Doneworkin
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Own Panny 9 and Olympus 8-25 The 9mm works well on my EP-5 Have not tried the 8-25 on that body but sure it would be fine. Both lens work well and I have no complaints
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What is the best ultra wide angle lens for MFT?
- Thread starter ChristopherIQ
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Confused.
The Sony A7R first series used CDAF and was not a tribute to Sony CDAF. It did not handle AF with adapted EF mount lenses very well. They did work with multiple levels of success and hunted a lot for focus. Died completely as the light available was reduced. Years later and many Metabones firmware updates nothing much had changed.
Sony really needed PDAF to sort out their adapted focus issues in later models from the A7RII. And they did. They even received some faint praise from a senior figure supplying Metabones that their adapters provided Sony series II cameras with good fast focus almost as fast as their adapters for M4/3 bodies.
The often derided Panasonic CDAF worked S-AF quite well with adapted EF mount lenses from the get-go. It was the C-AF that was an issue and mainly bothered video users. In fact C-AF on Panasonic CDAF bodies with adapted EF lenses in my opinion was not at all useful.
S-AF of the other hand was quite acceptable.
The Panasonic CDAF seems to have been a much better developed CDAF than that initially used by Sony.
The Sony A7R first series used CDAF and was not a tribute to Sony CDAF. It did not handle AF with adapted EF mount lenses very well. They did work with multiple levels of success and hunted a lot for focus. Died completely as the light available was reduced. Years later and many Metabones firmware updates nothing much had changed.
Sony really needed PDAF to sort out their adapted focus issues in later models from the A7RII. And they did. They even received some faint praise from a senior figure supplying Metabones that their adapters provided Sony series II cameras with good fast focus almost as fast as their adapters for M4/3 bodies.
The often derided Panasonic CDAF worked S-AF quite well with adapted EF mount lenses from the get-go. It was the C-AF that was an issue and mainly bothered video users. In fact C-AF on Panasonic CDAF bodies with adapted EF lenses in my opinion was not at all useful.
S-AF of the other hand was quite acceptable.
The Panasonic CDAF seems to have been a much better developed CDAF than that initially used by Sony.
SeeingSomeThingsMissingMany
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I shall get p*ssed
mostly at myself.That's what I've done with my over 100 digital cameras, nearly every lens : just got them got on with photography.
Only once since 2008, that's when I got into photogrpahy, I discussed a purchase before I got the purchase in my hand, was few nights earlier a lens on the Kamlan thread.
Focal reduced Ef lenses picked up this year are my cheap as chips lumpier lol heavier alternative to Oly pro 25/1.2; PanaLeica 25/1.4; 12-40/2.8; 50-150/2.8; 7-14/4.
x0.71 viktrox focal reduced siggy 30/1.4 becomes 21mm f/1.0; tamy 17-50/2.8 becomes 12-35 f/2.0; canon 70-210/3.5-4.5 becomes 50-150 f/2.5 -f/3.2 smaller lighter than 50-150/2.8; siggy 10-20/3.5-4.5 becomes 7-14 f/2.5-f/3.2 vignettes at 7mm fine at 8mm.
Shall give it a whirl in a shop if I see one. Enticing. I'm happy to carry around such a lump lol in london on my m4/3 because it's so wide approx 6-12mm focal reduced x0.71.
Youtube vloggers love this sigma 18-35/1.8 for video.
If don't have spare change for native m4/3 lenses, approx equivalent adapted focal reduced cheap lenses look attractive with okayish to pretty decent performance.
C mount manual fast zoom lens in that focal length range if there is such just because they are much smaller lighter. Although it wouldn't cover m4/3 sensor, I would pick up a Nikon 1 once had during Olympics 2012 photographed Olympic showjumping with Nikon J1, place a fast zoom manual C mount on it.
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Photography after all is interplay of light alongside perspective.
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GodSpeaks
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The Panasonic 7-14mm is a lovely little lens, but it's main drawback is it flares easily. The Panasonic 8-18mm is bigger and heavier but manages flare much better,
My choice for ultrawide would be the small Samyang 7.5mm f3.5. Great value for the money.
john isaacs
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In my opinion, overall the best UWA zoom lens for MFT is the Panasonic 8-18/2.8-4. It is fast at the wide end, if you need fast. It takes 67mm filters. It is lighter and smaller than the Olympus lenses. It is compatible with Olympus cameras (the Panasonic 7-14 is not). It takes regular filaters without an adapter (neither 7-14 version does). It has much better image quality than the 9-18 (and is wider).
My favorite UWA prime is the Panasonic 9/1.7.
I have both the 8-18/2.8-4 and 9/1.7, as well as the Olympus 7-14/2.8 and 9-18. I used to have the Panasonic 7-14/4, with the rear filter mount and a filter to handle the Oympus issue.
I take the 9mm when I am focused on kit size; I take the 8-18 when I want FL flexibility (plus the 8-18 is wider).
As for FT lenses; I had most of them. I don't have any of them anymore. They are too big/heavy and AF too slowly.
One other lens to consider is the Oympus 8mm FE. Very wide, but must be defished for rectilinear photography and loses resolution as a result. I don't have it, but some think it's an excellent choice for astro due to it's speed.
Michael Meissner
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I haven't read most of the replies at this point, but like in any G.A.S. situation, the answer depends on what you photograph, what your budget is, how big/small gear the gear is, whether the zoom/focus rings go in the same direction as your other lenses, whether the lens is splash resistant, and whether the lens causes purple flares, etc.
I am not generally a wide angle shooter. Generally, for me, the 12mm that my 12-40mm f/2.8, 12-45mm f/4, and 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 provides is wide enough.
I have the Olympus/OM 7-14mm f/2.8 lens. I had the older Olympus 9-18mm f/4-5.6 that I sold when I got the 7-14mm lens. I did buy the new OM 9-18mm f/4-5.6 mark II lens when I made a major purchase this year to get lighter weight lenses after I had a fall and injured my back. However, I have not shot with the new OM 9-18mm f/4-5.6 mark II so far.
Perhaps one of the 12mm lenses might work (assuming you have a 14-42mm lens and want wider than 14mm) work with what you want. It depends on how often you shoot at 11mm vs. 12. I know I when my second lens was the 14-150mm f/4-5.6, I was often switching between the 12-40mm f/2.8 and 14-150mm f/4-5.6 for outdoor shots, when I wanted to use the 12-13mm range. When I upgraded to the 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3, I was switching lenses less often.
One note is you have an Olympus camera. There is a lot of discussion that some Panasonic lenses cause purple flare on Olympus bodies. It is thought that this may be due to the different infrared cutoff levels that the Panasonic camera system has compared to the OM/Olympus camera system. You might want to investigate individual combinations before purchasing.
One option is to use your 11-22mm lens on your E-P7. I don't believe the E-P7 has the phase detect auto focusing like the E-m1 mark I/II/III, E-m1x, E-m5 mark III, OM-1 mark I/II, OM-3, and OM-5 mark I/II bodies do. This means since it uses contrast detect focusing, that focusing will be slow. However, if you are not photographing things with moving subjects, it may be ok if you have to wait a little longer for the lens to auto focus.
In looking at my stats, I did use my 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 on my initial micro 4/3rds body (E-P2) for 31 shots, along with some on my E-m1 mark I for 38 shots. However, the 12-40mm f/2.8 became the dominant lens, and I haven't used my 11-22mm since 2017 on either the micro 4/3rds bodies or my classic 4/3rds DSLRs when I was still shooting with them. There are other options from the classic 4/3rds lenses (Olympus 7-14mm f/4, Olympus 9-18mm f/4-5.6, Sigma 10-20mm, and Olympus 8mm fisheye) that may be useful if using the slower focusing of the E-P7 is acceptable, and you use a quality adapter.
You will need an adapter from the classic 4/3rds mount to the micro 4/3rds mount. In a long dead forum, there was a discussion thread that highlighted a lot of the cheaper third party adapters tended to have issues if you were shooting at wider than 14mm, and occasionally even the 3 'official adapters' (Olympus MMF-3, Olympus MMF-2, and Panasonic DMW-MA1) could become out of alignment over time. If you ever plan to get a splash resistant body, only the MMF-3 allows the splash resistant 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 to continue to be splash resistant. Over time, the price of the MMF-3 has risen because of this. I have used the MMF-3 adapter quite a bit until I retired my classic 4/3rds 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 lens (and the other classic 4/3rds lenses I used occasionally). I have also used the DMW-MA1 adapter that I got when I bought the E-P2 in 2009.
Another option to consider for things like landscapes is to shoot several shots with your existing lenses, and combine them together in post processing to make a panorama photograph. This means you don't have to buy a new lens, but you may need to invest in software to do the combination. I've heard that the freely available Hugin software can do this combination. I have never shot panoramas.
Since I shoot with the OM-1 mark I and OM-3 as my current bodies, I value splash resistance when buying OM/Olympus lenses. I tend to discount the claim for splash resistance on Panasonic lenses since the one lens I had an issue with splash resistance (100-300mm) was Panasonic. In addition, there is some chatter that given the diameter of rubber seal between Panasonic bodies and OM/Olympus bodies is different, it may not be as splash resistant for the body.
So here are some thoughts on the individual lenses:
Panasonic 7-14mm f/4
This is one of the lenses most cited for the issue of purple flares on Olympus bodies. This lens like the Olympus/OM 7-14mm cannot take normal filters due to the curved front element. Now, whether you need a filter or not is up to you. In particular, using a polarizer filter doesn't tend to work on wider angle lenses, so maybe you don't need a filter, maybe you do.
OM/Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8
I bought this lens last year, and I find it useful for wide angle situations. To be honest, I wanted to buy the OM/Olympus 8-25mm f/4, but I found that I could find used 7-14mm lenses a lot cheaper than the 8-25mm, and I went with the 7-14mm. I have found since then, that it being faster at f/2.8 than f/4 was helpful when I was using it indoors without flash.
Note, the 7-14mm is a medium weight lens (534g or 1.2lbs), and fairly long (83.1mm or 3.1"). I find that 7-14mm f/2.8 doesn't balance well on my cameras that have a thinner hand grip like the OM-3 and E-m5 mark III. On my OM-3, I now use external hand grips and I find the 7-14mm now easier to shoot with. I believe your E-P7 has a thin grip.
The OM/Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 is splash resistant, which is useful if you have the OM/Olympus splash resistant bodies (E-m5, E-m1, OM-1, OM-3, and OM-5), but since your E-P7 is not splash resistant, it isn't as much of a factor for you unless you are planning on upgrading bodies in the future.
Since I bought the 7-14mm in 2024 it has ranked at position 25 of all lenses I've used since 2004. But in looking at 2024, I saved 61 images and it ranked as #5 in terms of lenses I used in the year. In 2025, I saved 96 images and it is ranked as #6 in terms of the lenses I used for the year. As I recall, in 2025, there were 4 main times I used the 7-14mm:
- Fireworks
- Interiors at the Plimouth Plantation where I used the 12-40mm on the other camera, and it was useful to have f/2.8 due to low light issues.
- A few wide angle shots from our vacation in Hawaii.
- Wide angle shots when we went to Mount Washington.
Panasonic 8mm and OM/Olympus 8mm fisheye lenses
Fishseye lenses tend to have specific photographic characteristics. Sometimes you want those characteristics. At other times, you can use software to 'de-fish' the lens -- you loose a little of the wide angle range, but the software does give you the traditional rectalinear image.
Panasonic 10-25mm f/1.7
This lens is the fastest wide angle zoom lens. It was designed with its sibling lens (25-50mm f/1.7) for Panasonic video shooters. It tends to be one of the more expensive wide angle lenses, but if you need the speed and the flexibility you need it. It is also one of the heaviest lenses (690g or 1.5lbs) and longest (128mm or 5") of the wide angle lenses.
Olympus 9-18mm f/4-5.6 and OM 9-18mm f/4-5.6 mark II
These lenses are rather small (49.3mm or 1.9" when folded up) and light (154g or 0.3lbs). Thus, if you want to just throw a lens into the bag for occasional use. I had the original Olympus 9-18mm lens and I used it for 79 shots before selling it when I got the 7-14mm lens. After I had a fall in Hawaii and I did a major purchase to reduce the weight of my gear bag, I bought the OM 9-18mm f/4-5.6 mark II lens. However, I haven't actually used it yet. However, since I have the 7-14mm, it tends to get chosen when I'm specially going wide angle. Mostly, I tend to not pack the lens.
I tend to think for the E-P7, this may be the lens to think about. It is small and matches with the smaller body. It is an Olympus/OM lens, so purple flare will be less of an issue. Compared to some of the other options, it tends to be cheaper. If you go for the 9-18mm used, make sure you are buying the micro 4/3rds version (which is very small) rather than the classic 4/3rds version (larger and it needs a quality lens adapter).
In terms of my use, because the 9-18mm lenses are not splash resistant, I tend to go with the splash resistant 7-14mm lens instead of the non-splash resistant 9-18mm lenses, even though the 7-14mm is bigger and heavier. I was disappointed that when OM came out with the 9-18mm f/4-5.6 mark II that it was not splash resistant.
One knock on the micro 4/3rds 9-18mm lenses, is you have to unlock the lens after putting it on the camera. If you have the 14-42mm f/4-5.6 mark I/II/II-R lens, it has a similar lock. If the lock bothers you, I've seen suggestions to store the lens unlocked -- it will be a little longer in the camera bag, but you don't have to unlock it.
If you are looking at auto focus wide angle lenses, the 9-18mm is the cheapest zoom. While it is still available, the Olympus 9-18mm mark I tends to be cheaper than the OM 9-18mm mark II.
OM/Olympus 8-25mm f/4
As I said, when I was looking in 2024, this is the wide angle lens I wanted, but I kept finding used 7-14mm lenses $200 cheaper than used 8-25mm lenses.
It does take filters, unlike the 7-14mm. It is splash resistant. While it is f/4, often for wide angle shots, I don't need a fast aperture (though of course I had a counter example where f/2.8 was useful for indoor shots). Because it goes out to 25mm, it means I could avoid switching lenses with the 12-40mm or 12-200mm lenses for more of the range.
The 8-25mm is between the 7-14mm and 9-18mm lenses in terms of weight (411g or 0.9lbs), though it is slightly longer than the 7-14mm (114.8mm or 4.5").
Panasonic 8-18mm f/2.8-4
I tend to prefer OM/Olympus zoom lenses because Panasonic lenses zoom ring goes in the opposite direction as OM/Olympus lenses. And purple flare is less of an issue when using an OM/Olympus lens on an OM/Olympus body.
But you may want to check it out.
Panasonic 9mm f/1.7
Obviously as a prime, it means you might need to crop your photos more than if you had a zoom.
But the 9mm is fairly small (52mm or 1.2") and light (130g or 0.3lbs), and thus easy to put in your bag for easy use.
It is the widest micro 4/3rds prime lens with auto focus capability, and it tends to be cheaper than the 9-18mm lenses for new lenses.
I've seen a lot of people that love this lens for astro photography, since it is wide and fast.
OM/Olympus fisheye body cap lens 8mm f/8
I don't know much about this, but it is essentially a manual focus only lens. It is very small, light, and cheap.
Various manual focus prime lenses
There are various manual focus prime lenses, that tend to be on the cheap side, but you will need to manually focus the lens. For me that eliminates the lens, but maybe you are can use them. Some of the brands include AstrHori, TTartisan, 7Artisans, Meike, Rokinon, Laowa, Samyang, Occulilumen, If you search around, you may likely find even more names as resellers will often relabel existing lenses.
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wateroftyne
Well-known member
I’m not sure Laowa shoild be lumped in with the other lot. All it has in common is that it’s MF.
Do you want prime or zoom? In the UWA world I gravitate towards Panasonic. The 9mm f/1.7 is my favorite prime, the 7-14mm f/4 is my favorite zoom.
Do you use them on an Olympus/OMS body, or a Panasonic body?
Michael Meissner
Forum Pro
I have no idea. I've never used manual focus only lenses. But I was going by the lenses listed at B&H at 11mm and wider. For me, MF only is a deal killer, but a lot of people like these wide MF primes.
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Michael Meissner
Forum Pro
I should mention one thing I've been playing with because I had the TG-5 is that I bought a wide angle lens for my TG-5 that multiplies the focal length by 0.45mm. This means the TG-5 + wide angle lens is slightly wider than my 7-14mm lens.
In terms of 4/3rds lenses, the TG-5 + wide angle lens is something like 6-23mm, and 12.5-50mm without the lens. Of course, the TG-5 is a very limited camera compared to the MFT cameras.
On the other hand, a TG-5/6/7 + wide angle lens is a lot cheaper than the 7-14mm or 8-25mm lenses. The combination of my TG-5 + wide angle lens also weighs less than the 7-14mm lens by itself (392g vs 534g or 0.9 lbs vs 1.2 lbs).
Note, if you wear polarized sunglasses, the TG-7's rear monitor is completely opaque when you shoot in horizontal orientation and use the glasses. The earlier TG models like my TG-5 don't have this issue in horizontal orientation.
But if you just want a camera for occasional wide angle shots, this might be useful. Here is a picture I took with the TG-5 and the wide angle lens:
Fall image with Olympus TG-5 + wide angle lens
In terms of 4/3rds lenses, the TG-5 + wide angle lens is something like 6-23mm, and 12.5-50mm without the lens. Of course, the TG-5 is a very limited camera compared to the MFT cameras.
On the other hand, a TG-5/6/7 + wide angle lens is a lot cheaper than the 7-14mm or 8-25mm lenses. The combination of my TG-5 + wide angle lens also weighs less than the 7-14mm lens by itself (392g vs 534g or 0.9 lbs vs 1.2 lbs).
Note, if you wear polarized sunglasses, the TG-7's rear monitor is completely opaque when you shoot in horizontal orientation and use the glasses. The earlier TG models like my TG-5 don't have this issue in horizontal orientation.
But if you just want a camera for occasional wide angle shots, this might be useful. Here is a picture I took with the TG-5 and the wide angle lens:
Fall image with Olympus TG-5 + wide angle lens
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larsbc
Forum Pro
The only ultra wides I've owned for m43 are the PL 9/1.7, PL 8-18/2.8-4 and the O 9-18/4-5.6.
I still own the two PL lenses but I haven't used the 8-18 much since getting the 9/.17 mainly because it's so small and light. I generally only need ultra wide when traveling and that's also when I put a high priority on size and weight. I also carry two bodies when traveling so the fact that it's a prime isn't an issue since I usually pair that with another body that has a 12-60 zoom mounted.
I recently got both a Metabones Ultra and Viltrox EF-M1 and the 55-250mm STM and AFS works fine with my GX85. It's not like a native DFD supporting lens (which doesn't have to hunt to focus), but it works fine even though it hunts through the focus range.
AFC however is hopeless and it just continually pulses, at least on the firmware that came with the adapters, V3.1 and V3.6 respectively. I didn't try updating yet, in particular Metabones has an update for PDAF for the G9II and focus improvements that might extend to other bodies.
ChristopherIQ
Active member
This is very helpful and meaningful information, thank you.
I looked at a variety of image samples on Flickr (as well as reviews) and took note of the focal length and aperture used. At 7mm, I found the image quality to be impressive - sharpness, color and contrast are beautiful.
The 8-25/4 looked like a wonderful lens. A personal consideration was that I often shoot wide apertures between 12-25mm -- and their equivalent FOV when using various sensor formats. Under different circumstances, ie; if I was traveling and was only able to carry one lens for a week, then the choice would be more complex.
The Panasonic and Laowa lenses, I think they look wonderful! They may wind up in my bag sometime in the feature, but I decided to remain with Olympus PRO lenses so that the weather resistance feature would be most reliable when I add one of the pro-oriented bodies to my camera bag.
ChristopherIQ
Active member
Michael,
Thank you for such a thoughtful reply. I opted for the Olympus 7-14/2.8 because (like you mentioned later in your reply) the price was attractive, and I want to maintain weather resistance when I purchase a more advanced body in the near future.
I currently have the 12-40/2.8 for this camera, and I wanted to shoot wider than 11mm. Adapting the 11-22mm was considered as a short term solution, but the EP7 would only permit manual focusing, which i found difficult outside in bright light.
Best,
Chris
These days, almost every smartphone comes with a camera for occasional wide angle shots and panorama mode.
0 reasons to have an additional camera with an adapter
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Alex
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Oh, actually... there is an exception. The E-M10 IV won't autofocus E-series lenses, but that's not because it's a CDAF body, it's because Olympus decided to remove a whole bunch of features from that camera, hit if with the you-know-what-hammer, and that was one of the features they removed.
Isola Verde
Forum Pro
Think you may well find that that gross removal of features took place when the Mk III was introduced - with several of them then being restored in the Mk IV...
Peter
Jacques Cornell
Forum Pro
A few years ago when I was doing all my work with MFT, I really liked my Panasonic 7-14/4. It was small and sharp, and, according to reviews, sharper than Olympus' 9-18 and with a flatter plane of focus than the 7-14/2.8.
Do you really need an UWA with a large aperture? When I'm using mine, if there isn't plenty of light for hand-holding I'm almost always using a tripod and stopping down for deep DoF.
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Event professional for 20+ years, travel & landscape enthusiast for 30+, stills-only.
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos
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TheRealYeats
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Astro... live performances... dimly lit interiors...
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