Wide lens of choice?

Ah, I see. Forgive me for using the logic that has proven correct over many generations of cameras/systems in that the kit lens is OK but rarely (note I said rarely) the best available at any given focal length.

I'm not a 'prime snob' but past experience has shown me that it takes a very special zoom to equal a prime for a given job. Of course if the job in hand requires a range the flexibility of a zoom is fantastic and I use zooms all the time - for my FF camera I generally use a wide zoom, a walk around zoom and probably the best lens I own is also a zoom - the venerable 70-200 2.8 IS II. I use primes on my FF when I know the shooting will be limited such as macro, portraits or studio work because they are, generally, sharper.

However, for my MFT system I want different things - the first of which is small. What I like is that I can fit my E-PL5 and a bunch of accessories in bag that I can only get my 5DIII in - almost a complete system

What I'd quite like is a small wide prime, a small standard prime and small portrait prime with the kit as nice flexible backup for social stuff; I've got all but the wide lens at the moment. Of course, I only want a prime if it offers better quality like they used to...

The small factor of the 14mm is nice, but I don't see any advantage if it's no better than a lens I already own. I don't want/need anything as wide the the Panny 7-14mm which is why the Oly 12mm is attractive to me - it's just a little wider than my 14-45 kit and brighter too. What put me off is the price if the photozone pics are truly representative.

Thanks for your steer on the 9-18mm, it wasn't really on the list but I know it has fans