My Micro43 Photography Journey with Sigma & PanaLeica primes (and other lenses too)

Dear readers of Olympus Passion Magazine, my name is Patrick Kilburn. A Toronto (Canada) based, mostly landscape photographer who explores multiple genres in an effort to grow my skills and ‘learn by doing’.

My love affair with Olympus cameras began back in 2000. ‘Digicams’ were relatively new and fast becoming popular. I became a first-time parent that year also, so I ‘reallocated’ diaper dollars and splurged on a 3.3MP Olympus C3030 fixed zoom lens ‘prosumer’ camera to capture the moments. I loved it for its portability, its superb glass, great JPGs straight out of camera, and manual mode control. A few years and a couple of other cameras later, Olympus introduced the now legendary OM-D E-M5 interchangeable lens body and lenses. My journey into the world of Micro Four Thirds had begun.

The E-M5 was the first of many compact yet very capable ILC Olympus / OM System cameras I would enjoy using! Over the years, with what’s occupied room in my smallish-sized backpack, I’ve been able to not only capture cherished personal memories, but also images which have hung in galleries, commercial spaces and collectors’ homes. One photo of mine (lead photo, above) even managed to earn a finalist spot in Canadian Geographic’s Photos of the Year 2023 competition. I truly doubt I’ll ever change systems!

Backstory aside, allow me to move on to the purpose of this article, and talk a little about Micro43 lenses – not in an overly technical or formal way, but rather, a more subjective review based upon my own personal observations and experiences.

Over time, I have invested in several Olympus/OM ‘Pro’ and ‘prosumer’ lenses, as well as quality offerings from other manufacturers. I often enjoy the convenience and ‘focal length freedom’ of using the Pro zoom lenses. Most notably the excellent stabilized and rugged all rounders – the M.Zuiko 12-100mm f4 Pro, and the 40-150mm f2.8 Pro, for telephoto landscapes, wildlife and travel photos. Looking back through years of accumulated image shares in my Instagram gallery and portfolio, it’s clear that having an effective focal length range of anywhere between 24-600mm (full-frame equivalent when including the MC-20 teleconverter) ‘daily driver’ lenses stay firmly attached at any given time to at least one of my current OM System OM-1 or OM-1ii bodies. Simply put, they each produce sharp, reliable, high-quality images, while withstanding almost any weather that nature can throw at them! They just perform. Here’s a selection of favourite photos I’ve taken with these two marvellous lenses:

Pro zooms aside, I want to share that I have also come to appreciate shooting with many of the sharp fast prime lenses available for the Micro43 ecosystem. I have found that ‘zooming with my feet’ as it were challenges me creatively to think differently about finding compelling compositions. I rather enjoy that I need to work a little harder to find compositions in certain settings and/or situations. Furthermore, I’ve found that using larger apertures – and faster relative shutter speeds – makes low-light photography a lot more successful, interesting and frankly, often more engaging and fun!

I own (or have owned and sold along the way) several prime lenses in the Micro43 ecosystem:

• Zuiko’s offerings including the 75mm f1.8, 45mm f1.8
• Sigma’s Contemporary line – 16mm f1.4 and 56mm f1.4
• Panasonic’s 20mm f1.7 pancake
• PanaLeica’s time-worn 25mm f1.4

Each of these ‘non-PRO designated’ yet excellent primes have their own desirable characteristics (and a few drawbacks – the lack of a focus clutch, nor full weather sealing). I personally haven’t so far invested in any of the even faster f1.2 PRO M.Zuiko primes which offer both, mainly because they’re more expensive and much heavier/bulkier to lug around. It’s a personal choice – I’m not a serious portrait or wedding photographer, and I think while excellent, they’d weigh me down. Come to think of it, while I’d love to also own a copy of either the M.Zuiko ED 300mm f4 Pro, or the PanaLeica DG Elmarit 200mm f2.8 for telephoto landscapes and wildlife captures, there’s only so much room in my backpack (and budget – I compromised here, deciding to opt for the more affordable and excellent focal-length versatile M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm Pro zoom, plus a teleconverter). For what I mostly shoot, I can say with complete honesty that the more ‘prosumer-level’ offerings I’ve listed off above have been terrific – a real joy to use – with great results. They’re all quite small, lightweight, and sharp. And relatively affordable!

Moving right along, I’d like to zero in un two prime lenses I’ve listed above. Specifically, the SigmaDC DN 56mm f1.4 Contemporary and the Panasonic-Leica DG Summilux 25mm f1.4.

Firstly, the Sigma 56mm f1.4. In a word, fantastic. With its large aperture and rounded 9-blade iris design and smooth focusing, capturing moments in any light with shallow depth and aesthetically pleasing bokeh is really satisfying. At a full-frame equivalent of 112mm, it is long enough yet small enough to allow especially for mid-tele portraits and stealthy-casual street photography, particularly in challenging light. I still have the excellent and sharp M.Zuiko 75mm f1.8, but I have to admit that since I’ve acquired the Sigma 56mm, I find the 150mm equivalent focal length to be a little too long for my needs, so the Oly 75mm often stays home on the shelf. As I write this, I’m fairly certain that the Sigma 56mm lens is hard to find new, unfortunately, as Sigma seems to have pulled away from Micro43. If you can find one new or a used copy in good condition, I highly recommend that you do! Here are some favourite shots of mine to hopefully give you an idea of why I enjoy using it so much:

The Panasonic Leica (‘PanaLeica’) 25mm f1.4 is also an excellent ‘normal’ lens with its 50mm focal length in full-frame terms. Small, rather cool looking with its retro Leica-esque rectangular lens hood, I have found this lens produces centre-sharp, clear photos wide open, while being easy to carry around when mounted to any of my M43 bodies. Great for street, portraits, and really any application where the ‘50mm’ length is desired. Stop it down to f2.8 and it’s sharper near the edges (personally, I tend to not be concerned, but it’s worth mentioning). There’s a newer weather-sealed mark ii version available, but I’m very happy with what I have! Great performer and again – a lot cheaper, smaller and lighter than the M.Zuiko 25mm f1.2 Pro. A few more images to share:

In summary, I am pleased to share that I have for many years enjoyed the creative possibilities using  excellent lenses offered by several manufacturers in the Micro43 ecosystem. My aim here has been to convey my opinions and experiences using many of these lenses over many years. And while I often rely on versatile and excellent M.Zuiko Pro zoom lenses, I’ve come to appreciate the benefits of using compact, large-aperture prime lenses like the Sigma Contemporary 56mm f1.4 and Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f1.4 – especially since I’m not getting any younger! Their lightweight and portable design makes them very easy to carry at all times (alongside my zoom lenses), while inspiring me to explore a more deliberate and creative approach to capturing moments. Furthermore, these excellent primes challenge me to think differently about composition and reward me with sharp images, beautiful bokeh, and excellent low-light performance.

Thank you very much for reading! Happy 2025 – and happy shooting!
Patrick

If you’d like to see more of my style(s) of photography, kindly consider visiting my web portfolio at www.pkphotography.ca  and my more recent social media ‘testing ground’ shares on Instagram (@pkphotography.ca/).