All things considered, 2021 has been a great year for micro four thirds shooters.

Olympus, who’s slowly rebranding to OM System, has shown signs of life with the release of the spectacular M.Zuiko ED 8-25mm f/4 PRO last year as well as the announcement of a halo camera that is promised to take advantage of next-gen computational photography tech.

Panasonic on the other hand launched the Panasonic Leica 25-50mm F1.7 (which we reviewed here) late last year, a follow up to the massively successful Panny-Leica 10-25mm f1.7 (see our review).

Now it’s time to look ahead and see what 2022 has in store for the m43 community.

One little problem though. Both Olympus and Panasonic are being a little coy with sharing any development for the system, Panasonic even more so.

So today, we’re scouring the ends of the internet for micro four thirds lens releases officially announced, or rumored, to drop sometime this year and beyond.

OM System M.Zuiko 20mm F1.4 PRO

Olympus, now OM SYSTEM, ended the year strong with the announcement of the aforementioned rebranding and the very first OM SYSTEM-badged lens — the M.Zuiko 20mm F1.4 PRO. It was officially launched by the end of December 2021, but we can expect more units to hit the shelves this Q1 of 2022.

Bearing the PRO badge, the 40mm equivalent standard lens features professional-grade weather sealing. While the premium prime lens is a featherweight at approximately 250 grams, the newest OM SYSTEM lens features a complicated optical design made up of 11 elements in 10 groups, and three extra low-dispersion elements or Super ED elements, in OM terms.

Another highlight for this lens is that OM SYSTEM claims that the 20mm F1.4 PRO is optimized for their famed High-Res mode, which lets you stack numerous images to create a highly detailed image. The standard focal length, fast aperture, and compact form factor can potentially make the 20mm F1.4 PRO an amazing street photography go-to lens.

OM System M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4.0 Pro

When OM SYSTEM updated their roadmap at the last quarter of 2021, they slapped on the 20mm F1.4 PRO and the 40-150mm f/4.0 Pro among other interesting lenses. So far, only the 20mm f1.4 PRO has seen some media coverage since the revision.

We however don’t have much to report in the case of the 40-150mm f/4.0 Pro, except that it’ll get the same level of weather sealing as with every PRO series lens. Sources also have reason to suspect that the 40-150mm f/4.0 Pro won’t be compatible with any of Olympus’ teleconverters as hinted by the way it’s presented on the roadmap.

What’s interesting is that the 40-150mm f/4.0 Pro is positioned to directly compete with its 40-150mm f/2.8 older brother. If OM System can bring the price down to around $800 (versus the f2.8’s $1,300), I think many sports shooters and wildlife enthusiasts will be more than glad to have an affordable pro-level telephoto glass alternative.

Revised OM System Roadmap Hints at Three Mystery M.Zuiko Lenses

Olympus’ revised roadmap revealed three unnamed lenses to be in development. Macro shooters on the m43 platform are in for a treat because we’ll be getting a macro lens that sits somewhere between 75-150mm.

The other two super telephoto lenses start at 40mm and can potentially reach 300mm at the long end, possibly with the help of teleconverters. OM SYSTEM could very well be playing to their strengths and focusing more on their sports/wildlife audience, thanks to the platform’s inherent extra reach it gives to pros and enthusiasts alike.

7artisans Launches Vision Cine Line

What a great time to be a filmmaker on the MFT system. 7artisans just made the first three entries to their Vision Cine Line and they’re all under $600. And oh, they all have stupidly fast t/1.05 t-stops.

For the uninitiated, T-stops (or transmission values) are a little different from F-stops in that they are a measurement of light being transmitted from the lens and into the sensor. That’s to say an 85mm f1.4 lens may only have a t-value of t1.8. T-stops are primarily used in cinematography where accurate exposure readings are critical.

B&H says the Vision Cine Line features robust metal housings and the expected gearings and long focus throws you’d want from a cine lens. The following cine lenses are now available for pre-order. All three are available in MFT, Leica L, Fuji X, Canon RF, and Sony E mounts.

• 7artisans Photoelectric 25mm T1.05
• 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm T1.05
• 7artisans Photoelectric 50mm T1.05

Irix 21mm T/1.5 MFT Cine Lens

Yet another beast of a cine lens option for videographers. The Irix 21mm T/1.5 is surprisingly compact and lightweight at just 1.1kg, considering it’s built with solid magnesium alloy. The lens manufacturer says this cine lens is designed to be shot with 8K cameras.

Irix, as they did with all previous cine lenses, claims that these lenses have a unique, “Irix look” which creates a distinct cinematic image. The Irix 21mm T/1.5 is now available for preorder and comes in 7 different mounts including: MFT, RF, Sony E, and Nikon Z.

Updated Kenko 400mm F8 IIS MFT

Word on the street is that Kenko is planning to pull out the previous 400mm mirror lens and replace it with a newer version, although we don’t have any details on potential improvements made over the older unit.

Mirror lenses are a great way to get telephoto reach without spending telephoto money. The older 400mm mirror lens can be had for $250. The downsides being mirror lenses have a fixed aperture and can produce noticeable vignetting. But if you’re a landscape or budding wildlife photographer without $12k to spend on a lens, a nice 400mm mirror lens is the next best thing.

Canon Patents a 17-170mm f/2.2-4.6 Micro Four Thirds Lens

Here’s something fun. Photography tech sleuths had come across a patent for a super-zoom style lens from Canon, which is likely to be intended for a fixed-lens, micro four thirds camera in the future. It’ll be a lot more interesting if this makes its way to the MFT ecosystem as a shell-shocking third party lens offering.

Wrapping Up

Unfortunately, things had become rather dry in the Panasonic MFT rumor mills. While many may take this as one of the MFT progenitors sidelining the system in favor of their full-frame S series, Panasonic did release the prime-killing Panasonic Leica 25-50mm f1.7 and the GH5 II last 2021. See some of our favorite video lenses for Panasonic MFT cameras here.

With the global ship shortage delaying the launch of the GH6, I still think there’s nothing to panic about, as this could just be a manufacturing issue and not a prioritization issue, especially with OM SYSTEM looking to heat up the competition in the coming months.

While we have you here, have a look at these micro four thirds lens resources if you’re interested.

• Best Micro Four Thirds Lenses in 2022 – The Ultimate Guide
• 5 Best Wide Angle Lenses for Micro Four Thirds in 2021
• Panasonic Leica 25-50mm F1.7 Review, According to Pros
• 5 Pros Review the Panasonic Leica 10-25mm f1.7