My Favorite Micro 4/3 Lens

I'm off today, so I'm not supposed to be posting this. But just for fun (really, just for fun...no reason to take this overly seriously), what's your favorite Micro 4/3 lens, assuming you have one?

Mine is the Panasonic 12–35mm. John Camp loaned his to Ctein and I used it briefly when I drove out to visit Ctein at the science fiction convention in Madison one year. It was love at first click. I wandered around and took a bunch of snaps with it so I'd have some stuff to pixel-peep when I got home. Later I bought my own. Then I took a small hit and traded in my v.1 for a v.2. Still have it, although I no longer own a Micro 4/3 camera.

Pink = aspherical element, green = ultra-high refractive index glass, blue = ultra extra-high dispersion glass. (The terms are Panasonic's. The editor in me wouldn't write "ultra extra.")

What's unusual about this is that I think it's the only system of all the ones I've ever used for which my favorite lens in the system was a zoom. I'll have to think about that. I think it's true.

I believe Ctein's favorite is/was the Olympus 45mm ƒ/1.8. [CORRECTION: See Moose's Featured Comment below. —Ed.] I didn't bond with that one and sold it in favor of the 45mm Macro. Few people like that one, but I do.

I know people who have the Olympus 12–40mm love that, too. I haven't had any reason to dislike what I have.

Mike

[ADDENDUM: Many people are telling us about all the various Micro 4/3 lenses they own and what they use for what. But which one is your favorite? That's what I'd like to know. —MJ]

P.S. I found a nice picture of my old GF1 which I talked about in the previous post. How did so much time pass that I can be nostalgic about old digital cameras?!

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Len Metcalf: "Mine is the Voigtländer 25mm ƒ/0.95. I keep coming back to it despite owning other 25mm lenses, including the Olympus 25mm ƒ/1.2 which I do love the for its blur and weathersealed construction. The other I currently play with regularly is the Panasonic 25mm ƒ/1.4 Mark II. It is so small and light to carry on a E-M5 Mark III.

"The things with the Voigtländer is that it forces me to manually focus, it's easier to focus wide open than those other two, and it gets in so much closer than the others. Perfect for my flowers. It’s stunningly sharp once I stop it down and draws beautifully soft and full of flaws wide open. If it isn’t pouring with rain, or I plan to walk all day, it is my go-to lens. I always return to it.

"Actually it was one of the key elements of falling in love with digital. That lens and an electronic viewfinder converted me from film. None of the other digital offerings I used and owned before that caught my attention. Haven’t looked back since. Sold my Ebony SU45 and gave up on film. My work improved with the switch which seems to rather an unusual outcome of film to digital. It did coincide with dumping colour film and embracing digital B&W.

"My favourite lens keeps me returning to Micro 4/3 too. Despite trying medium format and full frame, I keep coming back for that lens and my Olympus bodies."

Mike Ferron: "I love the Micro 4/3 talk. I've been into the system since the get-go (off and on). I just purchased a fine looking G9 for a good price, sold off gear that pretty much paid for the 12–35mm. I keep a 20mm ƒ/1.7 in a side pocket in the bag and have a reasonably impressive Panasonic 100–300mm to be used if I think there are aliens are on the moon or something (not much of a telephoto person). The G9 is impressive and I am really liking the 12–35mm."

Ilkka (partial comment): "Not possible to name one favourite. It depends on the subject and situation."

[See Ilkka's comments about some of his ~20 Micro 4/3 lenses in the Comments section. —Ed.]

James Weekes: "I'm with you and Ctein. The 12–35mm is my all-time favorite lens. Kirk Tuck years ago called it boring because it was so reliable. My favorite prime is the 45mm ƒ/1.8. Tiny, sharp and light."

Christopher Midyet: "I love the Panasonic 45–175mm. Almost no mention of it anywhere, but this lens is super sharp and amazingly compact. It just works! I've used it on both Olympus and Panasonic bodies. Always delivers. It is the only reason I still shoot with Micro 4/3 along with full frame. The smaller, more compact benefit of this format is truly realized with this lens."

Mike replies: You speak the truth—I don't believe I've ever laid my eyes on a picture of that lens before. Didn't even know about it. With inexpensive zooms, though (especially), sample variation is a potential issue (see this article and the four articles linked in its first sentence), so people buying this should be ready to try theirs out during the return period. 

Andrew Johnston [no relation] adds (partial comment): "The 45–175mm is a real gem: only 90mm long (and no longer, it's an internal zoom) and 210 grams, in adequate lighting it's capable of shots just as sharp as the 35–100mm ƒ/2.8. Its tiny size makes it unthreatening, its light weight makes it easy to hold the camera above your head (e.g. from the back of a crowd) and get sharp shots, even at maximum 350mm-e reach.

"However if you're moving, it has another magic property: its size means that it can be held stable in the slipstream. Last year I was lucky enough to get a flight in a two-seat microlite, and here's one of the shots I took from the back seat—try that with a Canon 5D and EF 100–400m lens!  Is the 45–175mm lens my favourite? I'm not quite sure, but how about it for a 'left field' choice?"

Dave Wilson: "The one I use the most is the Panasonic/Leica 45mm macro. Very fond of the 20mm ƒ/1.7, 42.5mm ƒ/1.7 and the 12–35mm ƒ/2.8 zoom, but if I had to choose just one it would be the Olympus 17mm ƒ/1.8. Probably not a popular choice, but it’s like a faster focusing slightly wider 20mm. I’ve taken some fine pictures with that lens."

Nigel Voak (partial comment): "I have just sold all my Micro 4/3 gear to pay for a Nikon Z7 with a couple of lenses. The only reason I waited so long, is that I loved the Panasonic 12–35mm ƒ/2.8 and its brother the 35–100 ƒ/2.8. I was very hesitant to part with these two fine lenses. With these two lenses, Panasonic really understood what Micro 4/3 was all about—that is, small compact high-quality lenses to fit on small-bodied cameras."

Moose: "Re: 'I believe Ctein's favorite is/was the Olympus 45mm ƒ/1.8.' Was. He switched to the Panny 42.5mm ƒ/1.7 for the better performance away from center. I also switched, but mainly because it has their excellent Power OIS. On the GM5, it adds IS the body doesn't have. On Panny bodies with IBIS, it adds their Dual IS. Just looked, and it's on a GM5 at the moment; a very attractive combo."

Harold Glit: "Like Mike I am more of a single-focal-length guy so I am tempted to say the Panasonic 20mm ƒ/1.7 because 40mm is my favourite street and everyday focal length. That being said today it would be a tie between the 20mm and the downright amazing Panasonic-Leica 50–200mm ƒ/2.8–4. It is by far the best zoom I have ever had in my career as a photographer, all platforms combined."

Miguel Tejada-Flores (partial comment): "My current favorite is the Panasonic-Leica 15mm although before that the tiny Lumix 20mm pancake was a close second. The Panasonic-Leica DG Macro Elmarit 45mm is special too. And, hey, while we're on the subject, that tiny 12–32mm pancake zoom is so underrated that every time I use it, I marvel...at how much fine glass can be squeezed into something so minuscule."

Steven Mallen: "Olympus 12–45mm ƒ/4 is a gem. Amazing close focus and bokeh. Rarely need anything else. Apart from the 20mm ƒ/1.7 which I stupidly sold and regretted so much I bought another. I'm generally not a fan of zooms but the above is really something special!"

Mike replies: That's another lens I was not even aware of. That lens plus a 25mm ƒ/1.4 for low-light situations might be a whole kit right there. It's just long enough that you might not need another tele, whereas my 12–35mm occasionally leaves me wishing I had something a bit longer. 

Comments

[Charles Rozier]

Pana Leica 15mm f1.7. Sharp enough wide open on my GX8 to make a credible 20x24 when auto corrected with the matching DXO module. I almost always leave it on the camera and leave it wide open. Not very rugged though, can get knocked out of alignment and become worthless.

[Christoph]

I am with Ctein: the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 is pretty sweet.

[Kye Wood]

The weather sealed 12-60 lumix zoom. Light. Great haptics. Pleasing images. Instant silent focus on the G85.Yum!

[John Krumm]

I don't know my favorite m4/3 lens. I own the 12-40 2.8 Olympus, and it's a sharp, dependable workhorse but nothing makes it a favorite. The old 4/3 12-60 2.8-4 was a favorite of mine, especially from around 17-35 mm, just a really nice draw. It worked well adapted on M/43 but eventually died because I bought the 12-40, then tried to sell the 12-60 through Amazon marketplace, and somehow Amazon broke it and paid for it. To me in many ways the best optical system is still the original 4/3, even though I know the best marketing system is micro-fourthirds.

[Nick]

Mine is absolutely the Oly 45 mm. It's the perfect focal length for most of what I shoot, it's small and light, it focuses quickly, and it is as sharp or sharper than any other lens I've used.

[Sylvain G.]

The Panasonic 20mm is still my favorite mft lens (shooting olympus) and a fast af version of it, would it come to exist, could be my favorite lens of all time. Of course, to this day, panasonic keeps ignoring that wish, shared by thousands of owners. Interestingly, this would be enough to have me stick a little longer with mft but helas, looks like I've made my mind. Strong second is the surprising first kit lens panasonic 14-45mm. That thing was super sharp and lightweight. It rendered things beautifully too. Something that made me like it more than the superb 12-40mm. That's my top 4 then
-Dream 20mm
-20mm
-14-45mm
-12-40mm

Greetings,

[Rusty]

17 mm 1.8. Just like the results, can't say exactly why. Reasonable price when on sale and it has the manual/AF clutch which is very handy at times. Close second is the 60mm macro, both Oly lenses

[robert e]

My favorite "Micro 4/3 lens" was a Summicron-C 40/2 on a cheap adapter. Still have the lens.

On the zoom lens tangent, the only zoom lens I ever liked was one of Fuji's 18-55mm f/2.8-4 kit lenses on an X-E2, but I liked it A LOT.

[John Camp]

My Panny GX8s (I have two) are probably my favorite cameras of all time, though I loved the F5 back in the day. But, I can't say I really love the m4/3 lenses. Many are simply too slow for me. If somebody put a gun to my head and made me choose, it'd either be the Lumix G X-Vario f2.8 35-100 or the Voightlander f0.95 in 42.5, with which I enjoy making portraits. My problem is that I "see" a bit long. My perfect theoretical lens would be a fast short zoom, 60-90mm equivalent.

I did most of my photography under what you'd call journalistic conditions -- not missing the shot was most important, flexibility was important, weight was important, ultimate image quality was not so important. It had to be good, but nothing like some of the artists here would require. If you could get resolution good enough for a moderately slick newsprint magazine (the New York Times magazine, for instance), that was fine. Frankly, I'd give my left nut to be in Minneapolis right now, covering these demonstrations. If I were, I'd have both cameras around my neck, shooting the Lumix G X-Vario f2.8 12-35 on one body and the 35-100 on the other, in program mode. The Voightlander, the least flexible lens I own, would stay at home.

[Tam]

The ones I use the most are the Oly 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO and Pana 35-100mm f/2.8...

But my favorite? Well, if I had to walk the earth with nothing but the Pana 20mm f/1.7, I'd probably find a way to cope.

[William Lewis]

I enjoyed m4/3 when I used it and still have a little EP-L1 with an adapted Industar-22 lens for fun.

When it was my promary system I really loved the Olympus 17/2.8. Nice 35e - fast enough to be useful, slow enough to be small and light. Made a pocketable combo.

But I must say I don't miss it using my Nikon manual focus lenses now.

[Rube]

My favorite is the 35-100 'companion' to your 12-35. Has the same virtues as the pancake, but in a longer length. I use both on my aging Lumix GM5.

[Bill Allen]

I've got to go with the compact 20/1.7 as my favorite for its character, even though the 12-40/2.8 is on my GX8 most of the time. Like you, I really wish Panasonic would release a version with faster AF.

Very glad to see you talking about Micro 4/3 again!

[emptyspaces]

Mine is the Panal-Leica 25/1.4. When I switched to M43 I bought all my lenses from KEH, and it’s hard to imagine a better value than this lens, especially on the gently used market.

[pau]

Olympus 12-100 F4 zoom. It seems too big sometimes but it's so useful.

[Sid]

I have a pair of GX8 cameras along with the 20mm f/1.7 prime lens and two Panasonic-Leica zoom lenses, 12-60mm and 100-400mm. I've been pleased with the bodies and the lenses and delighted with image quality. The GX8 is a pleasure to use, but for birds in flight and other fast moving subjects, the GX8 is not a good tool. A GX8 II with a tilting viewfinder and up-to-date electronics would be my first choice.

[Longviewer]

I can do a lot of nice work with just the 20/1.7 Lumix and 60/2.8 Sigma. I have other primes and zooms, but those two get the most use and give consistently great results.

[Victor Bloomfield]

My favorite is the Olympus 14-150 mm 1:4-5.6 II , which I use on both a recently acquired Oly OM-D EM5.3 and an older Panasonic Lumix GX85. It covers a full-frame equivalent 28-300 mm, is relatively small and light, and gives entirely adequate image quality. Given the amazing image stabilization in the micro 4/3 system, this relatively slow lens can be used in very low light conditions. It corresponds to the Nikon 28-300 that Jay Maisel says, in "It's Not About the F-Stop", persuaded him to give up a bag full of lenses and carry just one over the last phase of his career.

[Ilkka]

So many great lenses in m4/3 system. I thought I have about 10-15 but when I started counting I got to over 15 and then noticed that I had missed a couple. So probably around 20 in all including two body cap lenses. I use them all, some more than others.
Panasonic 20 is great. 12-35 also. And the 45. And 35-100. I like the 9-18 as well because it is very compact. 1.7/15 is good but a bit bulky with the hood if I just might need a wide lens. So I have the 2.5/14 for those times. 14-140 is a reasonably good one piece zoom for travel if don’t know what to expect. That plus a fast 15/20/or45 makes a great pair. I have some exotic ones as well. The fish eye body cap is good for occasional need of a fish eye. Slow at F/8 so not good for night time use. Not nearly as good as the 3.5/8 Panasonic which is also small and light but obviously too expensive for very occasional use. I happen to have one of the very few 2.8/20 tilt and shift lenses made for m4/3s. Good for buildings and panoramas. And a 4-5x macro (Japanese Nanoha). And the stereo lens. Not a favourite but was nice to try. The 300 mirror lens is difficult to use. I have always liked mirror lenses for their compact size. (Minolta 500 is great on the old Sony DSLR bodies, and with AF as well). Not possible to name one favourite. It depends on the subject and situation.

[Andrew Wallace]

I've been in the M4/3 camp for a while and had the chance to visit Iceland. For that reason I took x3 OMD EM5.2's.
Body 1 is converted to 720nm infrared, usually with a Pentax 18mm f2.8 auto110 lens on a home-made tilt-rotate adaptor. Unfortunately wide tilt-shifts aren't available for M4/3. The Pentax lens has great contrast. Sharpness is... well, an over-rated ideal not relevant to much of what I do!
Body 2 had the remarkable 12-40 f2.8 permanently attached - sharp, wide and waterproof.
Body 3 had the equally remarkable 40-150 f2.8 permanently attached - sharp, long and waterproof.
On day two of our Iceland adventure a companions Nikon D800(I think) succumbed to the large quantities of moisture often arriving horizontally. Through 5 days of persistent rain both “pro” lenses and the bodies kept on going. I kept the lenses facing down as often as possible and wiped the water off when I couldn't see through the eyepiece. Very impressive.
Last night I took out a regular EM5.2 and the Oly 12-40 f2.8 for some local sculpture and stars shots. Wow! Fast, sharp and for what it is, small and light!
The 40-150 f2.8 doesn't get much use – I'm not much of a long lens shooter and the Oly 75-300 does a surprisingly good job for daylight wildlife shots.
I'm about to sell the 40-150 f2.8 and buy the 7-14 f2.8 for some more wide-angle fun. Until then, at least, the Oly 12-40 f2.8 is my favourite – wide, versatile, quick to focus, fast, waterproof and sharp into the corners for astro shots – the only time I'm really worried about edge/corner sharpness. And compared to similar APS-C and 135mm lenses it's also small, light and cheap. Couldn't ask for anything more.

[Nigel Voak]

I have just sold all my M43 gear to pay for a Nikon Z7 with a couple of lenses.

The only reason I waited so long, is that I loved the Panasonic 12-35 2.8 and its brother the 35-100 2.8. I was very hesitant to part with these two fine lenses.

With these two lenses, Panasonic really understood what M43 was all about, that is small compact high-quality lenses to fit on small bodied cameras. Olympus got it very wrong with their three 2.8 zooms in my opinion.

The optical quality of these two lenses was excellent.

My disillusionment with M43 started to set in when I swapped the dinky little Olympus 9-18 for a Olympus 7-14 which I needed for the low light photography I was doing at the time. The 7-14 is a heavy beast of a lens like the other Olympus 2.8 zooms and always got left at home when I went hiking.

For travel, my camera bag was getting too heavy again.

The nail in the coffin for me with this system was the release of the EM5iii which I had waited for to replace my aging EM5 bodies. But this camera has a serious design flaw with a very weak tripod mount. There have been several cases on the Forums of the base snapping out. Ominous cost cutting?

M43 seems to be moving towards heavier complicated feature rich bodies and heavy fast “Pro grade” lenses. I see a focus also towards the “birding brigade” with heavy long lenses.
The fact that M43 makes a perfect travel system camera seems to have been forgotten.

Enter the Nikon Z7. Doing some basic arithmetic, I can have a travel camera set up with a high definition FF sensor, effective IBIS and good lenses for much the same weight as a similar M43 system.

I also like the cunning trick that Nikon has played with their two F4 zooms. Both the 24-70 and 14-3 collapse down when not in use to a much smaller size. A trick Olympus did with the 9-18, but then forgot.

[Marcelo Guarini]

My favorite m43 lens is the 25mm f1.2, second one the Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95. The 25 has a Wonderful rendering, superb out of focus blur (bokeh) a great choice for portraits.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42632173@N08/49954625352/in/dateposted-public/

[Tim F]

I keep circling round my various lenses and always come back to the Lumix 20 f1.7. Good IQ, and very small. Slow, noisy focussing is not something I like but I can put up with that.

[Phil]

The lens that's on my EM-1 most of the time is my Olympus 14-54. I think I must have got a "good one". It just has a look to it that I really like. I've had it since I bought my original E-1 system in 2004 and it's been my main lens on a handful of 4/3 and m4/3 bodies. Now, I know that wasn't really your question since it's not a m4/3 lens so...My favourite M4/3 lens is the pana/leica 25/1.4. And I don't say that as faint praise. It's a very good lens that I use a lot, but the old 14-54 is the lens that I carry when I don't want to bring more than one.

[Anthony Bridges]

It would have to be the Oly 45mm f/1.8 with the Pana-Leica 8-18mm a close second. The Oly 45mm is so sharp and have decent bokeh (although not as nice as my full frame lenses).

[Patrick Dodds]

I'm with Ctein and Christoph - the Oly 45 1.8 is a jewel of a lens.

[Andrew Johnston]

The obvious answer is the 12-35mm f/2.8. I bought one several years ago largely off the back of your original review, it sits by default on my G9, and perhaps 90% of my photography by shot count uses it. As you said, it's like having multiple high-quality primes in one small tube. By any practical definition, that's my favourite.

I supplement it with the matching 35-100mm (same thing, just longer), the 100-300mm (capable of serious papp-ing, but also of some subtlety),and sometimes the 7-14mm (although that gets very limited use given the 12-35mm is so good at 12mm). Together with the G9 that's my "serious / obvious / heavy" kit. (Note that "heavy" is relative, the four zooms weigh a total of 1477g.)

However, maybe the 12-35mm is a lazy choice...

I also have a second kit, the "social / subtle / light" kit. This consists of the tiny Panasonic 14-42mm "pancake" power zoom, their 45-175mm, and the Olympus 9-18mm. Total weight 460g. These normally travel as spares with my old GX8, but get pressed into service when I need their remarkable physical characteristics. The 45-175mm is a real gem: only 90mm long (and no longer, it's an internal zoom) and 210g, in adequate lighting it's capable of shots just as sharp as the 35-100mm f/2.8. Its tiny size makes it unthreatening, its light weight makes it easy to hold the camera above your head (e.g. from the back of a crowd) and get sharp shots, even at maximum 350mm-e reach. However if you're moving, it has another magic property: its size means that it can be held stable in the slipstream. Last year I was lucky enough to get a flight in a two-seat microlite, and here's one of the shots I took from the back seat – try that with a 5D and EF100-400m lens!

https://www.andrewj.com/photoblog/2020/slides/190422_G9_1006037-sharpen-stabilize.html

Is the 45-175mm lens my favourite? I'm not quite sure, but how about it for a "left field" choice?

[Nikojor]

One vote for the smallest zoom, the panasonic 12-32 : very good for landscape work despite its diminutive size, which emphasize the goods of µ4/3 for me.

[Crabby Umbo]

Plus one for the 45mm Oly...perfect portrait lens...always felt with 35mm, I needed to own an 85mm and 105mm, but the 90mm equi. always seems to be usable for everything....

I'm still a film guy, I have a refrigerator full of film, but I always say as a guy who grew up using 8X10 and 4X5 view cameras, as well as a Hasselblad and Rolleiflex, the settable formats of the Micro 4/3rds system is the selling point for me! I can't tell you how many times I've just kept my G3 set on 1:1, and I walk around like I'm shooting with a Rolleiflex! I wouldn'tbuy a full frame 35mm electronic camera unless you could set all the formats you can on Micro 4/3rds!

[Eggert Petursson]

I still use mine.. such a lovely combo.

https://imgur.com/a/90FTyMV

[Dave Millier]

My primary lens I use for 90%+ is the Panny 45-140 F/4 - 5.6. This lens has the combined virtues of being small, light, cheap and optically as good as anything I've seen.

I'm primarily a photographer of "found" things, often small things like door knockers, architectural features high up on a roof, grafiti, street furniture, odd patterns and shapes just discovered in the environment. Of these subjects are inaccessible and the reach of a tele lens is necessary to frame them. As a result, although I always carry my 17mm pancake 'just in case', I really have very little need for shorter focal lengths.

[Ed L]

When I travel, I carry my Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 and 75mm f/1.8 with me. While I use the zoom more often, I simply love it when the opportunity arises when I get to use the 75mm as the images are simply gorgeous.

[Michael]

Right now, the Oly 40-150 f/2.8. Never was a tele shooter before, but this lens is extraordinary wide open at all focal lengths. Perfectly balanced on an EM-1 and just makes me want to use it. Started using it for sports where stadiums have restrictions on lens size. This is barely 6" and reaches 300mm equivalent or even 420mm with the teleconverter. Nowadays I'm finding even more uses for it on the street.

[Jens]

I have sold most of my m43 gear but my Olympus 75-300 mm mk2 I will not sell. Together with the OMD 1 it is one of my most used combos.

[Fulvio Senore]

I don't have expensive lenses but I have the 14 mm and the 20 mm Panasonic primes. The 14mm is very small and that is a huge advantage, but the borders are not very sharp (at least my copy). The 20 mm is a fast lens and it works very well in low light.
Surprisingly (to me, at least) my favorite lens is the first 14-45 kit zoom that I got with the G1 many years ago. It is light and that is important when hiking when I must carry the camera on my back. It is also very sharp, even in the corners: in the corners it is sharper than both the 14 mm and the 20 mm primes.
My sharpest lens is a Nikkor 1.8/50 mounted with an adapter: at middle apertures it is exceptional. Too bad that I prefer wider lenses.

[Eugene Goffredo]

I will be odd person out: Panasonic 14/2.5. With a tiny aftermarket hood on an E-M5x body it is the perfect walk around lens: wide enough to shoot from the hip and fast enough to shoot snaps in a restaurant with friends. And I find it to be pretty dang sharp.

[s.wolters]

I have ten primes from 14mm to 75mm. And the original collapsable 14-42mm kit zoom that came with the Olympus E-PL1. Chose that camera over the Panasonic GF1 and a Fujifilm model that I also tested when I switched to mirrorless because of the great jpeg colors it produced. My favorite lens at the moment is the Panasonic 42,5mm f/1.7 but that could easily change tomorrow. On top of my shopping list now is a better allround zoom. Most likely the new kid on the block: Olympus 12-45mm f/4. On par or maybe even better than the competitors an able to get very, very close.

[Tom Burke]

I’m quite surprised by this - you;ve always come across as a prime lens photographer.

The m43 12-35 is equivalent to full frame 24-70, of course, of which there are many examples. I think I remember that you had a Nikon D800 at one time. Did you try/use/have access to the Nikkor 24-70 of the day? If so, what was it about this m43 lens that appealed more than the full-frame equivalent?

[Mike Marcus]

My favorite MFT lens depends on the camera. On my in-car-always and air-travel-backup GX1 it's the Pany 14 f/2.5, on my GX8 it's the Pany 14-140ii (as I said on your yesterday's post), and on my G9 it's the Pany 35-100 for walking around the mountains and through the bosque and their 100-400 for birding. I also have the original Pany 14-45 G1 kit lens (now mostly kept in the car with the GX1), their 7-14 when wide is needed, P/L 25 f/1.4 when more light is needed, and 100-300ii for an air-travel telephoto with the GX8. Also, I have the Oly 14-40, which I personally find too heavy for the GX8, but keep it for the G9, astrophotos, and for its near macro ability, (since I sold the P/L 45 macro and now wish I didn't). Currently, I have no MFT lenses or cameras on my GAS list, subject to change. And, yes you can love a camera for too long, as I do for my Pentax MX with its SMC 28 f/2.8, which I often said decades ago, "I love this camera." Now, the GX8 gets most of that old love.

[Luiz Barata]

I had the 20 Pan and loved it for many years. Lately, exchanged for a 15 1.7 and it is now my preferred lens. I had the 12-35 Pana but found it too heavy. Traded for a 42.5 Pana for the larger aperture and lower weight, best for available light portraits. Also love the 12-32 very small zoom for landscapes and general use. So good that m4/3 has so many options!

[Paul M]

I love the Lumix 14-140 superzoom because when I shoot my son playing soccer that one lens is almost enough to cover the closest and furthest action.

[Howard]

To Crabby Umbo: You can now set all of the aspect ratios that M43 has on the Sony A7RIV. It has 3:2 (normal), 4:3, 16:9, and 1:1. The only aspect ratio it's missing that I would really love is 65:24 (xpan ratio). The Fuji GF medium formats are even better - their aspect ratios include: 65:25 (xpan), 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 5:4, 7:6, and 16:9!

[Kenneth Wajda]

I have that GF1 sitting right here, Mike, if you ever want it back! Works great with a 20mm. I made photos for a book with it back in 2013. :-)

[Kenneth Wajda]

P.S. This is the book. The photo of the girl on page 3 is priceless. Love that camera/lens. The book was a takeoff of Humans of NY.

https://www.blurb.com/books/4778842-i-am-lyons-colorado-softcover-7x7

[Bill Van antwerp]

I think my most used lens (all of it underwater) is the Panasonic/Leica 45 macro. Great lens, not the fastest focusing but wonderful IQ.

[Joseph L. Kashi]

With the right lenses, M4/3 kits are excellent as "F8 and be there" cameras, able to meet nearly any normal requirement.

The M4/3 lenses that I reach for most often are the Olympus 12-40 PRO and the Sigma 60mm DN ART on an E-M5 and the Panasonic 20/1.7 and tiny 35-100mm /f4 zoom on my more agile Pen-F kit.

When I traded up to the 12-40mm PRO, there was a discernible jump in the technical quality of the image files. The 20/1.7 just feels "right" most of the time on the Pen-F and also has exceptionally high image quality. I have two copies of the 12-40 and of the 20/1.7. Both are quite good, suggesting adequate quality control.

The Sigma 60/2.8 DN ART for M4/3 is among the sharpest lenses that I've ever used and like all good M4/3 lenses, small, light and excellent. With a $239 list price, it's a good value.

The Panasonic 35-100mm f/4 zoom is another "sleeper". It's tiny, originally intended as the companion for the GM5's 12-32mm lens. A good copy is exceptionally sharp and contrasty. It's a perfect fit for a quality but light Pen-F kit that includes the Panasonic 14mm/2.5 and 20mm/1.7 primes and the Panasonic 35-100/F4. Used, it's a very good value. I got one, rated "exceptional" from Lens Rentals for $170.

[Henning Wulff]

M43 is my main system and aside from rangefinder use, I seldom need another. I've had it since the G1 and GF1 and have satisfied myself that it does everything I usually want/need.

So I've acquired lots of lenses. Lots. From the 4/2.8 Laowa fisheye and the 7.5/2 Laowa through to the Panasonic 200/2.8 and 100-400. Over 30 native lenses plus some adapted ones.

It's easiest to name the lenses I don't like and have gotten rid of (or not). The Olympus 12-50 which came in a kit is just not attractive; it's slow, a bit long physically and is one of the few really mediocre m43 lenses. Another poor lens is the 45-200 Panasonic, one of the earliest lenses for the system. A disappointing lens is the Olympus 7-14, which (in 3 samples) needs to be stopped down to be sharp enough. The Panasonic 7-14 is better but I mostly use the 7.5/2 Laowa instead.

Some lenses are just incredible: the Olympus 75/1.8, the 12-100 and the Panasonic 200/2.8 are all just amazing. On the other hand, the Panasonic GM5 with the 12-32 is nearly the same size as a Sony RX100 and is also close in size to the 75/1.8 with hood and can also take the 7.5/2 or 100-400

[Eric Rose]

My two favourite Panasonic m4/3 lens are the 20mm f1.7 and the 35-100. Both are razor sharp. The 20mm could focus a bit faster but for the most part it hasn't let me down in street photo situations. The 14-42 is serviceable. I love my Pannie 7-14 but snag my wife's Leica 8-18 version when I need to use filters.

[Miguel Tejada-Flores]

My current favorite is the PanaLeica 15mm although before that the tiny Lumix 20mm pancake was a close 2nd. The PanaLeica DG Macro Elmarit 45mm is special too. And, hey, while we're on the subject, that tiny 12-32mm pancake zoom is so underrated that every time I use it, I marvel...at how much fine glass can be squeezed into something so minuscule.

But. I'll also admit that the 12-35mm Lumix zoom with its fixed 2.8 max aperture and its astoundingly diminutive size...is growing on me. I bought a lightly used copy for a photo project last fall and it now pretty much lives full-time on my GX8 body, where it has supplanted my current favorite lens, the not-quite-pancake-small 15mm...which has now gravitated to semi-permanent residence on my Pen F.

That's the thing about a great lens. Once you discover one...it rarely if ever leaves the camera which it has been parked on. That's just the way of it, n'est-ce pas?

[Frank]

I've been using M43 for about 4 years now, starting with an E-PL5, then added a Pen F, and most recently an E-M1Mk2. I'm sold on the system; it does everything I need it to do.
I haven't been through a ton of lenses. I got a used 20/1.7 when I got my E-PL5, and contrary to most never bonded with it. I still have it, but I'm not really sure why. Same goes for the 14/2.5, its only strength (to me) is its size.
My Pen F alternates between a 15/1.7 and 45/1.8, the 45 is amazing considering its size and price.
The E-M1.2 usually wears a 12-40Pro, occasionally the 40-150Pro, but my favorite lens on it and for the system is the Sigma 56mm 1.4. 56mm is definitely not always the right length, but the color, rendering, and wicked sharpness of that lens is unmatched.

[Bill Pearce]

My favorite m4/3 lens is the Panasonic 7-14/4. But then my favorite 35FF lens is the Nikon 17-35, which I still use on my D3 on occasion, so I'm just plain nuts, I guess. But for me there was never anything nifty about any fifty, or 35, for me it was and still is the 28.

Bill Pearce

[Moose]

I have, or have had, 31 different lenses for µ4/3, 14 Olys, 15 Pannys and two MF lenses.

Currently, it's 4 Olys, 13 Pannys and one MF. I could write quite a long essay on how and why a mostly Oly herd changed to mostly Panny.

A good part of it has been Panny OIS and my love of their GM5. The Oly, 14-150, for example, is a perfectly good lens, but the Panny 14-140 has OIS. It's a much better compact kit companion to the GM5.

The Panny 100-400 not only has much more reach, but is optically better than the Oly 75-300 I used a lot before.

The Oly 12-100 is the perfect FL range, but the close to useless highest magnification at 12 mm is a fatal flaw. It can never be used fully, without the lens, even without hood, creating shadows on the subject. The Panny 12-60 has the same max mag. but at the long end, and it's excellent. Better perspective, too.

All my favorites are used with GX9s with IBIS, where the OIS on the longer ones is a bonus as part of their Dual IS.

First place is a tie.
Pleica 100-400
PLeica 12-60

3. Panny 7-14

4. Panny 8 mm fisheye

The eq. of 13-800 mm in 4 lenses! Slot canyons and birds in flight occur in the same places. \;~)>

[Wild Bagger]

Olympus 12mm f/2, can't beat it. Extremely sharp wide open, very flare reaistant, fits in a small pocket, weighs nothing.

The 45mm 1.8 was a disappointment, but the 1.2 PRO is something else indeed.

[Christopher Midyet]

You are so right Mike. Even the expensive lenses are subject to sample variation. Bottom line ... always shoot and check. Nothing like actual shots. The proof is in the image.

[Lothar Adler]

In the meanwhile (coming from FF and 6x7 film) I use a bunch of M43 lenses and all deliver remarkable results (obviously with some automated correction of their flaws via software).
Especially I value Olympus ED 4-5,6 / 9-18mm, Olympus Macro 2,8 / 60 and Sigma Art DN 2,8 / 60 mm. And I’m a bit shy to admit: even the Panasonic pancake 4-5,6 / 35-100mm very often impresses me with its results and usefulness.

[Kyle Smith]

For compact size and images with loads of character (still sharp though!), I have to say the 20mm 1.7 is a sweet tool to have in my backpack or jeans pocket. I even wear skinny jeans, just looks a little goofy!

I am rapidly falling in love with my new Lumix 14-140 3.5 II. I thought the image quality in the Lumix 12-60 was adequate, then this superzoom came around and stomped it into the dirt. Keeping the 12-60 for its close focus and 12mm, and a good backup.

Also just got the 45mm 1.8 with my stimulus money, just $150. It's very good but we haven't spent much time together. The IQ to price ratio is incredible, as with most of the M43 system.

[Grumpy]

One of your best posts ever, the crowdsourced review of the 17mm 1.8.

[max]

I am particularly fond of an Olympus 17mm 2.8 lens, the old version that came with the viewfinder. Slow autofocus, but it does real magic.
I still use the 14-45mm zoom that came with the G1, surprisingly good. Love the 25mm 1.4 and always carry the 35-100 2.8, but mostly use the Oly. When in the mood, I use a Konica 40 1.8 that does great portraits.

[Barry Prager]

Mine has to be the 12-100 f4 Pro lens. When I go out with just one len, with a few great Oly lenses to choose from, to test my photographer chop's, I always wind up with one thought, "Dang, I wish I had my 12-100!

[Tony Ayling]

I’ve used many lenses on my Olympus OM-D EM5 from 8mm fisheye to 300mm but my favourite is the super compact Panasonic 12-32 zoom. The perfect size for the camera and surprisingly good quality. And only cost me $99. The other lens I keep using is the Olympus 45mm f1.8 with kenko extension tubes that takes amazing macro shots

[Joseph Lambert]

I just ditched my Nikon gear and switched completely to Micro Four Thirds with the following equipment:
- Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II
- Panasonic GF1
- Panasonic GF2
- Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7
- Olympus 60mm f/2.8
- Olympus 40-150mm f4-5.6 R
- Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro
I had a Panasonic GF2 & Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 several years ago and found myself missing it. The combo was easy to carry, fun to use, and took nice photos. That gear is cheap now so I replaced it and added the other stuff over the past year. I sold the Nikon gear because I was tired of carrying the comparatively big/heavy APS-C gear.

Anyway, I’ve been testing the gear and all those lenses are great. I’ve been especially impressed with the versatility of the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro. It’s fantastic for general purpose and even does well for close-ups if you don’t have a macro. I have a soft spot for the Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 but if I could have only one it would be the 12-40mm.

[G Geradts]

There can only be one!
https://youtu.be/HyjQp7W5A9c
What better recommendation could there be?

[Rod]

17mm Oly. Hard to find a great technical review of it, but equally hard to find a bad users review.

[James]

Has to be the 20mm ƒ/1.7 on a GX7.
It also happens to be my favorite lens for monochrome work.

[Dave Karp]

The Olympus 25mm and 45mm f/1.8 are very nice. I like them a lot.

However, my very favorite is the Olympus 75mm f/1.8. Beautiful rendering. The out of focus is very nice. The weird equivalent focal length never bothered me. I just look through the finder and see things to photograph.

For some reason, for me, there is magic in that lens.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Maybe the 40-150/2.8 Olympus. Because it offers a range I've never had before and have always wanted. But, except at roller derby, I shoot more with the 20/1.7 Panasonic and the Olympus 45/1.8.

I find I don't use the Panasonic/Leica 25/1.4 as much as you might expect; too close to the 20/1.7 and much bigger to carry around. The Voigtlander Nokton 17.5/0.95 is big and heavy and still too close to the 20/1.7. (It's so weird having reached a tech stage where faster lenses aren't be be-all and end-all for my photography!)

[Bob]

If the Oly 12-100 was animate and had feelings, my comment would be very unfair to it, and rightly hurt its feelings. I got this lens about a year ago and it's hardly come off since. The range is so useful. Still, it's not my favorite.

I have two favorites: Voightlander 25mm and Oly 75mm. Some of your other readers have commented on these lenses, and I agree with their comments. I can see and make images with these lenses in a way that's wonderfully satisfying for me. Especially the 75!

Yet for pure, utilitarian functionality, the 12-100 just works. So why don't I like? It's not that I *dislike* it, I just don't feel like it's my *favorite* lens. Maybe that'll change in time. Or maybe it's that if I'm honest about it, I sort of think it's cheating to name a zoom lens as your "favorite lens." I always feel like the question should be, 'what one focal length do you see in most often, and most effectively?' Then again, I respect the fact that it's your blog and you can ask us whatever you want! : ) FWIW, I think the focal length question would be interesting to explore.