Olympus Micro Four-Thirds Lens Roundup

Micro Four-Thirds cameras are designed to provide DSLR-like image quality in a smaller form-factor. As ILCs, total size greatly depends on lenses. To realize the maximum compactness potential, Olympus created a lineup of Micro Four-Thirds lenses called M.Zuiko. The lineup is presently comprises six lenses covering focal-lengths from 9 to 300mm, equivalent to an 18 to 600mm range in 35mm terms when taking into account the 2X FLM of Four-Thirds sensors:

• Zuiko 9-18mm F/4-5.6 ED
  Zuiko 9-18mm F/4-5.6 ED - This offering covers and ultra-wide to normal angle of view.
• Zuiko 14-42mm F/3.5-5.6 ED
  Zuiko 14-42mm F/3.5-5.6 ED - This is one of the lenses sold with Olympus SLDs and covers a similar range as typical kit-lenses.
• Zuiko 14-150mm F/4-5.6 ED
  Zuiko 14-150mm F/4-5.6 ED - An ultra-zoom with over 10X optical zoom, starting at wide-angle.
• Zuiko 17mm F/2.8
  Zuiko 17mm F/2.8 - The smallest and lightest lens here, this one is often sold as a kit.
• Zuiko 40-150mm F/4-5.6 ED
  Zuiko 40-150mm F/4-5.6 ED - Provides telephoto reach to complement the 14-42mm lens.
• Zuiko 75-300mm F/4.8-6.7 ED
  Zuiko 75-300mm F/4.8-6.7 ED - This super-telephoto provides the reach needed for wildlife photography.

Obviously 6 lenses constitute a small lineup, demand will make it grow but today's additional needs can be met via lenses from third-party. Panasonic has its own line-up of Micro Four-Third lenses which cover focal-lengths from 7 to 300mm including specialty a macro and fisheye lens. Note that some Panasonic lenses have built-in stabilization. This function must be disabled when used on an Olympus camera since that is provided by the body and both mechanisms would be in conflict which each other.

Another great option is to use Four-Thirds lenses which are physically larger but comprise a much larger lineup. Olympus makes many Zuiko lenses whose performance is legendary. Mounting such a lens simply requires the Olympus MFF-2 adaptor. The close relation between the Four-Thirds and Micro Four-Thirds mount means that this adaptor maximizes compatibility.

The above links lead to the specification page of each lens. Each next page describes one of these lenses in more details with a basic analysis of its optical performance. Click on the Next button to advance or use the menu below it to jump to a specific lens.