I'm lucky to have travelled the world fairly extensively – and wherever I've gone, from Ireland to India, there's one lens I've always taken with me.
A good 90% of the time I take the Olympus PEN E-P7 with me, as it's the best travel camera for my needs: ultra-compact yet super powerful, with 4.5 stops of in-body image stabilization (IBIS), a Tri-X-like film simulation, front and rear control dials, and a 180° flipping screen for selfies.
And when I'm rocking a pocket powerhouse like this, there's one lens that's almost always on the front of it: the Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Pancake – definitely the best lens for travel photography in my book. And right now, it's the cheapest it's been all year if you want to pick one up for yourself.
Why do I love it so much? Firstly, its size. Just take a look how tiny this thing is, next to a can of soda:
That's its collapsed size, of course. But that's the beauty of an electronic pancake lens like this: it's barely thicker than an Oreo until you actually need to take a picture, whereupon it expands into full-size shooting mode – then back down to nothing when you're done. That makes it perfect for stuffing in a bag or pocket!
The second thing I love about this lens is the focal length. Because Micro Four Thirds cameras (MFT) have a 2x crop factor, that 14-42mm zoom is an effective 28-84mm lens in full frame terms – giving you a standard zoom that literally fits in the palm of your hand. Again, it's a perfect travel companion.
Thirdly, because this is an electronic zoom lens, it has a motorized zoom that can be controlled either by the focus ring or via the smartphone app for remote shooting. This makes it an amazing lens for things like selfies and group shots, as you can set the camera up and then zoom in and out from your phone!
I also love the fact that it has the same lens cap size as the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 – which is the lens I always tag team it with, for those times when I want to take a portrait with shallow depth of field (45mm being a 90mm equivalent on MFT). I know it's a bad habit, but I leave the camera lens naked so I'm always ready to shoot – it's great being able to hotswap a single cap!
Get the lens cheap!
The Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Pancake lens is among the Amazon Prime Day camera deals – and it's currently at its lowest price of the year in both the US and UK. If this lens isn't already in your kit bag, for just $250 or £220 I think it's an absolute no-brainer.
It's better suited to smaller Olympus / OM cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV and OM System OM-5 Mark II; if you're using a bigger body like an OM-1 Mark II or a Lumix camera, you'll probably want something a bit chunkier (and probably a bit faster, and maybe weather sealed as well). But if you want to stay as small and light as possible, look no further!
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Take a look at the best Olympus / OM System lenses along with the best Micro Four Thirds lenses from all brands.
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