Best affordable prime lenses for street photography on Olympus cameras?

Just saw this and wanted to give you a heads up on a couple other options. Since you're worried about the size, check out the Panasonic pancakes too, they work fine on Olympus bodies.

• You might want to consider the Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 II ASPH. Its super tiny and really reliable for street stuff. Just be aware that its quite wide, so you'll have to stand pretty close to your subjects. It's way less confusing than a zoom.
• If you're really trying to save money, there is the Olympus Body Cap Lens 15mm f/8.0. I'd be careful with this one tho... its basically a toy. Since the aperture is fixed at f/8, it wont work well once the sun starts going down. You'll get really grainy photos. Make sure to buy from a place with a return policy just in case. Street photography is tricky so you need gear that actually works and wont fail you on your trip.

Honestly, i was in the same boat when i first got my pen camera. I ended up buying the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8 Lens and im really happy with it. Its a pancake lens so its incredibly small and doesnt attract attention. No complaints about the quality, everything just works well and the autofocus is reliable which is important when youre starting out. Quick tip: Stick to one lens like this for the whole trip. It keeps things simple so you dont have to worry about settings or changing gear in public. It definitely feels safer than carrying around big expensive gear anyway. TL;DR: The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/2.8 Lens is your best bet for under $200. Its small, simple, and very reliable for street photography.

To add to the point above: I have to politely disagree with the push for the smallest pancake lenses. Unfortunately, the image quality on older stuff like the 17mm f/2.8 is often quite disappointing compared to more modern glass. You dont want to deal with soft corners and slow autofocus while trying to capture the energy in Chicago. If you want the best results for under $200, consider these instead:

• Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH
• Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8 The 25mm f/1.7 is basically the gold standard for budget street shooting. It is fast, sharp, and usually costs around $150 brand new. Even though it is not a pancake, it is still tiny on an E-PL8 body. Honestly, dont sacrifice your photos just to save an extra inch of space tho...