The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Lumix DMC-G5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Lumix DMC-G5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Lumix DMC-G5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Lumix DMC-G5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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Lumix DMC-G5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

Cameras and Lenses: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5, and the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/2.8, is an ultra-compact, lightweight everyday setup with seamless mounts and no adapters.

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For the vintage enthusiast looking for a compact carry-around to enjoy photography with, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5, fitted with an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8 wide-angle lens, is an enviable choice not only for street, documentary, and travel photography but also as an everyday camera for use around the house.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5, a 16MP Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera released around 2012, features a 16MP Live MOS sensor, a Venus Engine processor, an ISO range from 160 to 12,800, a mechanical shutter speed from 60 to 1/4000 second, plus a silent electronic shutter option, and 920,000 pixel 3-inch articulating touchscreen.

The SLR-styled camera is also credited for its fast performance, 6 fps continuous shooting, and 1080p60 video recording capabilities.

The Olympus M Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8, a pancake with 6 elements in 4 groups, with one aspherical element and 5 rounded diaphragm blades, was the first prime lens for the Micro 4/3 camera system, introduced as a kit lens for the E-P1 in 2009.

The lens has a minimum focus distance of 0.17 meters, measures 57mm in diameter × 22mm in length, takes 37mm filters, and weighs 71 grams. It is fitted with a conventional DC Micro motor for autofocus, with a reasonable AF speed and accuracy for most shooting situations.

The lens is equally small, and as a fairly fast, lightweight lens, it is perfect for use as a discreet, all-day shooting lens. While it is not a dedicated macro lens, it is a fun walk-around lens that can capture decent close-ups (as seen in this post) if you are not seeking professional-level magnification.

On the G5, the M Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8 is equivalent to a 35mm wide-angle lens on a full-frame camera. The focal length sits between the wide-angle 28mm lens and a standard normal 50mm lens, wide enough to include scenery but not so wide that it introduces strong distortion.

Lumix DMC-G5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

The lens and camera kit, complete with battery and SD card, weighs approximately 480 grams. It is light enough to be lugged around, tucked in a sling or side-bag, or simply strung across the shoulder.

The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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The Galleria, Photo of the Day

Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

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Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

Cameras and Lenses: The Olympus E-PM2, and a M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8, an ultra-compact, pocketable mirrorless digital with a classic 34mm equivalent full-frame setup.

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For the vintage enthusiast working with a set or limited budget, a compact digital camera setup with a 2013 Olympus PEN E-PM2 and a 2009 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8 is a very interesting digital mirrorless camera kit for having fun and enjoying photography, in or around the home or garden, or even on city streets.

The reasonably priced pair (on the auction market) is a highly compact, pocketable, and capable everyday camera, with excellent and sharp images from the 16MP E-PM2. The 17mm pancake lens (equivalent to a 34mm lens on a full-frame camera) offers a versatile wide-angle view and excellent close-up capabilities.

The Olympus PEN E-PM2 (PEN Mini 2), a compact, entry-level 16.1MP Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera launched in 2013, features the same high-quality sensor and image processor as the flagship E-M5, 8 fps shooting, in-body image stabilization, and a 3-inch touchscreen in a very compact and minimalist body.

The camera, designed for ease of use while offering advanced manual controls, features a plastic body available in black, silver, red, or white. Features include exposure bracketing, art filters, manual focus override, and sensor-shift stabilization. ISO sensitivity is automatic from 200 to 25,600, and autofocus is a 35-point contrast-detect system.

Though aged, the camera is still in favour today, praised in vintage circles for street and travel photography, and its adaptability to legacy manual focus lenses, with a recent review noting its enduring and sustainable image quality. The kit is equally ideal as a carry-around for everyday photography as well as for beginners.

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8, a compact pancake prime lens for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mirrorless cameras, was originally released as the kit lens for the Olympus PEN E-P1. The lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 34mm, which is highly suitable for street and travel photography.

The lens, launched in 2009 as a kit lens for the Olympus Pen E-P1, weighs just 71 grams, measures 22mm long, accepts 37mm filters, and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.2 meters. Optical construction is 6 elements in 4 groups with 5 rounded diaphragm blades to help produce smooth bokeh.

Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8

Reviews praise the lens's portability for landscapes, portraits, and close-ups (as seen in this post), though autofocus can be slower and noisier on modern bodies. Optical quality is moderate to good, with some corner softness and fringing, but it excels as a lightweight walk-around option. The lens, though, is often considered inferior to the later 17mm f/1.8 version, a 9-element in 6 groups construction introduced in 2012.

Olympus Pen E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5~5.6 EZ

Cameras and Lenses: Images with an M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ, celebrated as the world's slimmest pancake zoom lens, a standard 28-84mm full-frame zoom equivalent on the Olympus Pen E-PM2.

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It must have been the vintage digital GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), and whoa! I got myself an Olympus E-PM2 ILC and an M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5~5.6 EZ to add to my collection. Launched in 2013, the E-PM2 was an update to the E-PM1 (2011), a compact with the smallest and lightest footprint of any Olympus ILC.

The camera features a 16MP CMOS sensor, the same as found on the E-PL5 and OM-D E-M5, often acclaimed as a class leader in image quality. It also includes a 3.0-inch touch screen, two additional buttons, a small built-in grip on the front panel, and weighs 269 grams with a battery and memory card.

The M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm 1:3.5~5.6 EZ, equivalent to a 28-82mm lens on a 35mm full-frame camera, is a very versatile lens, recommended as an all-rounder with a zoom range good for telling photo stories of a subject you are in, portraiture, landscape, and whatever you have in mind.

Olympus E-PM2, M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5~5.6 EZ

The 8-element in 5 groups (with 1 Super HR, 1 ED, and 3 aspherical elements) lens has a 5-blade diaphragm, a minimum focusing distance of 0.2 meters at 14mm, and 0.25 meters at 42mm, a minimum aperture of f/16, takes 37mm filters, and weighs 93 grams.

M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ, Quiet On The Beach

Cameras and Lenses: Images with an ultra-compact pancake standard zoom lens, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm F3.5~5.6 EZ, on an Olympus Pen E-P5, equivalent to a 28-84mm wide-angle to short telephoto zoom on a full-frame.

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While I currently use the E-P5 more often for capturing digital moments with legacy manual focus lenses, which I buy off auction sites with the idea of putting them up for sale on my camera gear shopping page, there were also occasions when I had the E-P5 mounted with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5~5.6 EZ, for outings of sorts.

The EZ is a slimline kit lens; it is only 23mm thick and weighs just about 91 grams, a perfect fit for the camera.

This session is from 2015, when I was on an outstation trip. I took the opportunity to stop for a breather at this beach. It was high noon, the sun was directly overhead, the sky was cloudless, there was little or no wind, and the heat was getting rather uncomfortable. Images were shot in monochrome and post-processed on Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3), and print sharpening was done on Google NIK Sharpener Pro 3.

Olympus E-P5, M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5~5.6 EZ