Olympus Zuiko 9 - 18mm

[marky]

ur wallet resist mainly becuz u have to buy stone or bag for your wife?

I teach u a method, just buy both together till ur wallet dry up, then really no money to buy stone or bag... then u got ur want list. (what will happen after that, I cant advise)

:bsmilie::bsmilie:

:sweat:.. haha.. i have to save up for my Big Day at the end of the year.. so i cannot get anymore things right now..

 

[egnaro]

:sweat:.. haha.. i have to save up for my Big Day at the end of the year.. so i cannot get anymore things right now..

alright... building family is more important... lifetime commitment...

 

[Mikefellh]

ur wallet resist mainly becuz u have to buy stone or bag for your wife?

Actually, I know couples who instead of buying a rock invested the money in something more useful...one couple agreed to spend the money on computer equipment (they were both geeks), another spent it on new photography equipment they could use on the honeymoon.

I realize in some parts of the world it's still a tradition, but some people are foregoing tradition for common sense. What's a diamond good for except cutting glass?

Then again, I don't wear ANY jewellery, not even a watch.

 

[Evilmerlin]

The only reason diamonds cost so much now is because of deBeers amazing marketing campaign...damn things just carbon for goodness sake...but hey, "A diamond is woman's best friend" just made them billions.

 

[egnaro]

Actually, I know couples who instead of buying a rock invested the money in something more useful...one couple agreed to spend the money on computer equipment (they were both geeks), another spent it on new photography equipment they could use on the honeymoon.

I realize in some parts of the world it's still a tradition, but some people are foregoing tradition for common sense. What's a diamond good for except cutting glass?

Then again, I don't wear ANY jewellery, not even a watch.

this couple are smart and realistic, photography equipment can capture the priceless moment.

 

[MichaelLee]

What's a diamond good for except cutting glass?

to melt a lady's heart.

 

[drakon09]

What's a diamond good for except cutting glass?

Well, diamonds make damn good drill bits; not sure whether they are used to focus lasers. That's about the only practical use of diamonds I can think of. :bsmilie:

But we really are digressing here!

 

[egnaro]

biggest problem in buying diamond is if buy too small the lady say cant see, if wan big diamond, too ex.... :sweat:

1 carat normal class diamond = 1 SHG ZD90-250mm
0.5 Carat normal class diamond = 1x E3 + 1x 12-60mm + 1xFl50R + 1x50-200 SWD

I am wondering if man buy a 0.5 carat diamond for the lady, will the lady buy 1x E3 + 1x 12-60mm + 1xFl50R + 1x50-200 SWD in return? :dunno:

 

[headfonz]

I am wondering if man buy a 0.5 carat diamond for the lady, will the lady buy 1x E3 + 1x 12-60mm + 1xFl50R + 1x50-200 SWD in return? :dunno:

of course not. they will buy themselves another 0.5 carat diamond. :bsmilie:

 

[egnaro]

of course not. they will buy themselves another 0.5 carat diamond. :bsmilie:

that unfair... now there is ppl outside fighting for women right and equal... back to practical, it will never be equal...

 

[headfonz]

adorama is taking orders for the ZD 9-18, USD599

 

[tokutji]

adorama is taking orders for the ZD 9-18, USD599

any pricing info in singapore market ?

 

[checkers]

I just read about the 7-14, looks good from the shots I see.

 

[phyrewall]

i had the opportunity to try out the 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 earlier this evening when they showed it off in one of the E-Knowledge sessions @ Olympus office in Valley Point Office Tower. Too bad though they didn't allow me to shoot a sample on my memory card. I was about to pop in my card when the guy told me, "you can only use and play around with it here but we can't let you take the photos with you yet as it is not yet production release here in Singapore".

The unit I used had version 0.9 for the firmware. Ultra wide angle was nice though, almost 180 degrees (give or take). I asked them to confirm if it was going to be released this September, and all they could tell me was "soon".

Anyway, I think the 7-14mm might be a better choice (albeit a bit higher priced too). One other Zuiko lens I got to try was the 50-200mm SWD. It was so quiet you won't hear it focusing. A bit heavy though (heavier than the 70-300mm kit lens).

Also, there was a demo of the 11-point AF system via live view, and it seems that it only works on some lens, particularly:

14-42mm (kit lens)
40-150mm (kit lens)
28mm (pancake lens)
and the new 9-18mm

 

[Evilmerlin]

I think 7-14 is not just a BIT more expensive than the 9-18 right? More like potentially double the price.

 

[shengliang1981]

i had the opportunity to try out the 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 earlier this evening when they showed it off in one of the E-Knowledge sessions @ Olympus office in Valley Point Office Tower. Too bad though they didn't allow me to shoot a sample on my memory card. I was about to pop in my card when the guy told me, "you can only use and play around with it here but we can't let you take the photos with you yet as it is not yet production release here in Singapore".

The unit I used had version 0.9 for the firmware. Ultra wide angle was nice though, almost 180 degrees (give or take). I asked them to confirm if it was going to be released this September, and all they could tell me was "soon".

Anyway, I think the 7-14mm might be a better choice (albeit a bit higher priced too). One other Zuiko lens I got to try was the 50-200mm SWD. It was so quiet you won't hear it focusing. A bit heavy though (heavier than the 70-300mm kit lens).

Also, there was a demo of the 11-point AF system via live view, and it seems that it only works on some lens, particularly:

14-42mm (kit lens)
40-150mm (kit lens)
28mm (pancake lens)
and the new 9-18mm

That's interesting... Btw, did you notice any significant distortions at the wide end? Is the lens sharp enough? Thanks.

 

[tomcat]

I think 7-14 is not just a BIT more expensive than the 9-18 right? More like potentially double the price.

Maybe even 3x the times

 

[phyrewall]

That's interesting... Btw, did you notice any significant distortions at the wide end? Is the lens sharp enough? Thanks.

Oh, sorry, I failed to look for any distortions. I guess I was distracted by the angle coverage it had, and it's 11-point AF support under Live View. I was probably too excited :bsmilie:

Also, let me correct myself on the 180 degree coverage. It was an exageration/miscalculation from my part :sweat: Although, visually it kinda looked that way :think: But from the specs, Olympus says its a 100 degree. Sorry, my bad.

I think 7-14 is not just a BIT more expensive than the 9-18 right? More like potentially double the price.

I agree, and it might even be more than just double. This is probably because of the following:

1/ 7-14mm is f4.0 while the 9-18mm is f4.0-5.6
2/ the minimum shooting distance is only 10cm for the 7-14mm, while the 9-18mm has a 25cm minimum shooting distance
3/ the 7-14mm is a "Super High Grade" lens, while the 9-18mm is probably going to be a "Standard Grade" (judging on the build quality)

 

[Evilmerlin]

Time to dig up this old thread. The Olympus UK Safari Group managed to get their hands on a 9-18 for testing purposes.

Sample images on DPreview

According to Brian Mosley, he thinks that the 9-18 is actually sharper wide open (f/4) than the 7-14!

 

[mojims]

Time to dig up this old thread. The Olympus UK Safari Group managed to get their hands on a 9-18 for testing purposes.

Sample images on DPreview

According to Brian Mosley, he thinks that the 9-18 is actually sharper wide open (f/4) than the 7-14!

Quoting the thread... below is the full gallery of test images...

All I can say for now is that these look good... I want one... ;p