Cosina joins Micro Four Thirds, announces first MFT lens

Go to:
Previous Item	Current News	Next Item

Cosina joins Micro Four Thirds, announces first MFT lens
By Mike Tomkins
(Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 18:05 EDT)

Japan's Cosina Co. Ltd. is preparing to release a new Voigtländer branded lens for the Micro Four Thirds mount, the company has announced today.

Cosina has simultaneously announced that it has joined the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group, which was set up by Olympus Imaging Corp. and Panasonic Corp. back in 2008. The Voigtländer Nokton 25mm F0.95 lens, detailed on the company's Japanese-language website, will be the first fruit of Cosina's Micro Four Thirds group participation. According to the Japanese-language PC Watch website, which also has a higher-res images of the lens and its optical design than are available on Cosina's own website, the company is also said to be working on Micro Four Thirds lens mount adapters for Nikon F. and Pentax K-mount lenses.

The Voigtländer Nokton 25mm F0.95 lens design features eleven lens elements in eight groups, and a ten-bladed aperture. It's capable of focusing as close as 17 centimeters, yielding 1:3.9 magnification. Available apertures range from f/0.95 to f/16.0. Effective focal length on a Micro Four Thirds body is approximately 50mm, and field of view is 47.3°. Lens barrel diameter is 58.4mm, and length is 70.0mm. The Noktor 25mm F0.95 accepts 52mm filters, includes a lens hood, and weighs around 410 grams without any accessories attached.

Original Source Press Release:

Cosina Co., Ltd. Joins The Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group

Announced jointly by Olympus Imaging Corporation (President Masaharu Okubo) and Panasonic Corporation in 2008, the Micro Four Thirds System standard has rapidly grown in popularity. Now, support for the standard is expanding with the decision of COSINA CO., Ltd to join the Micro Four Thirds System standard. To coincide with this announcement, the company is releasing interchangeable lenses compliant with Micro Four Thirds System standard.

With COSINA CO., Ltd. coming on board, consumers will now be able to take advantage of the company's unique traditions and advanced optical technology as it will now be possible to use Voigtländer and other renowned lenses with any camera compliant with Micro Four Thirds System standard.

As the company responsible for initiating both the Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, Olympus Imaging Corporation will continue to develop and enhance the product lineup for both standards to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Outline of the Micro Four Thirds System standard

The Micro Four Thirds System standard was designed and developed to maximize the performance potential of digital imaging technology, and to extend the benefits of the Four Thirds System standard for digital camera systems. When compared to the Four Thirds System standard, the primary distinguishing features of the Micro Four Thirds System standard are:

Approximately 50% shorter flangeback distance (mount-to-sensor distance)
Lens mount outer diameter approximately 6mm smaller
Electrical contacts in mount increased from 9 to 11

* Image sensor diagonal dimensions are the same for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards.

The Micro Four Thirds System standard enables users to enjoy the same high image quality of the Four Thirds System's 4/3-type image sensor in a much more compact body, and also take advantage of significantly more compact lenses, particularly in the wide-angle and high-power zoom range. The Four Thirds System standard offers the benefits of compact, lightweight performance, and the new Micro Four Thirds System standard takes this still further to enable development of ultra-compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems unlike anything seen before. The new Micro Four Thirds System standard also incorporates a greater number of lens-mount electrical contacts for the support of new features and expanded system functionality in the future.