Olympus 15mm f8.0 Body Cap Wide Angle Lens, Black - for Micro Four Thirds System

2018-05-28T20:00:00

I keep this on my E-M1 whenever there isn’t another lens on the camera. A few times I grabbed the camera and fired off a few shots that were just plain fun. Not something I’d print and hang on the wall but great for social media. At a price of $99.00 you can’t go wrong.

StephenG

Originally posted at

2018-03-07T19:00:00

Fun little lens. Stuck on my pen mini since I bought this. Very handy and easy to use.

Jef P.

Originally posted at

2016-02-22T19:43:04

I purchased this lens because I had a coupon from Adorama that cut it's price in half. I give it 3 stars because, in reality, it is essentially a toy. However I think it will be a useful toy and something I can have fun with. I will keep it on my E-PL5 camera that serves as a backup to my OM-D E-M5 and my Nikon D300. I'll use it when I have a long or intermediate zoom on the primary camera and I want to take a quick generic shot where quality isn't important. Because it doesn't look like a lens, I can also use it in situations when I want to be unobtrusive, e.g. when I want grab a candid shot one of my grandkids without attracting his/her attention. I may find other uses for it as time goes on.

DON A.

2015-09-04T20:00:00

This lens is quite imperfect compared to any other entry level lens that Olympus has. With that said, it offers a decent cheap wide-angle perspective for only $50. This is great for street photography (as long as your images don't need to be very sharp), and it is surprisingly good at long exposures. Keep in mind that the lens is not trying to be a regularly made 15mm-- it's a body cap! It is like having a cool 120 format Holga, and easier to work with. Just adjust the focus to close, far, or infinity. You can really work this little lens great with the OI Share app and do unnoticed street photography with just your phone.

Dana

Originally posted at

2015-08-31T20:00:00

So I got this thinking it'd be really fun and still take somewhat hight quality pictures. I was wrong. Pretty disappointed and makes the camera perform terribly. It does serve well as a backup cap, but thats about it. I wish it was at least decent because having a 9mm- 18mm equivalent would have been a nice addition, but I found I was better off using my phones camera which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place.

Trevor

Originally posted at

2015-07-20T20:00:00

I like this lens because it is so tiny and is great for artistic shots. It's inexpensive and definitely worth it. While it is limited in it's capabilities, it is fun to use and takes impressive shots for it's size and price. It's a great lens to use for landscapes and it so tiny, it easily fits in any bag when it is on my EM-5 Mark II camera body. I love grabbing it on the go for some fast and quirky shoots.

Jessica

Originally posted at

2015-06-08T20:00:00

This is the type of a lens that focuses on just being a lens, a small one. It has visible vignetting, barrel distortion, soft edges. and no auto-focus. But it still manages to be extremely cheap and small. the only few scenarios in which this lens can be used is for selfies (for it's light weight and small size), a cheap way of photographing landscapes, and it can be used as a toy when it is used with art filters; it gives this retro feeling that photos where shot with an old lens, and that feeling can be expanded with photo editing. A reminder for people how will buy it for selfies: it does not have auto-focus.

Mustafa

Originally posted at

2015-01-29T19:00:00

This Lens can be quite fun to use if you manage your expectations as you should considering the cost of this. It is especially useful with Olympus' in body Art Filters. Yes this Lens is slow at F8 and a little soft but considering the price it performs better than expected.

James

Originally posted at

2014-07-07T21:00:00

What can I say? This converts your M43 camera into a Kodak Brownie circa 1950. And this is sometimes what you want if you don't want to be bogged down but want something a step above a camera phone.

Thomas N.

2014-01-24T19:00:00

I have played with Holga before but with this body cap as slim as is. I can fit my OMD E-M5 with grip in to my small bag at ease and able to snap shot if I don't have time to change it. Center focus is well but outer seems little blur in some shot I tested. Overall nice little cap to have. I just got 12-40M M.Zuiko Pro so I'm playing with that lens too ..

Liberator

Originally posted at

2013-09-16T21:00:00

Good lens to keep on the front of the body for travel and everyday use, but not the best optics. Must be used in "shoot without lens" mode on Panasonic cameras. Has convenient settings for close up, infinity and closed.

TOM J.

2013-07-22T21:00:00

Bought this lens for its small size and light weight. I find something this small amazing. It takes a little work to figure it out but now I take great pictures with it. It works best outdoors and in good light due to the f/8 aperture!

Nikonmark

2013-07-03T20:00:00

The lens body cap does what it claims to do. It keeps dust out of the camera innards and serves as an acceptable fixed focus lens. The aperture is set at f8 and the camera's variable ISO takes care of the exposure. With this lens you have converted your $500 camera to the equivalent of a Box Brownie. The pictures are fairly evenly illuminated and reasonably sharp. Adequate for snapshots, even 4x6" prints, It might make a decent street shooting camera. The body cap is OK for using your Pen as a P&S but for real photography put a decent focusing lens on your camera.

Lawrence

Originally posted at

2013-03-15T20:00:00

The Body cap lens is an exercise on contingence. It's all about learning to make do with what you've got: it's quirky and restricted, a rarity in the days of intelligent cameras,perfect optics and instant autofocus. However, the BCL is a be-with-you-at-all-times lens, especially if you have a Pen Mini, which will now fit in your pocket. There is no autofocus, so there is zero AF lag, just shoot. Fixed f/8 means everything is in focus, so just capture the moment. The M4/3 system is thriving with awesome lenses, and there are arguably “better” alternatives, but none is funner than the BCL. It’s also very inexpensive, so there is not much financial compromise ;)

GeoDesigner

Originally posted at

2013-02-04T19:00:00

fun toy, but f/8 limits its usefulness indoor (unless you plan to drag the shutter for a certain look and feel).

TAYA S.

2013-02-04T19:00:00

This is a fun toy and makes a MFT camera small and sleek enough to pocket. But you might as well just get the Panasonic 14mm pancake lens, which is much much sharper and more versatile than this lens and not too much bigger. My E-M5 fits in my coat pocket just as well with the Panasonic 14mm as it does with this one; it doesn't fit in a pants or shirt pocket well with either. If you want a camera that fits in your pocket, I bet almost any point and shoot will give give you better image quality in a smaller size.

NEAL M.

2013-01-30T19:00:00

Don't expect photos that you can print to 16 x 24, but for the quick snap without the need to remove a body cap, you can't make a better investment. It's pre-focused to .3 m (11.8") or set to ? and being f/8 and 30 mm wide angle to boot it's perfect for those I wish I had a lens on my camera moments and with this you always will.

Peter

Originally posted at

2013-01-18T19:00:00

This is a very well corrected triplet lens for the price. It is not a Zeiss quality lens, but that was never the intention of its design. With this lens on my E-M5 and the eyecup removed, I can actually put this combination in my shirt pocket. My jacket pockets do not even require the removal of the eyecup to fit. The fixed f8 hyperfocal distance allows for acceptable imaging from approximately 3.1 feet to infinity. The close up setting allows a focus of approximately one foot with a depth of field just under 4 inches. Yes, there will be some "softness" to the image at both ends of the focus range. And, yes, there will be some slight chromatic aberration and distortion at the corners, but no more than what one would expect from a simple triplet lens. And, under real world conditions, these are hardly noticeable. What is important about this lens from a photojournalistic point of view is the ability to just pull the camera out and get an acceptable image immediately. It is also valuable for travel and outdoor photography. This lens reduces the size of any micro 4/3 camera while still providing weatherproofing and a camera at a moment's notice. It allows for a close up flower shot followed immediately by a panoramic shot with no real focusing, just composing. I can assure you, come rain or shine, this lens will be on my E-M5 when I am not toting my camera bag around.

bill