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

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 have the Olympus 9-18 and I really do not find it to be a large lens.  I have the Olympus hood on it and it is a great lens for shooting groups of people as well as landscape.  I have had the Olympus 17 and got rid of it, as for the other lenses, I have no experience with them.

Thanks again Fredrik,

I noticed the price difference but am looking to get good lenses regardless of price. The 14mm is cheap here used in Japan but, as you said, the 17mm is expensive; however, I am looking to use them for many years to come. I was thinking the 14mm would be nice and wide for travel whereas the 17mm could be a bit narrow?

Adam

Not the 12mm f2?

That's the lens I'd want with the 25mm f1.8.

12, 25, 45 (or 75) for a Prime Triplet.

Your link is to the old 19mm Sigma lens, The new Sigma 19mm ART Lens is superb. I use it on my Lumix bodies and the lack of IS is not a problem in the slightest. Great lens for the price, check out the 30mm as well, Beautifully built lenses from Japan.

I've had the Lumix 20mm f1.7 MkI and 14mm f2.5 MkI. Great lenses. Compact and IQ is great. That said however they are SLOW to focus on the E-M10. Not snail pace but noticeable. The 14mm however is a worthy consideration as it is exceptionally cheap and great value.

I sold both the 20mm f1.7 and the 14mm f2.5 for the 17mm f1.8 Zuiko lens. This was after trying the lens at an Olympus day in Chester (UK). It was so fast to focus - instantaneous almost. Small and compact although slightly larger than the 20mm. Better build quality and feel and the pull back snap focus to turn it into a manual focus lens is ingenious. For me I find that very useful.

If you want a small, light and portable lens that gives great IQ then the 17mm is the one I would recommend from personal experience. A friend has the 19mm Sigma. He likes it but only bought it because he wanted a wider angle than the 25mm and just could not afford the extra £100 for the Zuiko 17mm. He does say that he will eventually sell the Sigma and buy the Zuiko as he believes it to be a much better lens both in IQ and handling.

adamandbean wrote:

Thanks again Fredrik,

I noticed the price difference but am looking to get good lenses regardless of price. The 14mm is cheap here used in Japan but, as you said, the 17mm is expensive; however, I am looking to use them for many years to come. I was thinking the 14mm would be nice and wide for travel whereas the 17mm could be a bit narrow?

Adam

Yes, for travel the 17 would be too long for my taste... I have the 14mm Lumix and I think it's great.

As stated - its about personal taste. For me the 17mm is bang on for street, travel and documentary - the 14mm which is a useful angle is a little too wide for me for general street work.

Fredrik Glckner wrote:

inverness lad wrote:

Your link is to the old 19mm Sigma lens, The new Sigma 19mm ART Lens is superb.

I believe the difference between the old EX DN lenses and the new DN Art lenses is purely cosmetic. The optical formula is the same

Seems they changed something cause new version is better optically http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Best-lenses-for-the-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-Short-telephoto-and-standard-focal-lengths/Best-prime-lenses-for-the-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1

Hello Mr Photo Bob,

Why did you get rid of the 17mm? Di you have the 2.8?

Adam

Interesting. Thanks, will have a look.

Adam

Hello Martin,

I looked at that too, but it is pretty expensive. I also saw a Steve Huff review of that against the 14mm.

Apparently the 12mm is a very nice lens .

So many great replies. Very helpful. I will start doing my homework.

Adam

The 9-18mm would be the most flexible obviously and it's good to have an ultrawide (9mm-11mm) and a wide (12-18mm) in one.  If I could pick one from those I would go for that (but that's me and I much prefer 9mm to 14mm as a focal length - if I want to go wide I like to go very wide and very close).  14mm or 17mm would be better for street unless you like to get really close. Bear in mind that the wider you go the harder it is to compose well (in my opinion) - I don't regard an ultrawide as a way to 'fit everything in' (with some exceptions, eg: interiors) but as a way to create an interesting perspective and compositions. But it can also just make everything look small and far away if not used with thought.

If you value (compact) size then the 14mm is hard to beat - it's tiny, ultra lightweight, cheap and you can always add the inexpensive wide converter to get around 11.5mm (I think?).  Even both bought new the 14mm + wide converter would be less than half the price of the 9-18mm (at UK prices anyway).

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

Because you already have fast standard lens which can be used for portraits and low light photography I would go for Oly 9-18. Focal range 9-12mm is perfect for landscapes while 14-18mm is perfect for journalistic photography. So you can use just this one lens for various purposes. Oly 9-18 is small, light and reasonably sharp (better than standard kit lenses). Front element is flat and it's easy to use filters. Most usefull lens in my opinion.