The Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 ($399.99 direct)($299.00 at Amazon) is one of a handful of standard-angle prime lenses currently available for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras, and the first entry from Olympus. It's priced attractively, but it doesn't capture as much light as the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 ($599.99) or the manual focus Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95. Its optical quality is excellent; images are sharp from edge to edge, even at f/1.8, and distortion is minimal. It's a lens that's deserving of accolades, and earns our Editors' Choice award.

The lens is fairly compact, but it's by no means a pancake. It measures 1.6 by 2.2 inches (HD), weighs 4.8 ounces, and supports 46mm filters. A reversible hood is included; it bayonets around the front of the lens, but you'll need to remove a decorative ring to mount it. The M.Zuiko can focus on objects as close as 9.4 inches, which hardly makes it a macro design—if you want to focus closer, consider the M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f2.8 Macro($399.00 at Amazon).

It's not weather sealed, which is a concern if you're an all-weather shooter with a sealed camera like the Olympus OM-D E-M5($499.00 at Amazon) or EM-1($799.95 at Amazon). And the build quality, while solid, isn't on par with the all-metal M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8($349.00 at Amazon). That lens also features a focus clutch mechanism for quick changes between manual and automatic focus—just pull back on the ring to switch to manual, or push it forward for autofocus. You'll need to toggle the focus mode in-camera with the 25mm. There's no optical stabilization either: Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras have that feature in the body. Panasonic shooters (with the exception of GX7 owners, which is currently the lone Lumix Micro Four Thirds camera with in-body stabilization) may be concerned, but neither the Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 nor the Voigtlander Nokton f/0.95 include optical stabilization.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the lens when paired with the OM-D E-M10($738.00 at Amazon). At f/1.8 it records 2,201 lines per picture height, which is noticeably sharper than the 1,800 lines we require to define an image as sharp. Impressively, the edges are nearly as sharp as the center at 1,956 lines. Stopping down to f/2.8 improves the score only modestly (2,259 lines), and the best performance is at f/4 (2,284 lines). Barrel distortion is a nonissue; the lens shows 0.6 percent, which is irrelevant in field conditions. The Voigtlander Nokton is just as sharp at comparable apertures and it can focus a bit closer, but it's a manual focus design. If you're willing to forgo autofocus and deal with a larger, heavier lens, you'll be rewarded with the ability to capture about 3.6 times the light at its f/0.95 aperture—but the lens is downright soft (1,380 lines) at that setting. It doesn't start to perform at acceptable levels until f/1.4, and doesn't top 2,000 lines until f/2.

But the Nokton is three times the cost of the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8. If you're in want of a standard-angle lens for a Micro Four Thirds camera, the Olympus is our pick as Editors' Choice. It's incredibly sharp, compact, and fairly light. It won't give you the light-gathering capabilities or shallow depth of field of an f/0.95 lens in all situations, but you can definitely get that look with the right shot. If you prefer a wider field of view the Olympus 17mm is as impressive of a performer, and includes the focus clutch mechanism, and there's also the M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f1.8($499.99 at Amazon) and M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f1.8($898.00 at Amazon) for photographers who prefer a tighter field of view.

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