Zoom lenses are ideal when you want to use a variety of focal lengths without the hassle of changing lenses and carrying lots of lenses in your kitbag. In this essential buyers’ guide we look at some of the best zoom lenses currently available for the Micro Four Thirds mount, which is used by Panasonic and the Olympus/OM System.
Don’t forget that you can use lenses from either brand on your Micro Four Thirds camera.
So, if you’ve got an Olympus/OM camera body, you can use a Panasonic lens, and vice versa.
The crop factor associated with any Four Thirds sensor is 2x.
That makes it nice and easy when calculating the ‘equivalent’ focal length, as you just double whatever the zoom range says on the lens.
For example, a 12-35mm lens becomes a 24-70mm lens.
Zoom options
For this guide, we’ve separated the zoom lens options into standard, all-in-one (or superzoom), and telephoto zoom lenses.
Standard zooms and all-in-one lenses are great options as ‘everyday’ or ‘walk around’ choices.
They give you a good degree of flexibility for a range of different situations, such as landscape, travel and even portraiture.
Telephoto zoom lenses on the other hand are more suited to specific types of photography, such as wildlife, sports or action.
In other words, telephoto zooms are for anything which requires you to get closer to the action.
So, here are our choices for the Best Zoom lenses for Micro Four Thirds cameras in 2022…
Best standard zooms for Micro Four Thirds
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 II LUMIX G Vario ASPH Power OIS
Equivalent focal length: 24-70mm | Street Price: £799
This standard zoom lens is equivalent to the classic focal length of 24-70mm which is favoured by many full-frame shooters. It’s also got a nice wide constant f/2.8 aperture. It’s suited well to larger cameras such as the Panasonic GH5, and makes for an excellent walk around lens. At its widest, it’s ideal for landscapes and travel, while the tele end is great for portraiture and street work. You can use it in low light conditions, using the widest aperture of f/2.8. It’s also great for throwing the background out of focus for shallow depth of field effects. Support is available for the Power OIS (optical image stabilisation) as well as in-camera 5-axis Dual IS 2 when used with certain cameras such as the GH5, GH5 II and G80.
Panasonic LEICA 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 DG VARIO-ELMARIT POWER OIS
Equivalent focal length: 24-120mm | Street Price: £879
Panasonic has a great working relationship with Leica, which it has teamed up with in order to create this standard zoom lens. Offering more reach than the 12-35mm lens, as a trade off, you have to settle for an f/4 aperture at the telephoto end of the lens. Again, due to its reasonably large size, it is best used with larger cameras, or those that take the DSLR body form, such as the GH5. This lens is also splash-proof and dust-proof, making it ideal for all kinds of outdoor work.
Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO
Equivalent focal length: 24-80mm | Street Price: £799
A classic ‘walk around’ focal length for Olympus users, this lens gives a touch extra reach than the Panasonic 12-35mm equivalent, while offering the same f/2.8 constant aperture. A great choice for cameras such as the OM-D E-M1 Mark III, it’s a versatile option for lots of different subjects ranging from landscapes to portraits. It is also weatherproof, which makes it ideal for outdoor work.
Discover more about the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO
Best all-in-one zoom lenses for Micro Four Thirds
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS Pro
Equivalent focal length: 24-200mm | Street Price: £999
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO lens offers an impressive zoom range, equivalent to 24-200mm, giving a versatile all-in-one zoom lens. It’s also been designed to give high image quality, and the lens doesn’t disappoint, scoring an impressive 5 stars in our review.
In our review, we said, ‘this lens brings an unparalleled combination of high image quality, compositional versatility, robust construction and near-magical image stabilisation. It’s not one to choose for shallow depth of field, but if you want to shoot a wide range of subjects without changing lenses, from sweeping landscapes to close-ups, it can do all of these with remarkable ease. It’s an outdoor photographer’s dream.’
Read our Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO review
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3
Equivalent focal length: 24-400mm | Street Price: £669
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 all-in-one ‘super zoom’ lens offers a somewhat incredible 24-400mm equivalent zoom range. The lens benefits from a weather-resistant construction, but due to the lack of optical image stabilisation, it’s not recommended for use on cameras that don’t feature in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), as it could be tricky to get sharp shots when using more of the telephoto zoom. It’s also not as sharp as other lenses, particularly at the telephoto end of the lens, however, this is often the case with super zoom lenses.
Read our Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Review
Best telephoto zoom lenses for Micro Four Thirds
Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II LUMIX G X VARIO POWER OIS
Equivalent focal length: 70-200mm | Street Price: £799
A classic focal length enjoyed by traditional full-frame photographers, the equivalent focal length of this lens is 70-200mm. The maximum wide aperture of f/2.8 is constant, making it ideal for lots of subjects, including portraiture, as well as being great in low light. This lens is one of the pricier options for Micro Four Thirds, so if you want to save some cash, take a look at the 35-100mm f/4-5.6 option.
Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.ZUIKO Digital
Equivalent focal length: 80-300mm | Street Price: £1,099
This versatile optic from Olympus is ideal for quite a few different subjects, including portraiture and wildlife. It features an f/2.8 constant maximum aperture, which makes it useful in low light. For those who spend a lot of time outdoors, the splash, dust and freeze proof construction of the lens will surely be appreciated. Focusing is also near silent, and if the 300mm (equivalent) isn’t enough, you can purchase an extra 1.4x teleconverter to extend it to an equivalent of 420mm. If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to the high asking price of this lens, there’s also a 40-150mm f/4-5.6 offering available.
Read our Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 Hands On Review
OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4.0 PRO
Equivalent focal length: 80-300mm | Street Price: £799
Announced alongside the flagship OM-1 camera, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4.0 PRO was the second all-new optic under the OM System brand. It’s a compact, weather-sealed telephoto zoom that employs a space-saving retractable design and promises premium optics. With a zoom range equivalent to 80-300mm on full-frame, it’s designed for use with Olympus and OM System cameras but, of course, it can also be used on Panasonic Lumix G-series MFT bodies.
In our review we said, ‘the 40-150mm f/4 is a fine little lens that neatly fills a gap in the M.Zuiko line-up between the entry-level and f/2.8 Pro zooms that cover the same range. It’s a particularly good match for compact Micro Four Thirds bodies such as the E-M5 Mark III, but is just as good a choice for E-M1/OM-1 users looking to travel light. It would make an excellent companion for either the 12-40mm f/2.8 or 12-45mm f/4.5 standard zooms.’
Read our OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4.0 PRO Review
Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm f/4-5.6 II POWER OIS
Equivalent Focal Length: 90-400mm | Street Price: £359
If your main concern is extra reach, but you don’t have a large budget to match, this 45-200mm lens from Panasonic could be the ideal choice. The maximum aperture isn’t particularly wide at f/4-5.6, but you can get very close to the subject. It’s also splash-proof and dust-proof, making it ideal for subjects such as wildlife and outdoor photography.
Olympus M.ZUIKO ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II
Equivalent Focal Length: 150-600mm | Street Price: £435
This extraordinarily good value lens gets you super close to the action, offering one of the longest focal lengths available for Micro Four Thirds. It boasts super fast autofocusing, which makes it well-suited to subjects such as sports, wildlife and action. You could also use it for some other subjects, such as events and weddings, where you need to get close to the subject.
Panasonic Lumix 100-400mm f/4-6.3 Power OIS
Equivalent Focal Length: 200-800mm | Street Price: £1,149
This beast of a lens gives you incredible reach, being up to an equivalent of 800mm at its furthest. It’s great for a variety of subjects, including wildlife, sport and action and is dust-proof and splash-proof. The lens zooms silently, making it ideal for video recording, while autofocus is also very quiet.
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS
Equivalent Focal Length: 200-800mm | Street Price: £1,099
The lens comes with a deep bowl-shaped plastic hood
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS lens is a mid-range telephoto zoom that gives a 200-800mm equivalent, although with a relatively slow aperture, you do need bright sunny conditions to get the best out of the lens and camera. It’s also compatible with the Olympus MC-14 and MC-20 teleconverters if you want even more reach.
Read our Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS Review
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO
Equivalent Focal Length: 300-800mm | Street Price: £6,499
With its built-in teleconverter engaged, the lens provides 1000mm-equivalent reach
For the professional sports or wildlife photographer, this lens offers a 300-800mm equivalent range, which can be extended to 375-1000mm (at f/5.6) using the built-in 1.25x teleconverter! When used with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 X it’s also said to be able to give up to eight stops of image stabilisation! At 1.875kg it’s also considerably lighter than full-frame equivalents. It’s also compatible with the Olympus MC-14 and MC-20 teleconverters if you want even more reach.
Read our Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC 1.25x IS PRO Review
Discover more…
For more MFTs lens options just click through to have a look at our guide to the Best Micro Four Thirds lenses in 2022.
Further reading
Best Panasonic Cameras to Buy in 2022
