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

Depends on what body you have. I have the E-M10 with the 12mm f/2.0, 17mm f/1.8, Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN, Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN, and 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro. I can hold any one of the first three in the palm of my hand and all three of the Sigma Art lenses, including the 19mm weigh only 60 grams. If you have an Olympus body, than the 17mm or, even better, the 12mm comes with the AF/MF snap-back feature. Both lenses as small, especially the 17mm, have metal mounts and bodies, blazing fast and highly accurate autofocus, and are sharp with excellent IQ. The 17mm weighs in at 120 grams and the 12mm at 130 grams. The Sigma lenses also have metal bodies and mounts, in spite of the light weight, are sharp with excellent IQ, and have reasonable fast and accurate auto focus. I don't have the 9-18mm but I have seen it in the store and it is far from large. It is also extremely light but like a lot of Olympus zooms, comes with a plastic body. The 9-18s focal range would be a good match with your 25mm. But the 9-18  f/4.0-f/5.6  and could be a challenge to use in low light. If you have a Panasonic body, then the 14mm would be fine, but a lot of Panasonic lenses have quite a bit of CA that Panasonic bodies correct for and Olympus bodies do not. Another possibility would be the Panasonic 15mm, which for the price, should be better than the 14mm.

I have spent most of my life using film cameras, mostly rangefinders, so I know what heavy is. My two favorite focal lengths have always been 35mm and 40mm, which equate to the 17mm and 19mm. I have only owned two 50mm lenses, same as your 25mm, and I never really cared for either of them. They came with the only two SLRs I ever owned. I had one 28mm lens, same as the 14mm, and it didn't excite me either. The 12mm was my first M43 lens and the widest lens I ever had. It is a fantastic lens and got more use than any of the others until I got the 12-40mm. Of course all of this is subjective and will vary with every user.