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June 30, 2005 - EVOLT E-300 and E-1 users will now have a new short focal length option, as Olympus Imaging America, Inc. begins marketing a full-frame fisheye with a 180-degree diagonal angle of view. The 8mm lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5, and an estimated street price of $799.95. The lens is slated to go on sale in January 2006.
Appropriately, the fisheye can go underwater, when mounted on the E-300 and encased in Olympus’s PT-E01 underwater housing and PPO-E04 lens port. The system is waterproof to a depth of 196 feet.
Olympus has been beefing up the selection of optics for their E-System cameras, so far the only DSLRs compatible with the Four-Thirds standard. Several manufacturers have signed on to the Four Thirds format, which prescribes both the image sensor size and the lens mount. Marketing both the E-1 and the E-300 as professional cameras, Olympus has been backing up the assertion with fast telephotos and other specialized accessories.