The engine's answer
Best lens for landscapes, under €500
OM System M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro
82% match
The field-macro featherweight
Why it wins here
The OM System M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro takes this question at €500 — exactly at the €500 ceiling — with a 82% match against 65 current lenses. For landscapes the engine leans on sharpness and build & sealing: it scores 84/100 and 62/100, where the pool averages 82/100 and 68/100. At 185 g it is lighter than the average lens here (633 g). No prime-or-zoom preference was required, so the whole pool of 65 was in play.
The dimensions where it beats the rest of the field by the most, for this question specifically.
- Budget
- Use
What's good
- 1:1 (2:1 equivalent framing) at 185 g
- Sealed against the weather bugs live in
What to watch
- Slow, whirry AF
- Plastic feel for a PRO-adjacent price
What came close — and what each gave up
- Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN76%A constant f/2.8 that fits in a coat pocketThe Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN (76% match) trails on build & sealing — 55/100 against 62/100. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- Panasonic Leica 9mm f/1.774%Ultra-wide drama in a soap-bar packageThe Panasonic Leica 9mm f/1.7 (74% match) trails on sharpness — 78/100 against 84/100. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR71%The street pancake-adjacent classicThe Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR (71% match) trails on sharpness — 74/100 against 84/100. Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
Questions this answer raises
- Is the OM System M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro within a €500 budget?
- Yes — at €500 it lands exactly on the ceiling, with nothing left over; the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN costs €450 and the Panasonic Leica 9mm f/1.7 costs €500.
- How good is the OM System M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro for landscapes?
- On the use question it scores 65%, 2 points above the average of the 65 lenses ranked. Its strongest numbers for this use are sharpness (84/100) and build & sealing (62/100).
- What comes closest to the OM System M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro for landscapes?
- The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN at 76%, then the Panasonic Leica 9mm f/1.7 at 74%. The section above names the measure each one lost on.
Change an assumption
This page answers one photographer's question. Yours is not that question — adjust the subject, the format or the budget and watch the whole field re-rank.
Answer for your own shooting