Pancake lenses | Magically miniaturise your camera

A 'pancake' lens is an ultra-slim fixed focal length lens for digital SLRs or hybrid cameras like the Micro Four Thirds models from Olympus and Panasonic. Pancake lenses often have a wide maximum aperture too, making them good for low light and shallow depth of field effects.

This is Panasonic's 20mm f1.7, designed for its G1, GH1 and GF1 cameras. It's equivalent to a 40mm lens in 35mm/full-frame camera terms. Olympus has produced a 17mm (34mm equivalent) f2.8 pancake lens for its Pen E-P1 model.

Pancake lenses appeal to photographers looking for smaller camera/lens combinations, the simplicity of a fixed focal length and the faster maximum apertures and superior optical quality. The resolution may be no higher than a good-quality zoom's, but you can expect far less distortion and chromatic aberration.