak, Fuji, Sanyo, Sigma, Panasonic and Leica. E-System lenses Olympus offers the largest line-up of lenses specially designed for digital photography, comprising focal lengths ranging from 7 to 300mm (equivalent to 14 to 600mm in 35mm cameras), including macro, fisheye and pancake type lenses. ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses meet the high demands of digital SLR photography providing edge-to-edge sharpness and very high light utilisation. They feature near telecentric optics for highest image quality and enable extremely bright, compact and lightweight design. Images captured by Keita Sasaki, Takeshi Nemoto & Jan Deichner using a ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm 1:2.0 SWD lens Appendix A ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm 1:2.0 SWD: Inner lens zooming and focusing with a floating lens mechanism. 14mm 35mm Zooming Infinity Focusing lens group Focusing lens group Group 1 Group 2 G1 G2 Movement with Movement with floating system floating system Focusing G1 G2 G1 G2 Focusing lens group Focusing lens group 0.35m Appendix B ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm 1:2.0 SWD: Lens construction. Wide Tele Lens grouping at minimum focal length (wide-angle). Lens grouping at maximum focal length (tele)..