Thought it would be fun to get some perspectives here on what members consider to be the best 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-lens kits for Micro 4/3. For the sake of this discussion, assume you were picking a kit to use for an extended period of time.

I'll start. All of the following are my personal, subjective preferences, not an attempt to say what's the best.

1-lens kit: Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. My only hesitation is the banding issue when used with the OM-D E-M5. Runner-up: PL25. A bit long to be my only lens but a fantastic lens which I don't hesitate to take as my only lens for a particular day or shoot.

2-lens kit: Panasonic 14/2.5 and Oly 45/1.8. The focal lengths are just right to cover 90% of what I'd want to shoot, and these are both exceptional lenses IMO. It helps that you can get the Pana 14 for such low prices on Ebay, but this would be my 2-lens kit even if price were no object. In fact, this is exactly how I plan to roll most days now that I got my Gold Box GX1:



Above: Left: GX1 with P14/2.5 and Ricoh GV-2 viewfinder. Right: E-M5 with O45/1.8 and Gariz soft release.


3-lens kit: Pana 14/2.5, Pana Leica 25/1.4, Oly 45/1.8. This was a tough choice for me. I nearly picked the Oly 12 in place of the Pana 14, but I like 14mm more.

4-lens kit: Pana 14, PL 25, Oly 45, Oly 75/1.8. Again, this wasn't easy for me. I thought about Pana 100-300 instead of Oly 75, but in the end I went for speed/size/performance over reach/versatility.

__________________
Amin
Mu-43.com Webmaster (Site FAQ | Help Forum | My Disclosures | My Flickriver | My G+ Profile)

Note: Links in this post may be to our affiliates. We get a small referral fee when you buy after clicking our link. Your price is unaffected.

Here's mine:

1) Panny 20mm
I use this lens the most for the FOV and brightness.

2) Oly 12mm.
Close second for the same reasons above.

3) Oly 45mm
Just a very sharp lens. Sometimes a little long for my tastes.

4) Oly 17mm.
This lens is not used as much as my 20mm, but in daylight conditions is a very good performer.

My two favorite adapted lenses are my Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 and 75mm F2.5 respectively.

__________________
E-PL1
X-E1
X100
E-PM1
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/13969659@N04/

For my shooting style... All would be paired with an OMD.

One lens - Nokton 25mm - does what it does very, very well and has a character/personality that never found with the Lumix 20mm. For the last year this has basically been my 'one lens kit'.

Two lenses - Nokton 17.5mm and m.ZD 45mm. I just love working with these two focal lengths. I'm also a big fan of the two-prime kit - one can be limiting and three just muddy's the water

Three lens - Lumix 7-14mm, Nokton 25mm and m.ZD 45mm. Same as above but adds the ultra-wide as a dedicated landscape lens.

Four lens - Lumix 7-14mm, Lumix 12-35mm, Nokton 17.5mm and m.ZD 75mm.

__________________
At first blush I am tempted to conclude that a satisfactory hobby must be in large degree useless, inefficient, laborious, or irrelevant. - Aldo Leopold

GH2 + Lumix 7-14/f4 + m.ZD 12/f2 + Nokton 25/f0.95 + m.ZD 45/f1.8 + SMC-M 50/f1.4 + m.ZD 75/f1.8
Flickr
Hiking blog

1. PL20mm f1.7 - Small, Versatile, Great Images ($315)
2. Adds the Zuiko Digital 70-300mm f4/5.6 - Long Range ($265)
3. Adds the Zuiko OM 50mm f1.4 - Outstanding Images ($97)
4. Adds the Hexanon AR 135mm f3.2 - Outstanding Images ($46)

I have many other lenses I really like, but those are the ones I keep coming back to over and over again.

So I am assuming we're also taking cost into consideration right?

On the GX1...

1 lens kit - PL25
The camera is pretty small and I think I'd want the extra speed, better AF and slightly better IQ if it were my only lens.

2 lens kit - P14 and O45
The kit I use now (just sold my P20 in fact) and I am surprised how well it works.

3 lens kit - P14, P20 and O45
If Olympus does bring out a 25/1.8 I could see substituting that for the P20. The PL25 would also been a good choice but I think cost would play a significant factor in my choice.

4 lens kit - P12, P20, O45 and P100-300
When you need a BIG zoom nothing else really will do

For me, it's.......

One lens - The Panasonic 20mm (well this is a bit ridiculous......if I was only going out with 1 lens, I'd be taking my Fuji X100)

2 lenses - Add the Panasonic 45-200

3 lenses - Add the Sigma 105mm f2 8 DG Macro Lens EX in Olympus mount with a 4/3 - m4/3 adapter (It's my favorite lens, but too specialist to be in the top 2)

4 lenses - Panasonic 20mm, Super Takumar 50mm f1.4, Sigma 105mm, Panasonic 100mm-300mm

1 lens - 20 mm. Why wouldn't it be?

2 lenses - 20 and 45. One would go in my pocket easily.

3 lenses - 7-14, 25, 45. Many DSLR folks use a similar FL setup.

4 lenses, 12-35, 35-100, 7-14, 25. Many rich DSLR folks use this equivalent FL setup.

__________________
E-M5 | M. Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 | Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8

Flickr

For me with the OM-d it would be

one lens setup, 12mm F2

two lens setup, 12mm F2, 45mm F1.8

three lens setup a, 7-14mm F4, 12mm F2, 45mm F1.8
or
three lens setup b, 7-14mm F4, 12-35mm F2.8, 35-100 f2.8

four lens setup a, 7-14mm F4, 12mm F2, 45mm F1.8, 75mm F1.8
or
four lens setup b, 7-14mm F4, 12-35mm F2.8, 35-100 f2.8, 100-300 F4

__________________
http://www.bobdamico.com

1 lens: 14-45
2 lens: 7-14, 14-45
3 lens: 7-14, 25, PL45
4 lens: 7-14, 25, 35-100, 100-300

For my generally travel photography on a G3)

1 - 12-35/2.8 (used to be 20/1.7 on the GF1, but with the better high ISO, I can live with the 2 stops)

2 - add the 45-200 (will likely be replaced by the 35-100, especially if they come out with a 2X teleconverter)

3 - add the 20 back in for "stealth" carry or super low light

4 - hard to say, add either the 45/2.8 or 8/3.5FE (or both, and remove the 20/1.7)

__________________
Comments and criticism welcome! It's how we get better!

White G3:P20/1.7:P45-200:PL45/2.8:P8FE:P12-35/2.8

Pictures here: http://troyandmollyalloverthemap.shutterfly.com/

http://500px.com/TroyGorrell