Panasonic 14mm, Olympus 17mm, Sigma 19mm, Olympus 9-18mm, Which would you recommend?

adamandbean wrote:

Hello,

As I have decided to stay with micro four-thirds, I have decided to buy a lens or two. I currently only have the Olympus 25mm 1.8

I am looking to buy myself a Christmas present from the above lenses either new or used. In Japan here there are plenty of used lenses for reasonable prices.

I want something short in focal length to compliment the 25mm. I do not need a long reaching zoom lens at this stage. A general walk around lens for street shots and travel is my preference.

Weight is also a factor; this why I sold the d7000. I do not want something heavy. I had considered the 12-40 pro instead of buying the 25mm but the total weight would have been 780 grams which for me is too much.

Thanks for your advice in advance,

Adam

I think this depends on what your style of street photography is.

As good and useful a set of focal lengths the 9-18 is I find it is only a bright light lens because of the slow aperture range. For example, often times I need that wider aperture because I am in shadows, or photographing inside a store, market, etc.

Depending on the ISO performance of your body, the later Oly and Pannys are quite good, you may be able to tolerate the slower apertures.

For me, the 19 is too slow if I am getting a short focal length prime, and of the Sigma trio, 19, 30 and 60, I recall the 19 is the least desirable as far as IQ goes.

The 14 is a bit wide for me, maybe not you, and f2.5 is not that fast. I think that the 17 f1.8 fills the bill for you, based on my experience. I don't have a 17, but rather a Panny 20mm f1.7. I don't feel the need to replace that lens just yet, having accommodated to the focal length. Ideally, based on my full frame days, I would have liked the 17, but at the time I was buying, it did not exist.

So in the end, you need to decide what your style is.  If you had to go with something, I would pick either 17.

I have the 20, the 14 and the 9-18, and while the 14 is a nifty little lens, but I find a rarely use it.