Jump to: Best Budget Lenses · My Ideal Kit · Cinema / Image Quality · Best POV Lens · Smallest + Lightest · Best One-Lens Setup · Full Lens List
I’ve been shooting with MISSION 1 PRO ILS for the past six months, and the more I use it, the more it reminds me of what originally drew me to GoPro. When I first discovered GoPro, the magic was that I didn’t have to choose between doing the activity and filming it. I could just go ski, ride, travel, or explore and come back with footage of the experience.
ILS brings some of that same thinking into an interchangeable-lens camera. A lot of the adventures and travel I shoot are situations where size, weight, and space really matter. Carrying a full-size camera body, multiple lenses, batteries, and everything else while skiing or mountain biking isn’t always practical, and sometimes the easiest solution is simply leaving the bigger camera behind. ILS gives me a small camera that I can actually bring along while opening up a completely different set of creative options through interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lenses.
Understanding the ILS Crop Factor
ILS has approximately a 2.7x crop compared with full frame, or about 3x with HyperSmooth on. So a 16mm lens on ILS looks closer to 43mm on full frame, or about 48mm with HyperSmooth. If you want the familiar look of a 16mm full-frame lens, you need something around 6mm on ILS.
Throughout this guide, “Acts like XXmm on ILS” uses the standard 2.7x crop. HyperSmooth will tighten the field of view a little further.
Which Micro Four Thirds Lenses Work on ILS?
ILS uses a native Micro Four Thirds mount, but it does not have electrical contacts. Lenses that rely on electronic focus or aperture control most likely won’t work, so fully manual lenses are the safest choice.
Compatibility isn’t always obvious, even on paper. I’ve ordered and returned lenses that didn’t work as expected, so every lens below is one I’ve personally tested and vetted on ILS unless noted otherwise.
Best ILS Lenses on a Budget
One of the great things about Micro Four Thirds is that you can build a really capable lens kit without spending a fortune. There are a ton of fully manual options through places like B&H and Amazon that are inexpensive, compact, and genuinely good, and these are the lenses I’ve spent the most time shooting because I think they’re where most people will start with ILS.
You don’t need expensive glass to get great results, so these are the budget-friendly lenses I’d recommend first.
7Artisans 25mm F1.8
$73 · Acts like 68mm on ILS
Buy: B&H | Amazon
I reach for this lens all the time. You’ll be surprised at the almost 70mm focal length at first. Be patient, learn it, and work with it. It provides great shallow depth of field, and can produce very artsy, cinematic portraits.
TTArtisan 40mm Macro
$113 · Acts like 108mm on ILS
Buy: B&H | Amazon
A long lens that doubles as a super-macro is a win for me. I use this lens for shooting far off subjects like skiers/surfers, but also get up close with water drops on leaves, eyeballs.
Laowa 17mm
$149 · Acts like 46mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
A natural, versatile field of view that works well for everyday coverage, environmental portraits, and establishing shots. Something to remember is even though it’s an almost 50mm equivalent, a 17mm native lens is still pretty wide – therefore know that wide angle lens’ focus range is much closer than that of something like the 25mm or the 40mm. You’ll see depth of field with objects within a few feet, but after that, everything is either in focus or out of focus (maybe a good thing?). At $149, this is the cheapest lens in the Laowa M43 family.
Together, these three lenses create a compact, affordable kit that covers everything from natural everyday perspectives to shallow-depth-of-field portraits, detailed macro shots, and tighter telephoto compositions.
My Ideal ILS Lens Kit
If I were putting together one ILS kit for myself, these are the lenses I would actually want in the bag. Each one earns its place by striking the right balance between image quality, size, weight, useful focal lengths, and real-world usability.
Laowa 4mm Circular Fisheye
$199 · Acts like 11mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
This is essentially the Ultra-Wide lens mod for the Mission series (for now). It looks essentially like half of a 360 camera when attached. It’s supported on-camera though, meaning when you turn hypersmooth on, it crops in and gives you a stabilized, usable wide FOV, wider than that of the standard Mission camera. When I need cinematic POV, this is the lens to get. Use GoPro Reframe in Premiere to do some lens correction in post.
Laowa 6mm Cinema
$699 · Acts like 16mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
This is the widest zero distortion lens Laowa offers… unfortunately the price is not so kind. Because of the nearly 3x crop factor, this is a very important lens for getting that wide angle (non-fisheye) look. For a more affordable option with a similar feel, consider the Laowa 7.5mm instead, which is a close 2nd in the FOV.
Laowa 9mm
$399 · Acts like 24mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
Wide enough for landscapes, action, interiors, and establishing shots without the extreme distortion of a fisheye. It’s a strong everyday lens. This is the equivalent of your iPhone’s main camera FOV.
7Artisans 25mm F1.8
$73 · Acts like 68mm on ILS
Buy: B&H | Amazon
It’s cheap, it’s small, it’s got character. I love this lens.
Laowa 50mm Macro
$549 · Acts like 135mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
Between the 40mm macro mentioned in the budget zone above, and this lens – you can immediately notice why this lens is 4x the cost. The build is beautiful, and the sharpness is unmatched. For proper macro shots, this is the lens.
Best Cinema / Image Quality Lenses
These lenses prioritize image quality, rendering, and overall look over being inexpensive or ultra-small.
Laowa 6mm Cinema
$699 · Acts like 16mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
If you need wide, this is the best/widest zero-distortion lens.
Laowa 17mm Cinema
$399 · Acts like 46mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
Any of the Laowa Cinema lenses will have great sharpness and a good build. Decide what equivalent FOV you need and grab the one that suits you.
Meike 35mm Cinema
$329 · Acts like 95mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
The Meike cinema lenses could be arguably too big for run and gun setups, but they’re great lenses with good focal lengths.
Viltrox 56mm Cinema
$415 · Acts like 151mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
This lens is super sharp. If you’re shooting long-lens stuff and want to really see what 8K looks like, this lens is the one. It’s the biggest and heaviest lens I own, but it still fits in my ski jacket pocket.
Best ILS Lens for POV
POV shooting has different requirements than traditional handheld filmmaking because the camera is often mounted directly to the body, helmet, or gear. A wide field of view, compact size, low weight, minimal lens protrusion, easy manual focus, and balanced weight distribution all help keep the setup comfortable, stable, and immersive.
Laowa 4mm Circular Fisheye
$199 · Acts like 11mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
Smallest + Lightest ILS Lenses
These lenses keep the camera kit as compact and lightweight as possible without giving up practical shooting options. They’re ideal for travel, hiking, skiing, biking, or any situation where carrying less means moving farther, faster, and more freely.
7Artisans 25mm F1.8
$73 · Acts like 68mm on ILS
Buy: B&H | Amazon
For now, this is one of the smallest setups you can get while still getting good results. There are some tiny pancake lenses but they are in the F6 and above range and aren’t really worth shooting.
Laowa 4mm Circular Fisheye
$199 · Acts like 11mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
This is essentially the Ultra-Wide lens mod for the Mission series (for now). Of all the fisheye lenses, this one is by-far the smallest and lightest. I wear this setup on my mountain bike helmet, and have used it on the GoPro Bite mount while skiing.
Laowa 50mm Macro
$549 · Acts like 135mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
This lens isn’t ‘tiny’ when looking at the other two in this list, but if you need a long-lens focal length, this is the smallest lens I’ve used.
Best One-Lens ILS Setup
If you only want to buy one lens and leave it on the camera most of the time, these are the two options I’d choose from. Both offer a strong balance of versatile focal length, image quality, size, and everyday usability across a wide range of shooting situations.
7Artisans 25mm F1.8
$73 · Acts like 68mm on ILS
Buy: B&H | Amazon
I reach for this lens all the time. You’ll be surprised at the almost 70mm focal length at first. Be patient, learn it, and work with it. It provides great shallow depth of field, and can produce very artsy, cinematic portraits. If this is your one-lens setup, you’ll be stacking beautiful shallow depth-of-field portraits to go along with your normal GoPro footage.
OR
Laowa 17mm
$149 · Acts like 46mm on ILS
Buy: B&H
If 70mm is too much to wrap your brain around, this is a more versatile focal length. Long enough to get some nice portraits, but wide enough to still get some decent landscapes.
Full ILS-Compatible Lens List (that I’ve tested)
Fisheye Lenses
- Meike 3.5mm Circular Fisheye (not currently supported on-camera) | Acts like 10mm on ILS | $139 | B&H
- Laowa 4mm Circular Fisheye | Acts like 11mm on ILS | $199 | B&H
- 7Artisans 6mm Fisheye F2 | Acts like 16mm on ILS | $199 | B&H
- 7Artisans 7.5mm Fisheye | Acts like 20mm on ILS | $139 | B&H
- Meike 7.5mm Fisheye | Acts like 20mm on ILS | $139 | B&H
- Brightin Star 7.5mm Fisheye | Acts like 20mm on ILS | $139 | B&H
Zero-Distortion Manual Lenses
Stabilization supported on-camera.
- Laowa 6mm Cinema | Acts like 16mm on ILS | $699 | B&H
- Laowa 7.5mm | Acts like 20mm on ILS | $389 | B&H
- Laowa 7.5mm Cinema | Acts like 20mm on ILS | $599 | B&H
- Laowa 9mm | Acts like 24mm on ILS | $399 | B&H
- Laowa 9mm Cinema | Acts like 24mm on ILS | $599 | B&H
- Laowa 10mm Cinema | Acts like 27mm on ILS | $549 | B&H
- AstriHori 14mm F4.5 Pancake | Acts like 38mm on ILS | No longer available | B&H
- Laowa 17mm Cinema | Acts like 46mm on ILS | $399 | B&H
- Laowa 17mm | Acts like 46mm on ILS | $149 | B&H
- 7Artisans 25mm F1.8 | Acts like 68mm on ILS | $73 | Amazon | B&H
- TTArtisan 25mm F1.8 | Acts like 68mm on ILS | $64 | Amazon | B&H
- Meike 35mm Cinema | Acts like 95mm on ILS | $329 | B&H
- 7Artisans 35mm | Acts like 95mm on ILS | $69 | Amazon | B&H
- TTArtisan 40mm Macro | Acts like 108mm on ILS | $113 | Amazon | B&H
- Laowa 50mm Macro | Acts like 135mm on ILS | $549 | B&H
- Viltrox 56mm Cinema | Acts like 151mm on ILS | $415 | B&H
- Meike 85mm Cinema | Acts like 230mm on ILS | $329 | B&H