5 Best Budget Lenses For Micro Four Thirds

[@robinwong]

My previous videos on the lenses Panasonic 14mm F2.5 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqmvY5ytpt9rnZYsi=fTsFZ2J-lrjg-3KM Olympus 45mm F1.8 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5O4lH97eZ2kmsUsi=QuiVgNcFoNyTfFXl Panasonic 12-32mm - kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6W1eKF3ncqmd7ssi=ZEPCYHBzLesDoxy- Olympus 40-150mm R - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2epc3htebOiZ6csi=icNexziugrhJflEl Yongnuo 17mm F1.7 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5OZaGSVp9-VqdEsi=uglnkptL7_MNCjSK

[@bastian.michel]

The 45mm f/1.8 is truly amazing. Even after years of using it, I’m still surprised by how Olympus managed to create such great image quality in a lens so small and at such an affordable price. It feels almost too good to be true. Its nothing less then a masterpiece.

[@robinwong]

Indeed the Olympus 45mm F1.8 is my bread and butter lens for shoots, and now also my main KZbin A-Roll lens!

[@Daniel-o1l2e]

I personally like the Lumix 42.5 mm F1.7 for portrait shots. Has IS for Pana-Bodies, less field curvature and close focussing capabilities. In the end it's the question, whether you get a good copy of either.

[@TheRealMarxz]

I have the 42.4 f1.2 Lumix but the Oly 45 1.8 is always in my travel kit, leave the camera bag behind pop the 14 and 20 Lumix pancakes and this Oly lens in a pocket with a small body camera (my case a GX3 or GX7) and you're good to go full stealth mode

[@vermis8344]

I got it as freebie, on offer with my OM-1 kit. Thanks to that it was kind of overlooked and unappreciated. At least until I was educated by m43 photographers like Robin...

[@chrishowell5718]

I've said it before, but for me the Oly 45mm is one of the lenses that makes M4/3 make sense for everything I might want to shoot. I mostly shoot landscapes and the occasional bit of what you might call 'opportunistic wildlife', so a small body and wide-telephoto zoom makes sense to me. Depth of field? f8 is fine, and as the full-frame bros will remind me, actually I can open up to f4 to get more light in and still get the depth of focus equivalent of f8 on full frame. But what about portraits? Need bokeh, blah blah et cetera. That's why I have, almost always in my pocket, the Oly 45mm F1.8. Compared to a full-frame 50mm 1.4, it gives up about half a stop, so has pretty much identical depth of field to a nifty fifty, with a more pleasing narrow angle of view. Of course, it's not better than 85mm 1.8 on full frame, but no one is carrying one of those in a pocket on the off-chance they want to take a couple of candid portraits of their hiking buddy during the lunch break at 3000 feet. The only disadvantage to the Oly 45mm as a 'take everywhere, just in case' lens is you might forget it's still in your pocket when you stick your clothes in the wash at the end of the day.

[@JeevesTCW]

Nice video Robin. No doubt the Oly 45mm is the best value top performing lens in M43. The Oly 40-150 performs surprisingly well.

[@4mooncheese]

The 14mm f2.5 is quite an incredible little lens. Love the photo with the cats, and I also love how you are able to get the most out of these budget lenses. Great video as always.

[@bastian.michel]

I think a series of this kind of video would be great. Below $300, below $600 etc.

[@robinwong]

If I can get the hands on the lenses!

[@EricGlenSnyder]

I don't think you need to personally test them - plenty of other sites did so very objectively...you could still give your opinion on them based upon others' reviews. ​@@robinwong

[@slavomirgajdos]

I completely agree with yours list. Amazing lenses all of them and the fun you have with them is also a great factor to consider. 40-150 is plastic fantastic lens for the money. And it is quite sharp between 70-100 and f5.6 to f11. But yeah this is also why I still love m4/3... small and budget lenses that can surprise you with how they perform. Great video as always!

[@KW_photography01]

35-100/4-5.6 is a good and light choice as well.

[@piotrx7170]

olympus 12-50mm is a king of the cheap lenses :)

[@GH0ST3DDD]

Robin! I love your enthusiasm and your personality is absolutely amazing. Keep up the great work. Much love from the USA!

[@WaterfallJoe]

I managed to snag a Lumix 14mm f/2.5 used for $50. I love it so much, especially at that price!

[@W-cz6js]

I bought 12-40 f2.8 recently and it has replaced my 3 prime lenses since. So in a way it's my favorite "budget" lens especially if you can get a good deal.

[@RobinCernyMitSuffix]

same, got one recently for about 450$ and it's an amazing lens (a bit big tho).

[@Liam-hn5gu]

That’s super interesting, I also have that 12-40. But that lense is a bit bulky for me, when I’m out and I prefer the lighter weight and smaller size of a prime lense so I’m going to get seperate 45mm and a 17mm f1.8 lenses.

[@MyChevySonic]

I'm trying to decide between the 40 2.8 and the 45 4.

[@W-cz6js]

@@MyChevySonic If you take photos of moving subjects at night, f4.0 is not going to be enough. Only reason I went for f2.8

[@darekhajduk8983]

I Got xiaomi yi 42.5 f1.7 for 70$ like New, and its realy good, Af its a little bit slow, but enough, always delivers :) I also got the lecia 15mm f 1.7 branded as dji for around 200$ and love it so much, definitly my favorite one. Love your videos and enthusiasm :)

[@yogstoriodor]

Sigma 60mm is also a great budget option!

[@valdiskrebs566]

Also consider the very small Panasonic 35-100mm f4.0-5.6 (great combo with 12-32mm) and the Panasonic 30mm f2.8 -- super sharp macro.

[@JezdziecBezNicka]

The Olympus 45mm is indeed a gem. Definitely a must-have for any m43 user :)

[@seaeagles6025]

Hi Robin, I like the Focal Length of the Olympus 40-150mm lens. Nice variety of lenses to choose from and the prices Are affordable. Many thanks Robin for sharing these nice lenses. 😊.

[@ginothecat]

I have the 14mm 2.5 on my Olympus EM5 mark 3, and it works great for travelling - - both video and pictures! Thanks for the great video!

[@vermis8344]

Wahey! I own four out of five lenses in the list! 💪 - But wait, I own two 12-32s. Does that count as five? - I just got the Yongnuo lens last week. The decision to buy that over the Olympus 17mm was based heavily on your previous video! I still have to give it a proper workout, beyond being dead impressed with the speed of the autofocus. (My first 3rd party autofocus lens) - The one missing: I have the f2.8 version of the 40-150 on my wildlife wishlist, though for the moment that focal range is overlapped by the Lumix 35-100 and an adapted Oly 4/3 50-200. (That last one gives me the frame of reference that makes the Yongnuo autofocus look good. 😂)

[@markyteo]

All awesome lenses. I've used them all except for the Yongnuo. In sg, I frequently see people selling the Pany 20mm f1.7 for less than 200sgd, even the version ii. The 45mm 1.8 is phenomenal and the 40-150 is just exceptional.

[@BenitoCarmela]

I am using the Olympus 9-18 f4-5.6, Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 II and the Meike 25mm f1.8. Obviously with the Panasonic I get the best results but it is quite expensive comparing to the others.

[@janetw2534]

I agree with all of these, except I prefer the Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7 to the OM 45mm f1.8. There are three things I like better: It has a much closer minimum focus distance, which is important to me; I like its rendering a LOT more than the 45mm f1.8; and it has OIS, for those bodies I have that do not have IBIS. Of course, it's a bit more expensive, but on sale it's not that far from the budget.... And I was very happy to see the Oly 30mm macro in your "runner up" list. I got one a few years ago on a Black Friday sale, for, yes $99, and it is a great little lens (with greater than 1:1 macro capability, also, as a bonus...)

[@dennismwallentin296]

In my opinion I find both the Panasonic 12-32mm and the Olympus m.zuiko 45mm to be great lenses, especially when travelling. One thing that is notable is, except for Yongnu 17mm, the lenses are all rather old. The new lenses from OMS are no longer lightweight and no longer on a budget level. That's why I really appreciated seeing the Yongnu 17mm on your list. Thank you!

[@chrishowell5718]

I suppose if they nailed it first time out with these lenses, why bother releasing a mark 2? I doubt many people would upgrade in this price range. Though I think there are different versions of the 12-32 with plastic and metal mounts, and in a way this lens replaces the 14-42EZ.

[@WonsOibaf]

Hi Robin! First of all, thank you very much for your videos and tutorials, they helped me a lot to learn. I started photography recently, as I didn't have the biggest budget and didn't know what to think about photography, I bought an Olympus m10 mii second hand with a 45mm prime lens. My question was the following, when you decide to upgrade to a better camera, which one do you recommend? an OM-DE 5? I intend to continue with Olympus cameras and for me portability is important. Thank you very much for your incredible work!

[@magikk17]

Another great video Robin. Thank you for all you infomation, I've learnt so much from you :)

[@christinecoughlan4699]

Thank you Robin .

[@fanb0y777]

The 12-32 kit lens is basically the 12mm prime. forget the other focal length just keep it at 12 and treat it like a prime. It's super sharp.. In my humble opinion, 25mm 1.4 Pana. Simply sharp and has the best bokeh. 25mm 1.4 got me sold on the M45 system. 40-150Pro 2.8 kept me in it.

[@chrishowell5718]

I'm not sure the panaleica 1.4 fits in this price bracket, though the Lumix 1.7 25mm does. Interesting what you say about the 12-32mm: It's the third lens I bought that you might consider a 'standard zoom', following the Lumix 12-60 kit lens I got with my GX8, and the Olympus 14-150. For hiking I like to have a lens that can cover pretty much anything I want to shoot, without having to change lenses all the time, and I often like detail and compression rather than cramming everything in as wide as possible. So I tend to use the 14-150 as my main daytime lens, and if I'm camping I add a prime or two for low light. The 12-32 give me 12mm if I really want it in a small and light package, and also does double duty as a small, less obtrusive lens for street and candid photography.

[@fanb0y777]

@@chrishowell5718 Well, I don't know the current market value for a used 25f1.4 but that is why I first mentioned 12-32. I tried all the bundle lenses, and they are all soft. !2-32 however, if you treat it as a 12mm prime, then it won't disappoint you. I just wanted to throw out there that if you have a budget for a 2nd lens, then I would pick the 25f1.4 since, in my opinion, that lens has the best bokeh and sharpness. I also threw it out there that 40-150f2.8 pro is simply the best lens in the MFT lineup. For me, the size is the icing on the cake but if your lens is soft then I simply don't want it.

[@fanb0y777]

@@chrishowell5718 I would also recommend 20mm f1.7 that thing is also amazing I just don't care for the 20mm focal length.

[@ZacharyWillFilms]

How did I not know about the Yongnuo 17mm!

[@houghwhite411]

It's a recent release, like 2-3 months old

[@Risquenemo]

Hello Mr robin Wong I have watching your videos for a long time. My wife is a baker who bakes bread and needs to take good pictures of her bread , can you recommend me the best suitable lens for such pictures? I would guess it means food. And bread specifically. Thank u so mucb

[@busydadscooking001]

well as luck would have it, the 20mm 1.7 and 45mm are the primes I use most often! :D the 20mm gets more use, but i like the 45mm images better. these lenses easily exceed the limitations of the sensors I havr.

[@juliette-mansour]

Hi Robin, this is a great line up of lenses and I have most of them! I really appreciate it! I own the EM-5 mark I and the E-P5. I have a hard time with low light situations with that 45mm 1.8. When I can get the shot, it's because I have to push the ISO, otherwise, it's a little challenging to avoid hunting. Do you shoot this in full manual?

[@christopherbonis]

Terrific video, Robin! Do you find the 25mm F/1.8 to be more considerably more expensive than its 45mm counterpart? If not, it could be another honourable mention. Super versatile focal length!

[@TheRealMarxz]

last week I picked up a brand new Olympus 40-150mm R for the equivalent of about ~$40USD didn't need it but at that price? why not? Black Friday sale, at a large big box physical store - add to that it was the display model and it was the last one in stock AND they were dropping all MFT products from their catalogue (Booooo 😥) I already have the 45-150 lens that came as a two lens kit with my GX7 ( back what 2013?) and even to this day that lens astounds me as to how sharp and versatile a cheap lens can be and still is one of my "always pack" lenses... I must say the Olympus stands up quite well... it's slightly larger (but only by a few mm,) slightly heavier (by only a couple of g) and plastic mout and no lens hood, but , yeh I can see the appeal genuinely light compact, sharp cheap lens with an extremely useful zoom range

[@danielchill3240]

Robin, thanks for the video. I have 4 of them, should I consider to get the yongnuo 17mm?

[@leckywoznicki5393]

Thank you :)

[@d.r.martin6301]

Though a bit over your $150 limit, another fantastic bargain is the Olympus 30mm Macro. Amazling quality lens for macro or non macro shooting. It should be in your next level of M43 bargains.

[@robinwong]

I talked about that in the "honorable mention" list.

[@MyChevySonic]

Can you do a best MF lens for mft and tell us why its the ttartisan 23mm 1.4?

[@davidg5898]

7:07 Do you have any hands-on experience with the Pana 20mm f1.7? I couldn't find a video from you about it. Some reviewers say the AF is too slow on Oly bodies. Others say it isn't fast but is good enough. Some say it's still an issue on the II version of the lens, others say it isn't. Everyone agrees image quality is great on both versions, though. I want a 20mm but the Oly f1.4 is out of my budget. The Pana f1.7 might be great if the AF really is "good enough". I wish Oly had a 20mm in their f1.8 lineup. PS: Love the cat pic with the kitten yawning!

[@CC-wr7zo]

Hi David, Pana 20 1.7 is one of my favorite lenses. Autofocus is good enough for photo but very bad for video (old and new bodies).

[@davidg5898]

@@CC-wr7zo You're using an Oly body? I'm only interested in stills, no video. Is the AF fast enough to catch a person/animal/vehicle moving toward or away from the camera at a moderate speed?

[@CC-wr7zo]

@davidg5898 yes, oly bodies, yes AF good enough for moving subjects but only with AF-S mode (not AF-C).

[@xmeda]

12-50/3.5-6.3 is quite ok wide lens with a bit of macro and you can find them even for less than $100 :)

[@gregm6894]

It's also weather sealed and has electronic zoom mode for video.

[@25palex]

super

[@robtheaccountant]

yo love it

[@tomsvintageoptix]

Id love the Olympus 40-150mm Kit lens for my new Lumix GX80 but I wondered if there's any compatibility issues with the image stabilisation when paired with a Lumix camera?

[@janetw2534]

The 40-150mm has NO OIS, so your GX80 body IBIS will be the stabilization that it uses. IF you want to have Dual IS with your body, you would need to look at the Panasonic 45-150mm f4.0-5.6, which has OIS and can sync with the camera's IBIS (Dual IS 1)

[@biggstavros5876]

That Olympus 40-150 is cheap here in England. £126

[@jjp_nl]

Technically (going by the exchange rate over here) maybe slightly above the budget, but could the Panasonic 35-100 f/4-5.6 ASPH be a good companion to the Panasonic 12-32 kit lens you mentioned? Scooped one up for 150 euro/dollar a short while ago, and quite frankly was surprised by the image quality. I most situations I feel it stands up well to the Panasonic-Leica 35-100 F/2.8. Slightly different focal range for sure compared to the Oly Telephoto zoom you mentioned, but still extremely versatile. Comes with stablilization too, and is quite a bit smaller still then the Oly lens.

[@robert_ivkovic74]

That little Panasonic 35-100mm is a great lens. I got it also for 150 euros, and I really like it. Delivers much more than it costs, and fits in your pocket.

[@jjp_nl]

@@robert_ivkovic74 Agreed. Punches well above it's weight (quite literaly lol) Pairs so well with smaller Oly and Panasonic camera bodies. Embodyment of MFT.

[@platino536]

Hello my friend where to buy used DSLR camera in kualumpur.. any particular shop in kualumpur? I am coming on holiday to kualumpur next week Thanks

[@D65248]

Hello, i am buying OM-D EM-10 with 40-150mm lenses for aour 350 usd, is it good deal? And i am experienced begginer.

[@EricGlenSnyder]

Panasonic 42.5 focuses closer...and I think it's stabilized...What advantage does Olympus have? Now that I switched from Panasonic body to an Olympus OM5 body I'm buying Olympus lenses, except I think my Panasonic 42.5 lens is as good or better than the Olympus equivalent. People seem to like the very affordable (on sale for $300 now and only $207 for international version) 25 mm f1.8 Olympus lens... I do not have a wide aperture wide angle lens... that's only an issue when indoors without good lighting... Otherwise I have the 12-45mm F4 Olympus... 25 mm is not wide angle but that lens is very affordable and seems to be the most well-liked Olympus F 1.8 lens. Tempted to buy one super bright high quality lens... The Olympus F1.2 17mm is tempting in order to get moderately wide-angle. BTW the Olympics 8-25mm F4 pro is on fantastic sale for 1 or 2 more days. My buy it before the sale ends... That would give me super wide angle but still want a fast lens for indoors.

[@robinwong]

None of the lenses you talked about are budget lenses under USD150, which was the topic of discussion for this video. If budget is not an issue, sure you are free to buy anything you can afford.

[@EricGlenSnyder]

@robinwong yes, I missed that, didn't notice that until later. I don't think any lens cost only $150 nowadays, even used though. I just ordered the 25 mm Olympus 1.8 for $208 from Amazon in the United States but it's actually coming from Amazon Japan (international version w/o warranty but I figure I could return it if there's something wrong with it)

[@TheBexFr]

Merci !

[@robinwong]

Thanks so much!