Mirrorless cameras are clearly the future for professional photography. However, with the technology being relatively new, there are fewer lenses available.
Olympus was one of the first to release mirrorless cameras, though. That means there are more options available for their Micro 4/3 system than Nikon or Canon’s mirrorless mounts.
Below we’ve compiled a list of our top six lenses for the Olympus OM-D E-M10 III camera bodies. We tried to choose lenses that ranged from wide-angle to telephoto. We cover a range of applications and budget points.
6 Best Olympus OM-D E-M10 III Lenses
Best Overall: Olympus M. Zuiko 25 mm f/1.8
- Focal Length: 25mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 10 inches
- Weight: 4.8 ounces
- Filter Thread: 46mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Lightweight, compact, affordable, versatile focal length, extremely sharp images, no distortion
Cons: slight chromatic aberration, some vignetting
What Makes this Lens Our Top Pick?
Olympus added this to their range of mirrorless prime lenses in 2014. It fulfills their goal of creating professional grade lenses at affordable prices.
The lens is laser fast and produces images that are impressively sharp. However, it still manages to cost under $500.
With the Micro 4/3 mount system, this is equivalent to a 50mm f/3.6 lens. That is versatile enough for any photographer to use.
It was initially created to compete with the legendary Panasonic 25 f/1.4 lens. That one is widely hailed as one of the best Micro 4/3 lenses available.
Olympus has done a great job competing, with their lens being smaller and faster to focus. It also has a sleeker design and costs over $100 less.
The incredibly compact size balances perfectly with the small mirrorless body. It makes this lens a joy to travel with or use for weddings or street photography.
One major claim from Olympus with this lens is that they have almost completely eliminated barrel distortion. There was only slight distortion around the corners.
There is also minimal chromatic aberration and vignetting in final images. Both are easily corrected in post processing.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers praise this lens for being high-performance and low-cost. It focuses with little hunting or sound, takes tack sharp images and performs consistently even in slightly lower light situations. Overall, it is a high-value, versatile lens to have in your stylish camera bag.
The manual focus uses an electrical focus-by-wire system, and the 9.4 inch minimum focus distance is decent for a wider angle lens. Even though the lens is small, reviewers praised it for being well balanced and feeling solid and sturdy.
The design and capabilities make it the perfect lens for travel photography, street, weddings, portraits and low-light photography.
The lens has 9 elements arranged in 7 groups, including 2 aspherical elements that cut down on aberrations, and a 7-blade circular aperture diaphragm to create a nice bokeh effect.
Features and Considerations
The Panasonic 25 mm f/1.4 is the most direct competitor, and it takes slightly sharper images for a little over $100 more, making it an attractive choice for many photographers. That lens is larger, though, and has more vignetting around the corners.
A Close Second: Olympus M. Zuiko 12 – 40 mm f/2.8 Pro
- Focal Length: 12 – 40mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 7.9 inches
- Weight: 13.4 ounces
- Filter Thread: 62mm
- Image Stabilization: Yes
Pros: Good low light performance, weather sealing, versatile equivalent zoom range
Cons: Expensive, heavy
What Makes this Lens Special?
This is the first in Olympus’s line of Pro lenses for the Micro 4/3 system, and it is versatile and definitely lives up to its professional classification.
With the Micro 4/3 system, the lens offers a 24 – 80mm equivalent zoom range, and the weatherproofing is robust enough that you can use the lens in freezing, damp or dusty conditions without worrying about it surviving. At under $1,000, this lens is a great value purchase for any photographer with a Micro 4/3 camera.
The max aperture of f/2.8 is wide enough that you can use this lens in slightly lower light situations, and the manual focus ring is easy to use and reliable if the autofocus motor struggles with less light. The lens is ideal in a wide range of situations, including travel, portraits, landscape, weddings, street photography and even light macro photography.
The front element doesn’t rotate when you focus, which is good for photographers who like to use filters. The lens can also focus at about 8 inches away from a subject, which is a respectable distance for macro photography, especially with the zoom.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers praise the lens for being professional quality with a sturdy build, and generally preferred it to similar lenses from other manufacturers. While the lens is heavier than the comparable Panasonic 12 – 35mm f/2.8, weighing 13.5 ounces more, there is technology to account for the added weight.
The lens also balances well with the mirrorless camera body even though it is a bit heavier than other lenses at similar focal lengths.
While there is a fair amount of vignetting around the corners, this can be easily corrected during post-processing and there is almost no chromatic aberration. The images taken with this lens are also tack sharp from center to edge, with slight fall off at wider focal lengths.
Features and Considerations
The zoom and manual focus rings are a little close together and have the same texture, making them difficult to distinguish from one another by touch alone. Many photographers said they got used to this by extended use, however, and learned where each ring was by muscle memory instead.
Some photographers also found it frustrating that you could lock the lens into manual focus mode by rotating the focus ring all the way to one side, and had a hard time figuring out how to correct the issue.
Unfortunately, this lens also struggles considerably with linear distortion, meaning you should look for another lens or prioritize distortion correction if you photograph architecture or other subjects where straight lines are important.
Best Budget Lens: Panasonic Lumix 12 – 60 mm f/3.5 – 5.6
- Focal Length: 12 – 60mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 7.9 inches
- Weight: 2 ounces
- Filter Thread: 58mm
- Image Stabilization: Yes
Pros: Lightweight, Weather-sealed, lightning fast autofocus, affordable, image stabilization
Cons: No buttons on the lens, photos could be brighter
What Makes this Lens Special?
This lens is affordable, compact and incredibly versatile, with a field of view that corresponds to 24 – 120mm on full frame cameras.
The weather sealing is extra robust, protecting your camera and lens in adverse conditions, and the inner mechanisms are high-quality and perform well. The zoom range is uniquely wide, making it the perfect lens whether you want to shoot portraits or architecture, as the lens goes from wide-angle to telephoto.
The lens has 11 elements arranged in 9 groups with a 7-blade rounded aperture that creates bokeh pleasantly enough. There aren’t any buttons on the lens, meaning any settings have to be adjusted in the camera menu. This can be a little bit of a pain but is relatively easy to get used to.
The autofocus motor is incredibly fast, going from infinity to a meter and a half in 50 milliseconds, which is unmatched by lenses from any other manufacturer. It is also extremely quiet and accurate, which makes it good for shooting video as well as stills. Given the price, such a powerful, unparalleled autofocus motor is a surprise.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers had a hard time finding things to criticize about this lens, which is uncommon for a lens rated as best budget mirrorless lens. The performance is amazingly sharp and consistent, the internal workings like the autofocus motor are fast and accurate, and the price is right.
When you consider how compact the lens is, weighing in at just over 2 ounces, it’s hard to find a reason not to add it to your camera bag.
The focal distance is short enough for photographers to get up close to their subjects if they want to play with macro photography, and there is almost no vignetting at any focal length. The multi-coating on the lens and glass elements helps cut ghosting and flares out almost entirely, with no reflections seen even when shooting directly into the sun.
Images are consistently sharp from edge to edge, and the colors are rendered well with lots of details in the highlights and shadows. Overall, reviewers were very pleased with the lens’ build, performance and price.
Features and Considerations
Zoom lenses are always slightly less sharp than prime lenses, and the lens is slightly more expensive than some of the other options on this list. These are both minor considerations, however, and the lens is a great option for any photographer.
Second Wide-Angle Lens: Panasonic Lumix 7 – 14 mm f/4.0
- Focal Length: 7 – 14mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 9.8 inches
- Weight: 10.6 ounces
- Filter Thread: None
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Ultra-wide angle field of view, sharp photos, sturdy build
Cons: Expensive, doesn’t perform well in low light, heavy
What Makes this Lens Special?
Even though this was one of the first Micro 4/3 lenses Panasonic announced in 2009, it has stood the test of time. Today, this is the best ultra-wide angle zoom lens available for the Micro 4/3 system, and despite the fact that it is heavier and more expensive, the lens takes sharp, crisp images that are professional quality. It is also the smallest zoom range to offer such a wide field of view.
The front element is large and bulbous, which prevents photographers from using filters. If you really like filters, though, you can purchase an attachment on the front that will hold on the filter. It also comes with a lens hood that protects the large lens element.
There are 16 glass elements in 12 groups, including two aspherical elements and 4 ED elements to help cut out reflections, ghosting and chromatic aberrations. The price is considerably higher than other lenses on this list, though, which makes sense for the narrower set of applications.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers praised this lens for its unique set of uses and high performance and were particularly happy with the utility of the wide angle that is hard to find with other Micro 4/3 lenses.
Compared to similar focal length lenses for DSLR cameras, this lens is particularly compact and lightweight. This allows it to balance the smaller, lighter mirrorless camera bodies well.
The lens zooms and autofocuses smoothly and silently, and the inner mechanisms handle distortion and other challenges commonly faced by wide-angle lenses well. While there is no zoom lock, the lens doesn’t struggle with zoom creep like other zoom lenses do.
While you may see some cyan and magenta chromatic aberration around the edges of the image, the lens handles such aberrations pretty well overall. The colors are rendered well and there is very good detail in shadows and highlights.
Features and Considerations
The bulbous front lens element makes this lens difficult to use in rain since raindrops can easily get past the lens hood and ruin any photos you might take. There is a small amount of magenta flares and ghosting when shooting into or near very bright light sources.
Filters are also not supported because there is a built-in hood, which some photographers may find frustrating. The lens fits such a unique range of applications, though, that this is easy to overlook.
Best Street Photography Lens: Olympus M. Zuiko 17 mm f/1.8
- Focal Length: 17mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 9.8 inches
- Weight: 4.2 ounces
- Filter Thread: 46mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Professional quality images, fast autofocus, compact and lightweight
Cons: Expensive, no lens hood included, struggles with chromatic aberrations
What Makes this Lens Special?
This lens is lightweight and compact and perfectly balances with the small mirrorless camera bodies. The lens has a nice retro design, with a silver finish and an almost pancake-thin build.
The focus ring is smooth and easy to use, but the autofocus is so fast and accurate that people are unlikely to use manual focus anyway.
The distance scale and focus-by-wire capabilities are particularly well suited to street photography and are helpful when panning while taking shots. The barrel is all metal, which gives it a solid feeling and makes it durable for prolonged use and carrying it long distances. The metal is lightweight, though, and only adds to the weight minimally.
One of the best selling points of this lens, though, is the autofocus speed. Especially when used in sufficient light, the autofocus is instantaneous. It’s so fast that it’s hard to even measure the speed, which really makes this lens ideal for street photography situations where you need to refocus on different subjects or pan after moving bikes or trains quickly.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers loved the utility of this lens for street photography and general photography, and particularly praised the autofocus capabilities of the lens. They also praised the lens for being compact and easy to use, with photographers needing little knowledge of camera settings and statistics to use this lens and get professional-level photos.
The image quality is consistently high, with colors being rendered accurately and light flare being almost nonexistent. Some reviewers commented that photos aren’t quite as bright as similar lenses from other manufacturers, but this was a minor complaint.
Unfortunately, this lens won’t really produce bokeh even when you shoot with it wide open, but it can create decent separation of subject from background under the right conditions. Overall, this is a great lens for street photography and reviewers loved it for this purpose.
Features and Considerations
The focus ring is almost too fast and smooth and could use a bit more resistance as it is hard to focus super precisely since it turns so quickly. It is also less seamless when you click it into Snapshot mode.
The lens is also more expensive than other lenses and doesn’t include a lens hood, which bothered many reviewers. Photographers can purchase a lens hood separately if they plan on using one, though.
Best Telephoto Lens: Olympus M. Zuiko 40 – 150 mm f/2.8 PRO
- Focal Length: 40 – 150mm
- Minimum Focus Distance: 19 inches
- Weight: 1.7 lbs
- Filter Thread: 72mm
- Image Stabilization: No
Pros: Good bokeh, weather-sealed, versatile telephoto zoom range, corner-to-corner sharpness
Cons: Heavy and large, expensive, chromatic aberration
What Makes this Lens Special?
This lens has a versatile zoom range that is perfect for any sort of action photography like sports or wildlife, and it performs well enough to create professional quality images. The range is equivalent to 80 – 300mm on the Micro 4/3 system, and the constant f/2.8 is wide enough that the lens is reliable in lower light situations as well.
The camera body has an all-metal construction, which makes it durable and sturdy. It also has particularly robust weather sealing, making it dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof.
The autofocus is also super sharp, fast and silent, yielding images that are sharp from edge to edge with almost no center softness, regardless of the focal length.
While the price is much higher than other telephoto zoom lenses from Olympus, the performance and Pro rating more than justify the price jump. Images are professional with good contrast and detail in the shadows, highlights and colors are rendered realistically and well.
What Do Reviewers Say?
Reviewers love this lens and praise its consistent high performance. Compared to the other non-pro-rated telephoto zoom lenses from Olympus, this lens is in another class. Images are completely sharp all the time from corner to corner, and the zoom range is versatile and robust.
The only issue reviewers raised is chromatic aberration at shorter focal lengths, but it isn’t a major problem when shooting outside in sufficient light. There is no vignetting visible around the corners and there is no distortion at any focal length with this lens, either.
The autofocus motor is particularly robust and fast, making this lens perfect in fast-paced action environments.
Features and Considerations
The biggest concerns with this lens are the size and weight. It is larger and heavier than other lenses on this list, which isn’t abnormal for a telephoto lens, but is a little unfortunate, as it unbalances mirrorless camera bodies. Photographers can use a monopod with the lens to add stability, though, and this issue is hard to avoid when shooting telephoto in general.
Selection Criteria: How We Ranked Our Choices
A camera body is only as good as the lens you use it with, which is just as true for the new mirrorless camera bodies as for DSLR cameras. Since the mirrorless cameras are smaller and lighter, it’s much easier to unbalance them with large heavy lenses, making your lens selection even more important.
With limited options, photographers also have to be discerning that they are getting a genuinely good lens and not a subpar lens that doesn’t have competition yet.
Here are a few of the main considerations we took into account when compiling our list of the six best lenses for the Olympus OM-D E-M10 III camera bodies.
Price
While we would all like it if budget wasn’t a consideration at all, it is definitely a limiting factor for many photographers. We tried to select lenses that had reasonable price tags, and where they were more expensive we noted the technology or features that accounted for the price jump.
Versatility
While there are some photographers or enthusiasts that want a very specific lens that is only useful for a limited number of applications, like a fisheye or a super telephoto lens, most will be better served by getting versatile focal lengths. Zoom lenses or general use lengths like 24mm are going to serve photographers well in more situations than a fisheye lens will, and they will end up paying for themselves many times over.
In compiling our list, we tried to focus on lenses that would be ideal in a number of different situations. Where lenses were only good for a limited number of applications, we tried to list why we still included them.
Value
Price tag aside, you want to make sure you are purchasing a lens that is worth the price or is a steal. Whether you are spending $200 or $2,000, the technology and functionality should be worth the cost. We tried to limit our list to lenses that had good value and would last for years instead of lenses that were novel or unique but wouldn’t be worth the price tag.
Depth of Field
Telephoto lenses are useful in a number of action scenarios, but wide-angle and normal length lenses are going to be more versatile and useful for a range of photographers. The Micro 4/3 system also has the added complication of having to convert the focal length into the equivalent.
For instance, while the Olympus M. Zuiko 12 – 60mm f/3.5 – 5/6 lens says it has a focal length of 12 – 60mm, the equivalent is 24 – 120mm. This means that this lens on a full frame camera would be a 24 – 120mm lens, so this stat gives you a better idea of the images you’ll take with this lens.
Lens | Adjusted Class |
Olympus M. Zuiko 25 mm f/1.8 | Normal |
Olympus M. Zuiko 12 – 40 mm f/2.8 Pro | Wide-Angle – Telephoto |
Panasonic Lumix 12 – 60 mm f/3.5 – 5.6 | Wide-Angle – Telephoto |
Panasonic Lumix 7 – 14 mm f/4.0 | Wide-Angle |
Olympus M. Zuiko 17 mm f/1.8 | Wide-Angle |
Olympus M. Zuiko 40 – 150 mm f/2.8 PRO | Telephoto |
Maximum Aperture
The wider the maximum aperture, the better a lens will perform in low light situations. Wider apertures also tend to make a lens more expensive, though, so photographers have to consider if they will use the low light functionality.
Lenses that are prime tend to have a fixed aperture, while zoom lenses can have a fixed aperture or a range depending on their build. In general, we recommend compiling an honest list of the situations you will be shooting in or want the option to cover when making your choice.
Lens | Prime or Zoom |
Olympus M. Zuiko 25 mm f/1.8 | Prime |
Olympus M. Zuiko 12 – 40 mm f/2.8 Pro | Zoom |
Panasonic Lumix 12 – 60 mm f/3.5 – 5.6 | Zoom |
Panasonic Lumix 7 – 14 mm f/4.0 | Zoom |
Olympus M. Zuiko 17 mm f/1.8 | Prime |
Olympus M. Zuiko 40 – 150 mm f/2.8 PRO | Zoom |