These 21 Micro Four Thirds lenses are rated for infrared photography from real-world tests by IR photographers. Ratings are Good (18 lenses), Maybe (0 lenses), Bad (3 lenses), and Unknown (0 lenses) for hot spots, the bright spot some lenses leave in the center of an infrared image, and follow the thresholds below.

Zooms

IR Focal
Length		 Minimum
Aperture		 Lens Filter Weight Notes Images
Good 12-40mm ƒ/2.8 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm ƒ/2.8 PRO
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀62mm 382 g No hot spots. Fabio Canevarolo  
Good 12-40mm ƒ/2.8 OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm ƒ/2.8 PRO II
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀62mm 382 g No hot spots from ƒ/2.8 to ƒ/5.6. At ƒ/8 a hot spot is minimal but evident. Tested on a converted E-M5 II. Jerry Hughes  
Good 12-60mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 12-60mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 ASPH. POWER O.I.S.
 ⌀58mm 210 g Works very well in infrared—no hotspots and very little color cast in color infrared. Comments  
Good 12-60mm ƒ/2.8-4 Panasonic LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 12-60mm ƒ/2.8-4 ASPH. POWER O.I.S.
KEH Adorama 		⌀62mm 320 g Absolutely no hot spots with this lens on a full spectrum converted OM1 mkii. MikeB  
Good 14-42mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 Olympus 14-42mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 EZ ED MSC
KEH Adorama 		⌀37mm 93 g No noticeable hotspots, any mild center brightness above ƒ/8 is easily overcome. With a JJC 3rd party lens hood, you can use 37mm, 43mm and 58mm filters. Christo vR  
Good 14-42mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 OM System M.Zuiko ED 14-42mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 EZ
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀37mm 93 g Mild hot spot at ƒ/11 sometimes, easy to fix. Fabio Canevarolo  
Good 14-42mm   Panasonic 14-42mm G ASPH MEGA OIS
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀52mm 110 g Hot spots Not detected. Christo vR  
Good 14-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 Olympus 14-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 II ED MSC
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀58mm 285 g Barely visible, very mild center brightening at wide angle over ƒ/11. Over 40mm, no hotspot detected. Christo vR
No hot spots. Fabio Canevarolo
No hot spots.
Best performance overall ƒ/5.6-8. Andrew Richards		  
Good 45-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 45-150mm ƒ/4-5.6 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S.
 ⌀52mm 200 g Works very well in infrared—no hotspots and very little color cast in color infrared. Comments  
Bad 12-45mm ƒ/4 OM System M.Zuiko ED 12-45mm ƒ/4 PRO
KEH Adorama 		⌀58mm 254 g Hotspots badly at all apertures. On a “normal” camera it is great. MikeB  
Good 9-18mm ƒ/4-5.6 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 9-18mm ƒ/4-5.6
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀52mm   No hotspots, best performance is ƒ/5.6-8. Andrew Richards  
Good 12-32mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 12-32mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S.
B&H		 ⌀37mm   No hot spots.  
Good 8-18mm ƒ/2.8-4 Panasonic LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 8-18mm ƒ/2.8-4 ASPH.
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀67mm   Excellent throughout aperture & zoom range.  
Bad 12-100mm ƒ/4 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm ƒ/4 IS PRO
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀72mm   Bad hot spot and brown cast. Excellent normally.  
Good 40-150mm ƒ/4 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm ƒ/4 PRO
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀62mm   No hot spots or casts, and very sharp.  

Primes

IR Focal
Length		 Minimum
Aperture		 Lens Filter Weight Notes Images
Good 9mm ƒ/1.7 Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 9mm ƒ/1.7 ASPH.
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀55mm 130 g No hot spots. Fabio Canevarolo  
Good 12mm ƒ/1.4 Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm ƒ/1.4 ASPH.
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀62mm 335 g No hot spots. Fabio Canevarolo  
Good 20mm ƒ/1.4 OM System M.Zuiko 20mm ƒ/1.4 PRO
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀58mm 247 g No hot spots. Fabio Canevarolo  
Good 15mm ƒ/1.7 Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 15mm ƒ/1.7 ASPH.
KEH Adorama B&H		 ⌀46mm   No hot spots.  
Bad 7.5mm ƒ/2 Laowa 7.5mm ƒ/2 MFT
Adorama B&H		 ⌀46mm   Awful hot spot and color cast. Excellent normally.  
Good 7.5mm ƒ/3.5 Samyang 7.5mm ƒ/3.5 UMC Fisheye MFT
KEH Adorama 		n/a   Has not given hot spots yet, mainly used at ƒ/5.6-8. Andrew Richards  

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What the ratings mean. Hot spots usually appear as you increase the lens ƒ-number, so each rating depends on the lowest ƒ-stop where a hot spot shows and how severe it is, and the thresholds differ by sensor format.

  • Good: No hot spots, or one that starts at ƒ/8 or higher where diffraction impacts image sharpness.
  • Maybe: Contains a mild hot spot that starts between ƒ/4 and ƒ/5.6 and is correctable in editing.
  • Bad: A hot spot that starts at ƒ/4 or lower, or is hard to correct in editing.
  • Unknown: No data reported.

How reports are checked and rated

Micro Four Thirds Lens Mount Adapters

Use an adapter to mount lenses from other systems to Micro Four Thirds cameras.

B&H - Micro Four Thirds lens mount adapters