ben , the panny kit zoom is really a good lens you are right , also i would recommend looking into manual focus primes, as fast lenses in m4\3 af , except for the 20 1.7 do not as yet exist. personally i love the 50 1.5 nokton voigtlander ,and many others
i love the superior sharpness of the panny kit zoom[used with the gf1 and ep1]
also its robust construction that allows me to mount a olympus a-28 .8x wide adapter made for an old bridge zoom, with no issues and wonderful sharpness to the corners,[at 14mm only] the large adapter weighs perhaps half a pound but works flawlessly , something the delicate olympus 14-42 zoom could not handle
it makes the 14mm end become 11.5 and retains af as well, i waited patiently for the
9-18 m4\3 lens but at 700 dollars for such a lackluster speed entry level barrel\optic quality lens, i will not be getting one on principle as it is grossly overpriced.