Lenses that make Micro Four Thirds make sense

What are your picks! Let me know in the comments.

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📸 DEDICATED REVIEWS HERE!

Timestamps:

00:00 hello
0:33 a 300mm beaut
01:08 the 35-100mm options
02:16 my favourite lens at the moment
03:10 equivalency works both ways
04:50 the sharpest lens on the system
05:25 macro photography benefits
06:12 wildlife
07:00 the chonky bois
08:02 the best fisheye ever made
09:17 MPB
10:16 a lens so good I bought it twice

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(Some links in the description are Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to buy using them, I get a small commission at no cost to you.)

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[artistjoh]

When I switched from Canon to MFT about three years ago, the step up in build quality was very apparent. My Canon L glass was rugged and served me well, but the exquisite engineering (especially of Olympus glass) and the light weight was astounding. For me, MFT is the sweet spot between quality, creativity, practicality, and affordability.

[ulflundh]

I stayed with Olympus when they announced the 150-400tcpro. No other system would have anything like it. I waited 3 years and it was worth it :)
And now I have an OM1mkll to attach to it and it’s better then I thought would be possible back then.

[Democratiser]

Emily - I love your work. Well done.

For me the Lumix 14-140mm is the exemplar MFT lens. It is a one stop shop for travel, family etc., and it is really sharp. Add a prime like the 25mm f1.4 or a 42.5mm etc and one is set!

[donaldpirie]

I bought the Pana Leica 12mm a few months ago. I was uber impressed. I had a lot of pro lenses at the time and thought the 12mm was in a different class. I was persuaded to buy the Pana Leica 10-25mm f1.7. I used that for less than a day and had to order its twin brother. I traded much of my existing pro lens collection (to MPB, as it happens) to fund the 25-50mm f/1.7. The twins are utterly, utterly fabulous, to the extent the size if forgivable and the cost is understandable. I have kept my Olympus 12-100 Pro f/4 because it is so handy and I have to give high praise to the tiny Olympus 12-45mm Pro f/4 and it brother the 40-150 Pro f/4 - incredibly sharp and incredibly small. Some of the plastic fantastic kit is stellar - Pana 25mm f1/7 and the Oly 75-300mm which is astonishing in the right light. I am 65 (or is it 66?) and have been taking photos since I was 6. I have used everything in those 59 or 60 years and MFT is a wonderful system with something for everyone. I am NOT buying any more lenses. How does the Pana Leica 200 f2/8 compare with the Oly 300 f/4?

[gregfeeler]

A great list of lenses and I can't take issue with any of them. Two of my favorite everyday/everything lenses are the Panasonic Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 and the Olympus 12-100mm IS f4.0 PRO. Both have superlative IQ, lifetime build quality, and are fully weather sealed. I find mid-range zooms which top out between 35 and 45mm are just too short for me, and that the 60mm reach of the Leica covers so many more situations. Yet it's no bigger than the (magnificent) Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 PRO. The Olympus 12-100mm f4 PRO is - to me anyway - like one of those amazing weapons superheroes have that can handle any situation. With it's IS and and IBIS Olympus bodies you have SyncIS which goes a long way to offsetting the f4.0 aperture, and the whole rig - covering a 35mm film equivalent of 24 to 200mm - can drop into a very compact holster bag. I shot a four day motorcycle rally with just that setup and only used my Leica 9mm f1.7 super-wide angle lens once or twice.

Really, there are so many more amazing MFT lenses than you were able to cover that it's almost confusing. Modern software tech can address just about all sensor limitations (for any format) but it can't replace the right glass used to make the photo, and MFT is awash in wonderful lenses of all sizes and prices.

[stephanepost]

My pick would be the Oly 12-100/4. I just don’t know of any other lens that covers 24-200mm equiv. With that kind of quality over the entire range. And with Sync IS… 🤯❤

[crimlarksSteve]

I have three lenses that I bought to use with my Pen F: the Oly 17 f1.8, the Lumix 12-32 f3.5-5.6, and the Lumix 35-100 f4.0-5.6. I carry all three lenses and the camera in a Tenba Insert 7, which fits in my daypack, while still leaving lots of room for sunglasses and other things. Gives me pretty much anything I need when traveling at minial weight. The Tenba also holds extra batteries and cards.

[simonatterbury]

I hadn't thought about the 9-18mm Olympus before so going to check it out.

[bigrobotnewstoday]

One of the issues I sometimes see with full frame is making lens faster then they sometimes always need to be. For example back in the film days a lot of companies made a 135mm f2.8 and even 135mm f3.5. Not everything needs to be f1.4 or even f1.2 but its good to have those lens also.

Also I don't think any client will care about sensor size if you are good with composition and lighting if they see your portfolio.

Only advice I would give people that are switching to M43 from full frame is don't have a portfolio of f1.2 or f1.4 portraits that look like people are cut out and start using M43 lens. Bring M43 and full frame to your jobs and then switch out new photos.

You can use Luminar and Lightroom now to add in more bokeh. But sometimes the software can have issues with some photos.

You can put something in your contract that your style of photography is always evolving. This will protect you if change things about.

[trulsdirio]

For me it is the Olympus 45mm 1.8 and the 12-40mm 2.8.
The 45mm is so tiny, it makes even analog era 85mm lenses seem huge, but it is tack sharp, has a gorgeous bokeh and is dirt cheap.
The 12-40mm is rugged, weather sealed, tiny, sharp, affordable, gets you incredibly close for such a lens and is an awesome all round performer. Both together give me all I need for almost every situation with just a really small camera pouch.

[ej_tech]

Lumix 12-32mm pancake any day of the week.
The 35-100mm f4-5.6 also pairs up nicely as cute little telephoto lens where I have no hesitation of bringing in the first place.

[mkphotography]

I adore my 45mm f1.8 it's a great portrait lens too

[tormented_emperor]

Just recently got a Lumix GF1. First time on the MFT system and im loving everything that makes it unique. Glad i found this channel, helping me learn more about the system and loving it more each day

[syu]

My favorite is the Lumix 20mm f1.7 pan cake. Small, light but well built, fast, sharp, and very affordable. The 40 mm full frame-equivalent is perfect for me. 50 mm is a bit tight, and 35 mm is a bit too wide for me. This lens is on my Olympus E-PL8 the most!

[spacemansproggit]

That's a really thought-provoking question - and you've given me some ideas of new toys to try... My answer[s], in no particular order, [and not repeating any you selected] would be:-

1. Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f1.7 Pancake prime - tack sharp, lovely tones, good bokeh, tiny, light weight
2. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.8 prime - tiny, sharp, fast, light... Usable for portrait at a pinch and bringing landscapes closer when needed
3. Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f0.95 prime - all-manual, insanely sharp, built like a tank; so gorgeous it's a work of art and the output is sublime
4. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm - a "plastic fantastic" lens that perfect for travel given its range. Super-fast to focus and sharp for a zoom
5. Panasonic Lumix Leica DG 25mm f1.4 prime - only a smidge bigger than the Oly 45f1.8, but fast, sharp focus, glorious bokeh, light weight...

The thing that first appealed to me when I started my M43 journey [with a Panasonic DMC-GX1] was the range of tiny, lightweight, fast and affordable primes. It's possible to put together a "day camera bag" that includes a body, spare batteries and cards and 3-4 lenses [say a 25, 45 and the 75] in primes... for less than the weight/bulk of a single Canikon [sic] lens... and still get sharper images that are more fun to take. Yes, a good quality zoom - like say the excellent Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 "kit" lens - is more versatile for walkabout work... but you'll learn so much more if you take the 3-4 primes and really think about what you're doing.

[dusanbalarin]

Panny/Leica 15mm 1.7 and 42.5mm 1.2.both are so special!

[JoATTech]

Lately I used m43 and ff during photography workshop, and really most ppl couldn't tell a difference. And used all F1.8 lenses on M43 nothing faster (all basic olympus line of F1.8).

[AndysImages]

LUMIX 100-400 is an absolute beast for wildlife, smaller than my friends 70-200 APSC lens and superb image quality

[clintjohnson]

I think this is actually a very important and underappreciated topic and definitely a hallmark of MFT's unique attributes. The 75 mm 1.8 Olympus is surgically sharp.. but yeah the price and the niche focal length drove me to the Sigma 56 mm 1.4 which I would rate as a very worthy alternative. For Another MFT unicorn I would suggest the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 12-50mm F/3.5-6.3 EZ ED. Where else can you get an equivalent 24-100 zoom with ED glass, weatherproof, manual focus clutch mechanism, very good macro and a power zoom all for around $200 used. I've shot this next to my 12-45 Olympus Pro and many of the shots are indistinguishable.

[valkrys]

I actually began using the 75mm f/1.8 when shooting rodeos from the stands. I had been using my 12-100mm f/4 PRO for this, but found that I was settling at the 75mm range for most of my shots of the cowboys and bulls. It also allows me to shoot longer in the evening, at faster speeds.