The best Olympus / OM System lenses: great glass for Micro Four Thirds cameras

I have to say that when you're looking for the best Olympus lenses, you're also looking for the best OM System lenses, as the range is undergoing a transition from one name to the other. You're also working with the Micro Four Thirds mount, meaning you can also use Panasonic lenses – however, as we'll see, there are plenty of reasons why users of Olympus or OM System cameras might want to stick with lenses by the same brand.

As I mentioned, the camera brand is officially called OM System, but you'll find both names on this list. I've tried to keep it short and manageable, as there are so many contenders that are worthy of a mention. I've stuck to simply including the lenses that have impressed me most, and I've used them a lot. There's a range of options , including very affordable lenses, so you should definitely be able to find something to suit your budget.

The brand may have changed, but the quality, integrity and heritage of the M.Zuiko line remains. You can rest assured that these lenses are as great as they always were,

Rod Lawton

Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more.

The Quick List

The best Olympus / OM System lenses

Best travel zoom

While it carries the OM System badge, this is really just a minor refresh of one of Olympus' oldest Micro Four Thirds lenses – however, it's still one of the most desirable. It arrived alongside the company's first PEN cameras and the standard kit lens back then, another retracting design, this one a 14-42mm. The Olympus 9-18mm doesn't go as wide as other, more recent Olympus ultra-wides, the f/4-5.6 maximum aperture is a tad restrictive and the retracting mechanism is not a deal breaker but it is a bit of a faff. Even allowing for all that, though, this lens's size, light weight and ultra-wide angle of view make it a unique proposition for travel photography and interiors, and dated as it might look, there's still nothing like it today.

Best wide-angle zoom

Right from the moment you pick this lens up you can feel the Olympus Pro lens quality in its design and operation – and our lab tests have shown that its optical quality does not disappoint, either. This is another unique lens, this time because of the focal lengths it straddles: you could see it as an ultra-wide zoom that goes right up to a standard zoom range, or as a standard zoom that also goes ultra-wide. Either way, this one lens could replace two lenses for many travel, street and architectural photographers. It's not particularly small, to be fair, but the focal range it covers is quite impressive

Read our full Olympus M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4.0 Pro review

Best ultra-wide zoom

While the crop factor of MFT format cameras boosts the telephoto abilities of lenses, it makes the design of ultra-wide optics more of a challenge. The M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro is a remarkable wide zoom lens with a minimum focal length of just 7mm, delivering an astonishing 114-degree viewing angle, similar to using a 14mm lens on full-frame cameras. Like other lenses in the Pro line-up, it’s immaculately turned out, with fabulous build quality. Contrast and sharpness are outstanding, while color fringing and distortions are negligible. As with many ultra-wide lenses, however, the hood is built-in so there’s no filter attachment thread.

Read our full Olympus M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro review

Best pancake zoom

For people who don't know this lens, it would be easy to dismiss it as a cheap and cheerful – but inferior – alternative to a 'proper' standard zoom lens. But not so fast! Optically, this little lens is a lot better than you might expect, and while its 28-84mm zoom range and f/3.5-5.6 maximum aperture are about as ordinary as kit lenses get, its sheer size – or lack of it – makes it incredibly useful.

One of the best pancake lenses, when fitted to something like the Olympus PEN E-P7 you can slide your camera into a jacket pocket or a handbag and take it anywhere. We've all had to accept cameras and lenses getting bigger and bigger and bigger over the past few years, but this lens, on a compact PEN body, takes carry-round cameras right back to the size they ought to be! Read our full Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ review here.

Best standard zoom

Whenever you buy any kind of serious OM-D body, this lens will be one of the bundle options. It's kept the same design for years, but that's not because it's some kind of low-cost throwback that's just used for lens bundles – it's because the company got everything right with this lens from day one. Its 24-80mm effective zoom range is just a tad longer than the 'standard' 24-70mm on other cameras, and its optical performance is consistent right across the zoom range. It can also focus very close for a standard zoom lens too, so it's very versatile. If you had to choose one standard zoom lens for your Olympus, this is the one to get. Also, note that there is a newer rebadged OM System version of this lens – the OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro II is virtually the same, but has added weather-sealing.

See full Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO review

Best telephoto zoom

Every professional photographer keeps a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens in their kitbag to combine telephoto capability with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture and controllable background blur for everything from wildlife to wedding portraits. The M.Zuiko f/2.8 Pro is the OM System equivalent... except that it goes further. Its effective zoom range is actually 80-300mm, so it offers 50% more reach than a regular 70-200mm. (You might also want to check out what it would cost to get a 300mm f/2.8 lens for other formats.) Better still, the 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro works with Olympus / OM Systems' 1.4x and 2x teleconverters to offer the equivalent of a 112-420mm f/4 or a 160-600mm f/5.6. It's like not one lens, but three (potentially)!

Read our full Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro review

Best super-telephoto

The M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS perfectly illustrates some of the key advantages of the Micro Four Thirds format. Namely a compact and light weight lens that offers an incredible amount of reach for its size. With a focal length equivalent to 800mm at the long end, the M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS is also compatible with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 2x Teleconverter MC-20 and 1.4x Teleconverter MC-14 – which means that you can extend the maximum focal length to an enormous 1600mm if you want or need to. The downside is it's not at its sharpest when shooting at its maximum focal length, while you can't expect an f/6.3 lens to achieve the same results as faster and more expensive optics. If you're prepared to make a few sacrifices though, this is a decent lens if you're looking for a portable lens that'll hit 800mm.

Read more: Olympus M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS review

Best standard prime

Measuring a mere 58x42mm and tipping the scales at just 137g, this diminutive lens feels right at home on even the most compact MFT format body. Like the Olympus 17mm that we favor for street photography, this one is available in either a silver or black finish, and the hood is sold separately. Naturally, the 2x crop factor of MFT cameras gives this lens an effective 50mm focal length, delivering a classic ‘standard’ viewing angle with a fairly fast f/1.8 aperture rating. Image quality is impressive in all respects. Considering the prices of Canon and Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lenses for full-frame cameras, the M.Zuiko doesn’t look terrific value. However, its performance fully justifies the price tag.

Best portrait prime

As well as making very compact and portable f/1.8 and f/2 primes, OM System makes a series of whopping f/1.2 Pro primes too, and this is one of the most useful. Its 45mm focal length equate to 90mm in full frame terms, so this makes a superb portrait lens for OM cameras. Now we need to come clean about the MFT format and point out that the smaller format means you don't get the shallow depth of field of a full frame lens with this aperture, or an APS-C camera – its closer in its effect to f/2.3 on APS-C and f/3.5 on full frame. Even so, at f/1.2 the depth of field is extremely shallow and it's easy to blur backgrounds in portraits – and this lens has been designed to produce super-smooth bokeh too. OM's f/1.2 primes are pretty hefty brutes, but they are optically superb.

Best macro prime

While it takes time to master, the images you can capture with this powerful macro lens are simply unreal. The OM System M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro offers a maximum reproduction ratio of 2:1 – which in 35mm terms (due to the smaller MFT sensor) is equivalent to 4:1. So, as we put it in our review, you could capture an image of a 5mm insect and reproduce it at 20mm, which is actually wider than the 17.5mm MFT sensor. It's the first autofocus lens to offer this reproduction ratio (the others are all manual focus).

The 180mm equivalent focal length gives you plenty of telephoto reach, and if it's not enough, you can pair it with OM System’s M.Zuiko MC series teleconverters to double it to 360mm. If you're looking to photograph macro subjects that won't let you get too close like flighty insects, this is a fantastic asset – though naturally, you'll need a good deal of precision and potentially some quick reflexes to get them in the frame.

While we're still finishing our lab tests of this lens, it's looking safe to say that it's shaping up to be one of the best macro lenses on the market for the MFT system.

Lab data and comparisons

The graphs below show the comparative performance of the lenses in this guide, based on our in-house lab tests. Most of the lenses in the group give similar averages scores for sharpness, but the 25mm f/1.8 is the outright winner, while the 12-40mm is a little less impressive. Distortions are automatically corrected by firmware, flattering the native optical quality.

Scores for sharpness and color fringing are averaged from data taken across the entire image frame, from the center to the edges and corners, throughout the aperture range. For zoom lenses, the scores are also averaged from data measured at all marked focal lengths, and the same applies to distortion. Bear in mind that these average values don't fully reflect specific areas of performance. For example, a zoom lens might have noticeable barrel and pincushion distortion at its shortest and longest focal lengths respectively, which tends to average out when looking at the data overall. For more detailed graphs of each lens's performance, which give the full picture, check out the graphs in our full standalone lens reviews.

How to choose the best Olympus lenses (OM System)

There are a few too many M.Zuiko lenses to cram into a single guide, and they cater for a multitude of purposes and user types, so we've split our guide into four sections:

• Wide-angle zooms: ideal for architecture, street photography and landscapes

• Standard zooms: one lens to handle 80% of your everyday shooting

• Telephoto zooms: essential for sports and wildlife fans

• Prime lenses: top choice for low light, bokeh and portability

In each section in this guide we've picked out what we think are the stand-out candidates and we explain why. It's worth bearing in mind that these categories are not set in stone – you can capture fantastic landscapes with telephoto lenses, just as it's possible to capture a characterful portrait with a wide-angle. However, these categories are a good starting point for thinking about the kinds of lenses you want to use.

Of course, the best Micro Four Thirds lenses all fit and work on MFT cameras from all manufacturers – thanks to the fact that it is an open mount, so anybody can develop optics (or indeed cameras) for it.

However, while you can fit Panasonic lenses on OM System bodies without any obvious issues, Panasonic's lens stabilization doesn't always play nicely with OM's in-body stabilization, and you get better results from switching off the lens O.I.S.

And while Panasonic lenses autofocus as you would expect on OM cameras, they are tuned for Panasonic's own DFD contrast-detect AF system – and some notable examples (such as the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7) focus incredibly slowly on non-Panasonic bodies. Overall, we think that OM System lenses are just that bit snappier on OM System cameras.

How we test lenses

We test lenses using a mix of both real world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out scientifically in controlled conditions using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths/picture height, a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. We find the combination of lab and real-word testing works best, as each reveals different qualities and characteristics.

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