The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the OM System 17mm F1.8 II and the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 is the longer of the two lenses at 70mm. The OM System 17mm F1.8 II with a length of 36mm, is 34mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 also has a larger diameter of 70mm compared to the OM System 17mm F1.8 II's 58mm diameter.
Below you can find a scaled side-by-side image of OM System 17mm F1.8 II and Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 to get a better idea of how their sizes compare in real life.
Comparison image of the OM System 17mm F1.8 II and the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 Size and Weight The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. OM System 17mm F1.8 II weighs 112g, which means it is 223g (66%) lighter than the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 which has a weight of 335g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Prime Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for size comparison purposes.
Wideangle Micro Four Thirds Mount
Filter Threads
The OM System 17mm F1.8 II has a filter size of 46mm whereas the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 has a 62mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 46mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the OM System 17mm F1.8 II:
And these are the 62mm filters that we recommend for the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4:
Lens Mounts
Both the OM System 17mm F1.8 II and the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 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-3 Astro , OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 .
Focal Range
OM System 17mm F1.8 II 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.
On the other hand, the Panasonic DG 12mm F1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 12mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 24mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
