The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake and the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS 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 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS is the longer of the two lenses at 49mm. The Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake with a length of 24mm, is 25mm shorter. On the other hand, the Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake has a larger diameter of 64mm compared to the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS's 56mm 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. Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake weighs 95g, which means it is 15g (13%) lighter than the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS which has a weight of 110g.
Filter Threads
The Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake has a filter size of 43mm whereas the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS has a 46mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 43mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake:
And these are the 46mm filters that we recommend for the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS:
Lens Mounts
The Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake has the Four Thirds lens mount whereas the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS has the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Olympus E-5, Olympus E-600 and Olympus E-620 for the Four Thirds Mount and OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 for the Micro Four Thirds Mount.
Focal Range
Olympus 25mm f2.8 Pancake is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 25mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
50mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
On the other hand, the Panasonic 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II OIS has a focal range of 14-42mm and 3.0X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 28-84mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
