List of Micro 4/3 or MFT lenses

Following the other articles on various other brands’ lenses, I tackle now a bigger subject: lenses for the Micro 4/3 mount, also known as MFT, m4/3 or μ4/3. This mount, released in August 2008, is mainly used today by two brands: Panasonic (“G” range) and Olympus, on these digital cameras with interchangeable lenses – the mirrorless cameras. Also, this type of body is equipped with a 13 x 17.3mm sensor, half the size of a full-frame sensor (24x26mm).

This page gathers all the native lenses of both brands (Panasonic / Olympus) but also a large number of third-party brands’ lenses, including ones with autofocus as well as manual focus.

The G1 from Panasonic and the E-P1 and E-P2 were the first cameras equipped in this m4/3 mount. Since then, both brands have released several generations of cameras. It would be useless to detail all the old cameras, so here are the most recent ones of each brand:

I have only mentioned the recent bodies above, from 2018, so that you can easily still find it for sale somewhere.

Without using special adapter rings, you will not be able to attach lenses of other brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.) to a Micro 4/3 mount body. By the way, I will also spend some time searching the web for the best adaptor rings, this could be a useful article to write for sure.

A little reminder about the focal length. You will find in the tables below the names “wide angle, ultra-wide angle, standard or telephoto lens”. Even if a focal length of 100mm remains always a focal length of 100mm (it never changes), it is indeed the size of the sensor on which you will place your lens that will vary the field of view you will get in your viewfinder. Also, knowing that the m4/3 sensor is half the size of a Full Frame sensor (24x36mm – the universal reference), it is necessary to take into account this “conversion of focal length”. Thus, a 35mm on a micro 4/3 body will give a viewing angle of a 70mm on a full frame body, which I already consider as a “small” telephoto lens.

If you wish to go further than this “simple listing” of optics for the Micro 4/3 mount, you can also read our article on the best m4/3 lenses. We’ve detailed what we consider being the best and most suitable for each type of photography (portrait, landscape, etc.) and for every kind of focal length (telephoto, macro, etc.), and we’ve explained why.

Finally, below each table, I’ll try to guide you and give you my point of view on the choice of lenses for each brand. Also, feel free to tell me if you think I have forgotten third-party lenses or brands deserving to be in this page.

You can sort all the tables below according to the desired characteristics: focal length, maximum aperture, filters diameter, etc.

As for all the other native brands, I wanted to dissociate the lenses by type of focal length:

1. Wide angle (WA) and ultra-wide angle (UWA): focal lengths less than 10mm (UWA) and from 10mm to 17mm (WA): Olympus / Panasonic
2. Standard focal lengths: from 17mm to 35mm: Olympus / Panasonic
3. Telephoto lenses: focal lengths beyond 35mm: Olympus / Panasonic
4. Macro lenses: for macro photography: Olympus / Panasonic

Olympus has a wide range of entry-level, premium and pro lenses. I personally find it much easier to understand the Olympus range than the Panasonic range. In most cases, Olympus lenses are not stabilized but they often take advantage of the stabilizer integrated with the body (noted SWD-IS).

If you’re a photographer looking for a wide angle of view to capture and shoot landscapes, architecture or indoor photography, choosing a wide-angle lens should be your priority. With Olympus, you have access to two wide-angle zooms as well as several fixed focal lengths (prime lens).

For anyone looking to take pictures of everyday life, then standard lenses are ideal. You’ll find for example very versatile ones – pretty useful when traveling, if you don’t want to bother with many different lenses. Between us, if this is the case, you can have a look at expert compact cameras, offering great bodies with a reduced weight and size, and for a quality that can be excellent.

If you’re looking for a long focal length, for example for wildlife photography or shooting details from afar, Olympus offers a very interesting range of lenses, from entry-level to professional ones. You’ll of course have to remember the focal length equivalent to the full frame: a 200mm on a m4/3 sensor matching a 400mm on a large sensor such as the 24x36mm, enough to already shoot wildlife or birds.

If you are looking for a macro lens within the native brands, you won’t have too much choice. Indeed, Olympus offers only two prime lenses – just like Panasonic does. You’ll have to turn to third-party brands to be a little more spoiled: there is for example the Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro, the Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro or, if your budget is really tight, the 7Artisans 60mm f/2.8 Macro 1x. I’ll tell you more about it later on.

Let’s now move on to the Panasonic lens range. As a reminder, at Panasonic, the acronym O.I.S. means that the lens is stabilized.

You will find below all the main third-party brands offering optics for the Micro 4/3 mount. As far as I know, there are only two brands offering lenses with autofocus: Tamron and Sigma. All the other brands’ lenses are with manual focus.

Unless I’m mistaken, Tamron offers only one versatile standard zoom lens that will be equally well suited for portrait, landscape, detail photography – in short, a zoom lens with a very wide focal range. Equivalent to a 28-300mm full frame lens, tests show that this lens has a rather good reputation in this range. Obviously, low light situations will be more difficult to manage considering the sliding apertures offered, especially at full zoom.

Sigma offers very nice and interesting optics, which certainly compete with Olympus and Panasonic lenses thanks to their lower cost. At Sigma, you will find the reference “DC DN” reminding you that the optics are adapted to the APS-C and Micro 4/3 mirrorless cameras. There are three very well-known large aperture lenses (f/1.4) at Sigma: the 16mm, 30mm and 56mm.

You will still find (but not so easily anymore) two long focal length lenses at Tokina. My point of view? You can go on your way!

Well, I hope this page will be useful for you ! Please don’t hesitate to tell me if you think I forgot any third-party lenses or brands that would be worthy to be in this page. I will naturally update the page with new releases.