The best Olympus lenses

Although the Micro Four Thirds sensor doubles the effective focal length of your optics, there's still the ability to go ultra-wide with this 14-28mm equivalent zoom. You'll get a bright fixed aperture, extremely high-quality weather-sealed construction and relatively compact build with a 530g package weight. There's a manual focus clutch on the barrel - perfect for fine-tuning your focus - and close 7.5cm close focusing distance that makes it appealing for a wide range of uses from landscapes to interiors and even night-time astro.

This is the Olympus answer to a 24-70mm, though with an extra 10mm on the long end for good measure. It comes with a fixed f/2.8 aperture, ultra-compact build and 383g weight. Despite being small, it packs a big punch for Micro Four Thirds users and is known for both optical clarity and the ability for excellent sharpness at all focal lengths. It's definitely befitting its Pro moniker.

A 24mm equivalent prime lens with excellent build and top-notch sharpness? That's right. Giving you a fast f/2 aperture and solid build quality, this lens is renowned for its extreme sharpness. It's nothing short of outstanding in the centre, even at the widest apertures, and very impressive in the corners. It keeps optical imperfections and distortion to a minimum and should instantly make its way into your kit bag for all your wide angle needs.

An ultra-fast 50mm equivalent, this lens is a must have for any serious shooter that enjoys travel, portraits or weddings. It's weather-sealed, built to last and cuts out chromatic aberration, flare and distortion perfectly. As you'd expect from an f/1.2 lens, it's a bokeh-making machine and makes background blur an easy reality. It's also amazingly sharp in the centre, even at f/1.2. The corners aren't quite as impressive, though when the background is out of focus anyway, that's not an issue.

The epitome of Olympus portability this effective 80-300mm is the equivalent of a 70-200mm with a fast f/2.8 aperture, relatively lightweight 880g build and excellent central sharpness at all ranges. The focus is quick and near-silent, it's packed with weather sealing and a manual focus clutch to allow you to quickly override the AF and fine tune your focus. You can get even closer to the action with one of Olympus' teleconverters too.

A lens that takes everything in its stride, this 24-400mm equivalent has a truly formidable zoom range to its name. There's a 16.6x magnification with suitably large extending barrel, light 455g weight and sturdy weather-resistant build quality. Special coatings keep flare and ghosting down for clearer shots and, although far from the sharpest lens in this test, a respectable level of clarity across the field, especially at the widest focal length. If you want to cut down on costs and gear for an easy travel, this optic will do it all.

Yes, it's far more expensive than anything else on this list, but with a 600mm equivalent focal length, it's about £10k cheaper than most alternatives. The f/4 aperture remains wide enough to create blurred backgrounds with ease, and it's compatible with Olympus teleconverters to gain even more reach. As you'd hope, this lens is exceptionally sharp, handles like a dream due to being only 1270g, and even gives you up to 6 stops of image stabilisation with the right body. It's the perfect serious wildlife lens for all safari enthusiasts and makes sporting shots a breeze.