The latest lens patents from Ricoh and Olympus
Ricoh filed a patent 2012128045 for 14mm f/2.5 and 19mm f/2.5 lenses (28mm and 35mm equivalent). The interesting part is that the 19mm lens is designed for an APS-C camera (the 14mm lens is for a 4/3inch sensor). It is not clear from the patent if those lenses are designed for the GXR system or for a future GR model that will come with an APS-C sensor (currently the Ricoh GR Digital IV has a 1/1.7" CCD sensor). Rico already offers 28mm f/2.5 and 50mm f/2.5 GXR units.
A new Olympus patent 2012123340 was filed in Japan for a collapsible 25mm f/2.8 macro lens:
- Patent release date: June 28, 2012
- Patent filing date: December 10, 2012
- Image height: 11.15mm
- Focal length: 24.91mm
- Aperture: 2.86
- Angle of view: 50.20 deg
- Lens design: 8 lens elements in 7 groups, 1 aspherical element