Beginning in Sept. 2008 when Panasonic unveiled the first micro 4/3 format camera, there have been a steady stream of new lenses released for the format. As of mid-2012, there are more than thirty different native lens models available for micro 4/3 cameras, with more on the way.

This list is limited to native micro 4/3 lenses – lenses that can be used without an adapter. It follows the format used by J. Andrzej Wrotniak’s invaluable 4/3 lens list (sadly no longer maintained). Generally speaking, any micro 4/3 lens will be fully functional on any micro 4/3 body. There are a few caveats though:

1. Manual lenses: Samyang, SLR Magic, Tokina and Voigtlander lenses do not communicate with the camera body (they’re purely mechanical). As a result, they don’t support autofocus, aperture must be set on the lens, and the camera’s EXIF will not record any information about the lens.
2. Software correction: All Olympus and Panasonic m4/3 lenses are automatically corrected for distortion on all micro 4/3 camera bodies. Lateral chromatic aberration (CA) is automatically corrected only with Panasonic lenses on Panasonic bodies.
3. Optical Image Stabilization (OIS): Many Panasonic lenses feature OIS. With Panasonic bodies, all OIS functions can be enabled. With Olympus bodies, OIS can only be enabled if the lens has a physical OIS switch (indicated below).
4. In-body Image Stabilization (IBIS): All Olympus bodies support IBIS. IBIS can be used with any lens. However, OIS and IBIS should not both be enabled at the same time.
5. Minimum aperture: the minimum aperture on micro 4/3 and 4/3 lenses is f/22, except where noted below.
6. 4/3 lenses: see below.

The list is broken down between prime and zoom lenses, and ordered by focal length. Prices are current US street prices from B&H. Focal length (FL) is the actual focal length, so to compare with lenses on 35mm cameras, multiply by 2 (a 20mm lens on a micro 4/3 body provides the same angle-of-view as a 40mm lens on a 35mm film camera). Magnification (Mag) is with respect to the micro 4/3 sensor (size is generally 17.3×13.0mm), so to compare with 35mm cameras, it too should be multiplied by 2. Lens size is given in terms of diameter x length. Lens colors are indicated as B(lack), S(ilver) and G(rey).

Current lenses are labeled blue, announced but unreleased are yellow and discontinued are red. All-manual lenses are in italics.

Micro 4/3 lenses

Lens Accessories

1. Conversion lenses: Olympus and Panasonic both offer a set of screw-in conversion lenses that can be used to conver their kit lenses for fisheye, macro and wide-angle capabilities. Panasonic also makes a tele-converter conversion lens.
2. Extension tubes: Kenko-Tokina has announced a set of 10mm and 16mm extension tubes for close-up photography. The set is available for ~$200.

Specialty Lenses

In addition to the lenses above which are intended for general-purpose photography, there are a number of lenses available in micro 4/3 mount that are designed for specific uses or effects. These include:

1. Holga lenses: modeled after the Holga – the original ‘low-fidelity’ camera – these very inexpensive plastic lenses feature vignetting, blur and other distortions for a distinctive effect. Each lens includes a set of filters and converters.
2. Lensbaby tilt lenses: the Lensbaby Composer and similar models allow for selective blurring of portions of the image by tilting the focal plane of the lens. They feature a variety of different optics, some plastic, others glass.
3. Panasonic 12.5mm 3D lens: the Lumix G 12.5mm f/12 lens creates images that are recorded in a special 3D format. It provides a 65mm equivalent angle-of-view.
4. SLR Magic toy lenses: recently announced by SLR Magic, these lenses provide are intended to provide special artistic effects including fisheye, pinhole and selective focus.
5. Yasuhara super-macro: the Yasuhara Nanoha is provides microscope-like optics, allowing extreme close-up photograph, with up to 5x magnification of the subject. (similar to Canon’s MPE-65). It includes a built-in illumination system.
6. Zeiss cinema lenses: Carl Zeiss’s Compact Prime line is a series of fast prime lenses designed specifically with professional video capture in mind. Features include precise manual focus mechanisms, rugged build and interchangeable mounts. They are priced accordingly.

4/3 lens addendum

The 4/3 system is the ancestor of micro 4/3 and as such Panasonic and Olympus have made some provision for using 4/3 (non micro) lenses on micro 4/3 cameras. This requires an adapter but unlike other adapted lenses, 4/3 lenses do support autofocus, aperture control from the body and other standard functions on m4/3 cameras. As there are a number of high quality 4/3 lenses without current m4/3 alternatives, they can be an attractive option. Optics are generally good and many of the lenses are also weather-sealed. Due to the discontinuation of all but one 4/3 body, many 4/3 lenses are available on the secondhand market for attractive prices.

For a full list of 4/3 lenses, please look below.

Limitations

1. Single AF only: 4/3 lenses only support single-autofocus (S-AF mode) on m4/3 bodies. Continuous or tracking autofocus is not supported. Nor for that matter is autofocus in video mode.
2. CDAF-optimized lenses: some 4/3 lenses have been updated to better support the contrast detect autofocus (CDAF) system used by micro 4/3 cameras. These lenses support AF on all micro 4/3 cameras, and generally focus reasonably quietly and quickly with good accuracy.
3. Non-optimized lenses: most 4/3 lenses have not been updated for CDAF. These lenses will autofocus on all bodies except the Panasonic G1, GF1 and GH1. Autofocus is slower and noisier than with CDAF-optimized lenses and accuracy is less certain.
4. AF speed: on average, CDAF-optimized lenses focus in 1-2 seconds, while the other take anywhere from 2-6 seconds.
5. Lens size: 4/3 lenses are larger than m4/3 lenses. Particularly on the smaller m4/3 bodies, ergonomics can be an issue.

Adapters

4/3 to micro 4/3 lens adapters are made by Olympus, Panasonic as well as a few no-name vendors. Functionality is essentially identical and mixing and matching among adapter vendors (say a Panasonic adapter with an Olympus body) is fine. As of this writing, the most affordable name-brand adapter is the Panasonic DMW-MA1 which goes for around $115. Non-brand adapters should work fine, so long as they specify having electronics (purely mechanical adapters will not work).

CDAF-optimized 4/3 Lenses

Non-optimized 4/3 Lenses

Last update: September 14, 2012