The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Olympus ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye and the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 ASPH 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 7-14mm F4 ASPH is the longer of the two lenses at 83mm. The Olympus ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye with a length of 80mm, is 3mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 ASPH also has a larger diameter of 70mm compared to the Olympus ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye's 62mm diameter.
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. Panasonic 7-14mm F4 ASPH weighs 300g, 4% (14g) lighter than the Olympus ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye's weight of 314g.
Lens Mounts
Both the Olympus ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye and the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 ASPH 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
Olympus ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 8mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
16mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
On the other hand, the Panasonic 7-14mm F4 ASPH has a focal range of 7-14mm and 2.0X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 14-28mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
