The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Lensbaby Sol 22 and the Olympus M 17mm f1.8 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses. Lensbaby Sol 22 is the longer of the two lenses at 38mm. The Olympus M 17mm f1.8 with a length of 36mm, is 2mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Lensbaby Sol 22 also has a larger diameter of 61mm compared to the Olympus M 17mm f1.8's 58mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Olympus M 17mm f1.8 weighs 120g, 16% (24g) lighter than the Lensbaby Sol 22's weight of 144g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Prime Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for size comparison purposes.
Wideangle Prime Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Lensbaby Sol 22 and the Olympus M 17mm f1.8 has the same Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Micro Four Thirds lenses are OM System OM-5, Panasonic GH6 and OM System OM-1.
Focal Range
Lensbaby Sol 22 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 22mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 44mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera. Olympus M 17mm f1.8 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 17mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 34mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.