Small,Light,Fast auto focus,compact best general purpose lens

as a studio photographer for 10 years I've bought this lens as to shoot as compact as possible ant it is a true compact

Auto focus speed is good but if you record video with full auto focus you will get the focus sound in your videos

You have to have UV filter for protection if you do lens size increase
Focusing close objects and portraits are very good and F 2.5 diapram blurs things away but.

As a general problem for micro 4/3 cameras I believe focusing infinity quality is not good if you compare SLR cameras when you get close youll get distortion in portraits like any wide angle lens.

Focusing ring is easy to use not too smooth for general handling not too loose for focus just in right the spot.

İf you consider Buying this lens and Olympus Pen PM1 or PM2 and considering to put it into your pocket with the lens its not easy its better you have to remove the lens and use them in seperate pockets

Video quality in low light is very good with 2.5 diapram.

Overall good lens for 4/3 system camera but be carefull its a prime and you have to walk arround

İf you want to shoot casual and consantrate on portraits and macro photography consider Olympus Zuiko 45mm 1.8 Lens

Dont waste your money to manual focus CCTV lenses because 4/3 cameras has 3" LCDs so you cant actually see the focus qualitiy with video shooting.

An excellent prime wide angle lens.

This is an excellent prime focal length wide angle lens. It is a 28mm equivalent (in 35mm photography) which makes it useful for general photography, landscapes and some interiors. I have the 14-45mm Panasonic lens and this lens is noticeably sharper (at F/5.6 and smaller apertures) than the zoom.

I use it on my Lumix GF-1 and together it makes for a very light, flexible photo platform. The lens focuses rapidly and quietly. It does not have an Image Stabilization motor so you do have be aware that at slower shutter speeds you need to hold the camera very firmly.

My biggest surprise with this lens was how well it worked for video. I made a five minute video, in very low light at 800 ISO, hand held, and the resulting video showed very little shake. I assume that besides my trying to hold the camera steady the balance of camera and lens helped keep the image stable. The lens is a stop and a fraction faster than the 14-45 zoom (F/2.5 instead of F/3.5) which also helps in low light situations.

My only complaint is that the retail price for this lens is high for a single focus prime. That said it is still a good choice for Olympus and Panasonic camera owners.

The 14mm pancake is the tiniest M43 lens at a bargain price!

The Panny 14mm pancake is a great lens to keep the GF3 in my pocket. Although the 14-42 X zoom is not much larger, one may appreciate the fact that the 14mm prime is 1 stop faster - some time this does save the day: think about the difference between 1/30s vs. 1/60s, or ISO 400 vs. ISO 800.

Image quality does not impress however; it is about as sharp as the X zoom wide open. Also, don't expect to get any real bokeh at this focal length at f2.5 - it's literally a 28mm f5.0 on FF after all. But for $170 new on ebay, it's a steal! The 20mm f1.7 is much more expensive in comparison (for almost the same price I would have got the Olympus 45mm f1.8 instead).

Great size & value for the money for walkaround lens with acceptabtale IQ

Nothing beats its compact size.. If you want the smallest lens on your m4/3 camera, this is the one. Fits well on my OM-D EM5, no rattling or other problem so far. Autofocus is fast and silence. The wider aperture f2.5 will give you higher speed than the kit lens (mine's Oly 12-50/3.5-6.3).. But to be honest, apart from size and more exposure speed, IMO the IQ is not spectacular, just on par with the kit lens.

But since I got it cheap on eBay, the bang for the buck is great and the built quality is also great.

Great lens for group photos - good value too!

I use it when I need a small camera (body + lens) for a social setting. It is small and light. The 14mm focal length translates into 28mm in 35mm equivalent, that's useful for group pictures. It does a decent job in low light (with f2.5) and the pictures are reasonably good. The black version of the lens goes nicely with the silver Olympus OM-D E-M5. The best thing is that ebay offers these lenses at a good price as some sellers break up a body + lens kit.