Pancake lenses are a perfect match for smaller MFT camera bodies, making them some of the most pocketable, and compact, interchangeable lens cameras.
M43 sensor size is 17.3 x 13 mm with a 4:3 aspect ratio. It is 93.6% larger than a "1 inch" sensor, and 32.3% smaller than a Canon APS-C sensor. This is only important because it means that technically it should only ever need smaller lenses than an APS-C camera - but sometimes third-party manufacturers adapt larger lenses to the smaller M43 mount.
I don't think there's a hard definition of what the maximum length of a pancake lens is, but around 30 mm has been my personal limit on pocketability, and even that pushes it... depending on your pockets.
My personal favourite at the moment is the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7, but I've yet to give other lenses a good run (work in progress).
Micro Four-Thirds Pancake Lenses
Currently, there are really only 6 pancake lenses with auto-focus available - if we don't count model increments:
- Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 (21 mm protrusion, versions I & II)
- Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8 (22 mm protrusion)
- Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ (22.5 mm protrusion)
- Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 (24 mm protrusion)
- Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II (25.5 mm protrusion, versions I & II)
- SGImage AF 25mm f/1.8 (31 mm protrusion)
List of All Auto-focus M43 Lenses by Length
Below is a table of M43 auto-focus lenses sorted by length, which is how long the lens protrudes from the camera when installed. It'll give you an idea of what is the most portable combination.
MFT Pancake Body Cap Lenses (BCL)
I have excluded these manual focus body cap lenses (BCL), mainly to keep the list AF friendly, but also most BCLs do not have close to the same optical quality as the above AF lenses. They are definitely the most portable option if these exceptions are okay with you.
| Brand | Model | Length (mm) | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympus | BCL-1580 15mm f/8.0 | 9 | 30 |
|
| Olympus / OM System | BCL-0980 9mm f/8.0 Fisheye | 12.8 | 30 |
|
| 7artisans | 18mm f/6.3 | 9 | 30 |
|
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