Olympus micro 4/3 7-14 or Panasonic micro 4/3 7-14?

Both are expensive lenses but my understanding is that the panny has the larger constant aperture and is lighter. I think it may be slightly cheaper too. I have the omd 5 and was wondering if anyone has experience of both these lenses and which is generally considered to have better IQ. On the face of it, with it's constant aperture the panny looks better.

Let me help

First, the Oly is for 4/3 not micro 4/3. So you would only be able to use it on your OMD 5 with an adapter. Second, they are both constant aperture and both are f4 in fact. They are very similar lenses and both are considered very sharp I think.

I can't speak for the panasonic as I did not own it but the Oly 7-14 was an incredible lens and I loved it on my Oly E-5 (the 4/3 camera, not the micro 4/3 camera).

In short, I would say the Oly 7-14 is probably better optically but not by much. Any difference in image quality would be more than made up by the fact the the Pany version is more than 50% lighter AND doesn't need an adapter to work on micro 4/3 cameras.

Keenasmustard said:

Both are expensive lenses but my understanding is that the panny has the larger constant aperture and is lighter. I think it may be slightly cheaper too. I have the omd 5 and was wondering if anyone has experience of both these lenses and which is generally considered to have better IQ. On the face of it, with it's constant aperture the panny looks better.

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PapaRappa

...the Pany is not just slightly cheaper its WAY cheaper at almost half the cost (MSRP vs MSRP). Keep in mind, the Olympus is weather sealed and the Pany is not if that's important to you.

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PapaRappa

Thanks. The Oly seems to have come down a bit in price if you shop around, but I hadn't appreciated that it is a 4/3 lens. I don't need weather proofing as much as I need less weight, so I think I shall keep an eye out for any bargains with the Panasonic.

Just realized the Panasonic has the huge bulbous glass at the front so obviously cant take filters!

Keenasmustard said:

Just realized the Panasonic has the huge bulbous glass at the front so obviously cant take filters!

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Nope. Check out the micro 4/3 Olympus 9-18mm. It is awesome.

That was my alternative choice and I understand it can take filters, but is the distortion much greater at the wide end?

sharpness, they are both fairly equal
neither can take filters, but there is a fix for this with the oly
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=36893455
they are both constant f/4 aperture
the Olympus Zuiko is their highest grade SHG lens, and is weather sealed
the Panasonic 7-14 has distortion correction and is cheaper,

but i guess there is the possibility of picking up a Zuiko second hand which would make them around the same cost except you also need an adapter, but be aware the Zuiko is massive and heavy but much higher build quality.

theres a review on them both on an EP1 here

http://www.h2hreviews.com/article/Head-to-Head-DSLR-Lens-Review-for-Micro-Four-Thirds-Digital-Cameras-Olympus-Zuiko-Digital-ED-7-14mm-f4-vs-Panasonic-Lumix-G-Vario-7-14mm-f4/Introduction-The-Matchup.html

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Riley

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Keenasmustard said:

That was my alternative choice and I understand it can take filters, but is the distortion much greater at the wide end?

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I have no optical problems with the 9-18 M.Zuiko. You're dealing with two very fine lenses - consider the performance along the lines of 'Excellent' for the 9-18, and 'stellar' for the 7-14. Personally, I believe you would be hard pressed to tell the difference in actual use.

For me, while I would still love to add the 7-14 to my arsenal, I am certain I get more use out of the 9-18 than I would the Panasonic.