Introduction: The Matchup
The Micro Four Thirds system gleams some much-deserved attention within the digital interchangeable lens arena, again painting Panasonic and Olympus as innovators with their assortment of diminutive, mirror-less digital cameras. The uniquely portable imagers capture high-quality stills and HD video with an array of compact, digital lenses.
Panasonic and Olympus both make kit lenses for the Micro Four Thirds standard that can be purchased with a camera body or used across platform. The respective kit lenses, however, each bear the stylization and design choices germane to each manufacturer.
With a system built around lens interchangeability, the relative performance of Panasonic and Olympus’s kit lenses are likely to make a strong impact on the initial, overall shooting experience. We tested the complete performance of Panasonic’s 14-45mm Lumix G. Vario and Olympus’s M.Zuiko 14-42mm ED lenses with both a Panasonic and Olympus camera body, to determine the ultimate, overall kit lens for the system.
