Here are the 8 best Olympus lenses for street photography with image samples. If you have an Olympus camera and want to do street photography, you need a lens suited to that specific purpose, in this article I went trough the Olympus offering and will detail what makes each lens special. Let’s dig right in.
I’ve been shooting street photography for 10 years and had most of the PENs. These cameras make some of the best cameras for street photography because of their size. While most serious compacts are either full frame or APSC sized, the PENs are half frame cameras, or half the size of full frame.
This is great for street photography because these are small cameras that are stealthy and easier to carry. Plus due to the sensor size, you don’t need to close the aperture too much to have a larger depth of field.
That being said let’s look at the Olympus selection of lenses for street photography:
Best Olympus lens for street photography
The selection below has been made by focal length and lens versatility. Since street photography is mostly done in wide angle, the list of best Olympus lens for street photography is mostly made of focal lengths below 50mm with one notable exception. Here’s the selection:
| Name | Focal Length | Effective Focal Length | Lens Max Aperture | Get it here: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Olympus 17mm f1.8 | 17mm | 34mm | f1.8 | Check Price |
| 2. Olympus 12mm f2 | 12mm | 24mm | f2 | Check Price |
| 3. Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 | 12-40mm | 24-80mm | f2.8 | Check Price |
| 4. Olympus 25mm f1.2 | 25mm | 50mm | f1.2 | Check Price |
| 5. Olympus 25mm f1.8 | 25mm | 50mm | f1.8 | Check Price |
| 6. Olympus 45mm f1.8 | 45mm | 90mm | f1.8 | Check Price |
| 7. Olympus 15mm f8 | 15mm | 30mm | f8 | Check Price |
| 8. Olympus 9mm body cap lens | 9mm | 18mm | f8 | Check Price |
Got it? Let’s get into the list of each lens with image samples where available.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Sharp lens + Beautiful Bokeh + Great for day and night shooting + Quiet and fast + Lens markings | – None |
If you are looking for the best Olympus lenses for street photography and just want the top one, this is it. There’s just so much to love about it. First it’s pretty small at 1.4 inches so it won’t slow you down with it’s weight in the streets. And it’s pretty stealthy.
Second, when adjusted it is a 34mm lens (17×2=34) so it’s really a very desirable lens for street photography. There’s options if you prefer 28mm but if you like 35mm, this is it.
The strength of 35mm is that it is wide enough for street landscapes, and telephoto enough to make some dynamite portraits. Speaking of which, just put it a f1.8 and you’ll get some really amazing Bokeh out of this.
This lens is fast and quick if you like your autofocus, or if you prefer your zone focusing (cue angels singing) this has lens markings showing you the distance and depth of field for each aperture.
This has Olympus’ pull back system where pulling back the focus ring will put the camera in MF mode or back to AF if you push the lens back, this is great for the street situations that are rapidly evolving.
A nice touch is you don’t see any of the distance markers unless you actually pull back the lens ring. A useless detail but shows that a lot of care went to this lens.
The combination of ideal focal length and fast aperture makes this the one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography for every situation from candids to portraits.
Here’s some Olympus 17mm f1.7 street photography:
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Sharp + Fast focusing + Fast aperture + Lens markings | – Kind of ugly |
This is one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography out there. If you are into 28mm, this one is it. The 12mm acts like a 24mm (12×2=24) so it’s really a wonderful focal length for street photography.
It is a little less suited for street portraiture because it is a wide angle, but this does stunning environmental portraits.
There is very little distortion with this lens, making the +0.5% barrel distortion of the corners invisible to most. It has some aspherical elements so no nasties like chromatic aberration and color fringing.
It is bigger than it’s 17mm cousin at 1.69 inches vs 1.4 but it’s still small and QUIET. It has Olympus pull-back thing where you can switch between manual and autofocus by pushing the focus dial up or down. This is great to switch on the fly while in the streets.
The f2 is quite fast and while not really the strong point, the Bokeh is nice if you shoot it wide open. Also the lens comes with (cue angels singing again) lens markings to make it easy to do zone focusing in street photography.
The only problem with this lens is that it’s kind of an ugly duckling. A personal opinion for sure, it’s just that the bottom part of the lens is bigger than the lens itself making it look a bit deflated.
But that’s a small detail compared to the awesomeness of this lens, making it one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography you can get if you like wide angles. Here’s street photography with the Olympus 12mm f2:
3. Olympus M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 PRO
One of THE Best Olympus lenses for street photography in the zoom category
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Incredible zoom range + Constant f2.8 aperture + Still compact + Great for everything + Stunning Bokeh at the telephoto end | – Weight – Size |
What? A ZOOM for street photography? Sacrilege! Here me out. This can be one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography and pretty much everything else if you let it.
I’m a big proponent of primes for street photography but I got this lens when I purchased my PEN and while I never wanted to use it…it grew on me and is simply one of the best lenses I have ever used. Just check my Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 review.
If you are looking for the best Olympus lenses for street photography but want to do other things without being limited in any way, this is THE lens to get. On the wide end it is equivalent to a 24mm and on the telephoto end a 80mm.
Let’s get something out of the way first: Yes this is a heavy and large lens at 3.31 inches and 382g. DSLR territory stuff. BUT compared to those it is still a pretty small lens for what it can do.
And it can do a lot, because the maximum is f2.8 throughout the zoom range. So you can do pretty much anything you want in the street. Streetscapes? Check. Environmental portraits? Check. Cinematic portrait photography? Check. Night street photography? Check.
You get the point. The definition of this lens is “Uninhibition”, that’s the feeling you will get when you shoot with it. The ones lens that can do everything. It’s heavy, bulky and expensive, but if you want one lens that can do everything WELL including street photography, this is it. It is THE best Olympus lenses for street photography if you are looking for a zoom.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Insanely fast + Great for portraits + B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L Bokeh + Did I mention the Bokeh | – Pricy – Large & Heavy |
Most street photographers prefer their 28mm and 35mm. But some swear by their nifty 50s. This being a 25mm on a micro 43 camera means that it is essentially a 50mm f1.2 camera.
It is as sharp as a knife and also a monster in size and weight at 3.42 inches and 410g. This is one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography you can get especially if you are into portraiture.
50mm is close to telephoto territory so at f1.2 the Bokeh is simply something to behold. But even if you are not into portraiture the 1.2 is really useful if you want to create cinematic street photography or shoot at night.
5. Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8
One of the best Olympus lenses for street photography with moderate focal length
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Sharp and fast + Silent + Light | – Kind of ugly |
If you don’t need the speed, when it comes to 50mm this one is the best of the Olympus lenses for street photography. First of all it’s much lighter than it’s faster brother ( 137g vs 410g) and smaller too (1.64 vs 3.42 inches) so it’s better for those long shoots.
The 1.8 is fast enough to do some nice Bokeh portraits and overall night photography. Unlike the wide angles there are no lens markings for zone focusing but the AF on this is silent and fast.
If you are a fan of fast 50mm, this one takes the cake and one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography you can get if you like moderate focal lengths. Here’s street photography with the Olympus 25mm f1.8:
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Sharp + Beautiful Bokeh + Rapid focus | – Not for those who like wide angles |
Street photography is done primarily with wide angle lenses, hence this list has been focused on just that. However if you like your longer lenses or simply want to focus on street portraiture, this is it.
You can fill the whole frame with your portraits and the Bokeh is really stunning at this focal length. Those who love wide angles should stay away and this lens has that ugly design what has the bottom bigger then the overall lens.
But whatever the deflated look, this lens is light and focuses fast. It has an incredible rendering that is hard to put down the more you shoot it wide open. It is also perfect for cinematic street photography (guide here) and quite light for the equivalent of 90mm. Here’s Olympus 45mm f1.8 street photography:
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + Smallest lens + FUN + Fast, no need to focus | – F8 is slow at night |
I mistakenly purchased the next option, the 9mm thinking it was this one. Turns out there are not one but TWO Olympus body cap lenses! While these two are equal in terms of looks and sizes, this one doesn’t distort your images with a fisheye effect like the other 9mm does.
One tried and true way of doing street photography is to preset your focus. This usually involves fiddling with the lens or figuring out your distance with an app and focusing at the appropriate one.
There’s none of that with this lens, there is no focusing, just point and shoot. Whatever is from 1.5 meters to infinity will be in focus. There is a close focus mode that focuses at 0.3 meters but I have never been able to make it work.
This fun weights a feather and is barely bigger than the body cap itself. It turns your camera into a large compact camera and makes getting those odd angles easy. You can get more sample images in my Olympus 15mm f8 review.
Street photography can get technically complicated with having to manage your shutter speed, ISO, focus, etc. This lens takes the aperture and focusing away so with your ISO on auto all you need to worry about is your shutter speed, so this makes the whole shooting street photography experience a joy.
While this is a plastic lens, the images are sharp enough and can do some pretty nice images when you use it. The equivalent 30mm sits between 28mm and 35mm comfortably so it can please both lovers of these focal lengths.
| Reasons to buy | Cons |
|---|---|
| + FUN lens + Weights nothing + Fast, nothing to focus! | – f8 it slow when it gets dark – Needs defishing |
I purchased the Olympus 9mm f8 by accident. I wanted the 15mm because I hate fisheye images and I ordered it not knowing that there are TWO body cap lenses by Olympus!
What makes the 15mm great also makes the 9mm great. Is it one of the best Olympus lenses for street photography? Far from it. But it’s super thin, weighs a feather and since there is no focus necessary it makes one handed street photography a joy.
There’s a lot that goes into a shot so not having to worry about focusing really makes things enjoyable in the streets. You are locked in at f8 so that’s wonderful as long as it’s during the day, at night you will have to ramp up your ISO.
The lens acts as a super wide 18mm so it’s great a great Olympus lens for street photography. The downside is, it’s a bit of a fisheye. While it’s not TOO much of a fisheye like those that wrap the world into a ball, it tends to bend a bit too hard.
You can either use the lens as a fun/toy lens or if you are more serious you can always de-fish the images so that your corners are straight. You can find more Olympus 9mm f8 sample images, and the defish process in my review here.
I personally would have loved an 18mm without the fisheye but it’s hard to beat in terms of portability. Also, even tough this lens is classified as a toy lens, it’s sharp enough to do serious images. It is highly recommended if you want a light super wide lens and don’t mind the extra de-fish step.
Best Olympus lenses for street photography conclusion
There you have it, a selection of the best Olympus lenses for street photography. The best one is the Olympus 17mm f1.8. If you prefer even wider angles then the Olympus 12mm f2. If on the other hand you like more moderate focal lengths, the Olympus 25mm f1.8 is for you.
However if you are looking for a zoom that can do it all, then the M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8. Lastly if you just want something to have loads of fun with, the 15mm body cap lens is awesome.
There you have the selection of the 8 best Olympus lenses for street photography, let me know which ones you get! Be yourself, stay focused and keep on shooting.