[Sinister]

Olympus 17mm F1.8

[yucafrita]

The other day in the botanical garden...

[IchabodCrane]

Dear fellow Pentaxians:

Thanks for posting these Olympus and Panasonic images. I always enjoy looking at whatever is posted as it helps me take better images (at least that's what I tell myself). I'm thinking of getting a m4/3 camera to compliment my K-3 which, maybe, someday will be replaced by a K-1. You are the right people to ask as I trust your input as veteran Pentax users.

What's on my potential shopping list right now is the Oly E-M1 which should have some good prices as it's soon to be replaced. Pair that with the Oly 12-40/2.8 or stick to primes? Are there other bodies I should consider? Am I even making sense by looking at this class of camera?

Many thanks.

[UncleVanya]

Dear fellow Pentaxians:

Thanks for posting these Olympus and Panasonic images. I always enjoy looking at whatever is posted as it helps me take better images (at least that's what I tell myself). I'm thinking of getting a m4/3 camera to compliment my K-3 which, maybe, someday will be replaced by a K-1. You are the right people to ask as I trust your input as veteran Pentax users.

What's on my potential shopping list right now is the Oly E-M1 which should have some good prices as it's soon to be replaced. Pair that with the Oly 12-40/2.8 or stick to primes? Are there other bodies I should consider? Am I even making sense by looking at this class of camera?

Many thanks.

I prefer Panasonic over Olympus bodies. I like the UI and the ergonomics of Panasonic over Olympus myself but I have not had a lot of time playing with Olympus so I may be biased by expectation. This article is by a person who owned the OM-5 for 18 months before testing the GX7 and falling for it over the EM-5:
*The GX7 vs the OM-D E-M5, battle for my affection, Round 1 – IBIS, EVF’s & LCD’s | Tyson Robichaud Photo-blography

Back to your original question. What lenses to get. If you buy an Olympus body be aware that some Panasonic lenses will exhibit purple fringing. Read this for details about why this happens and how to avoid it: Purple Fringing with Panasonic MFT Lenses on Olympus MFT Bodies

When I used my GX-7 before I loaned it to my dad my strategy was based around it being my #2 system and compactness with good IQ was my primary motivation for lens selections. I went with some prime and some zoom. My setup was: Olympus Body Cap fisheye (9mm), Olympus 17mm f/2.8 prime, Sigma 30mm f/2.8 prime, K mount adapter and Canon FD mount adapter for use with Takumar Bayonet 135 f2.5 and Canon 85mm f/1.8 SSC for telephoto primes (these stayed home most of the time). I added the 14-42PZ pancake lens and the 35-100 f/4-5.6 collapsible zoom. The 14-42 was in my initial package and I was considering selling it to get the Panasonic 12-32 f/3.5-5.6 as a replacement.

So in the end I would have had:
Native:
12-32 + 35-100 f/3.5-5.6, f/4-5.6 coverage = 24-200 in a two lens zoom kit for bright sunny days use.
9mm f/8 Special purpose fisheye for extreme wide angle use.
17mm f/2.8 for street shooting prime and lower light work than the zooms
30mm f/2.8 for a short telephoto/portrait lens

adapted:
135 f/2.5 for long telephoto work like birds
85 f/1.8 for portraits and other medium telephoto use.

My Dad has since picked up the Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7 and the 35-100 f/2.8 - he is debating the 12-35 f/2.8. But here's the thing. Despite the 35-100 being about the size of the 18-135 and probably lighter - it's still quite bulky compared to the camera mounted with the 17mm prime. It is still crazy small compared to my K-3 and 50-135 and it is super well balanced. Only you candecide what you really want. If what you want is a solid platform for great pictures that is smaller but not tiny - then the 2.8 pro zooms are awesome. If you want tiny to the point of insanity - grab some pancacke zooms or primes and enjoy.

Dad will likely have me sell my the slower 35-100 f4-5.6 (basically unused) and the 30mm Sigma. His kit will mainly be either 12-32 (if he ever buys it) or the 14-42 PZ kit,combined with the 35-100. Then he will also have the three other lenses (9mm, 17mm, and 42.5) as well as the FD and PK adapted lenses.

[yucafrita]

Well, looking at these cameras depend of your needs. I have a E-M5 II with extra handle and battery grip; without its quite small. The E-M1 is about the same size like the 5 with grip attached. I wanted something small and weather-sealed with decent video capability. I love EVF.

Lens wise I dont have primes yet, only the 12-40 and the 60 mm macro from Olympus. I have to fin out whether I need more primes or not. Most users say the 12-40 rocks. I dont have reason to disagree. F2.8 might be the limiting factor, depepnding on what to shoot. I do use Pentax glass on the 5 but keep in mind the crop factor. Attaching other glass via adapter is something nice to play with but I doubt it is an alternative to native primes. Its rather complimentary, I guess.

The E-M1 is said to have the better CAF compared to the E-M5 II. I cant comment on that. I wonder how it compares to Pentax AF system.

For me, the OOC jpegs are quite nice but I currently digging into RAW, which obviously gives more possibilities. I am tempted to say that the Olympus MFT delivers Pentax colors, but I might be wrong.

[wildman]

Still messing about trying to see what I can wring out of that little sensor.
Selected a less then ideal RAW file, see EXIF - neither very good nor bad, and tried to push the crop to it's limits just to see what would come out of the other end of Photoshop ...

Hummer at about 25 feet. E-M10 with the 560mm.

[UncleVanya]

I would say the main attraction for legacy lenses is fun factor but there were at one time significant gaps in M43's primes in particular. Today you can get native AF prime lenses up to 75mm - then there is a gap to 300mm and then nothing more. On the "native" manual focus lens side you can get the Samyang 85, 100, 135, and 300 (mirror) as well as the Tokina 300 mirror, but there are few choices above 75mm. Given the 2x crop something like the 85mm SSC f/1.8 Canon my dad is using becomes a fairly fast long portrait lens akin to the old Nikon 180 2.8 (effectively a 170 f/1.8) and the takumar bayonet becomes a effectively 270mm f/2.5. Adding a native 1.4x or 2.0x adapter to the lenses yields usable but crazy long reach for extreme telephoto use. The best use of legacy is in the moderately fast lenses that are short telephoto to medium telephoto since this provides such extreme reach at reasonable weight and size.

Just think about even something like the lowly 200mm f/5.6 - it's suddenly more like a 400mm f/5.6 but smaller and lighter than that lens ever dreamed of being.

[mecrox]

Dear fellow Pentaxians:

Thanks for posting these Olympus and Panasonic images. I always enjoy looking at whatever is posted as it helps me take better images (at least that's what I tell myself). I'm thinking of getting a m4/3 camera to compliment my K-3 which, maybe, someday will be replaced by a K-1. You are the right people to ask as I trust your input as veteran Pentax users.

What's on my potential shopping list right now is the Oly E-M1 which should have some good prices as it's soon to be replaced. Pair that with the Oly 12-40/2.8 or stick to primes? Are there other bodies I should consider? Am I even making sense by looking at this class of camera?

Many thanks.

I guess it depends on what you plan for an M43 set-up so that it has uses of its own and isn't just overlap or duplication. I value it for its smaller size and weight so it is ideal, for me, for things like travel, hiking, street and generally informal, impromptu use. I also like its modernity and excellent selection of lenses and accessories. FWIW, I have an E-M5 Mark II and did well for a while with the excellent Oly 12-40mm f2.8, a very good lens, and a nifty-fifty (Olympus 25mm). I've added a couple of lenses since but still take most pics with those two.

Ii's hard to make more than general points because intended use is so important. For example, there is a well thought-of all-in-one, the Oly 14-140mm, which might be an ideal travel lens (Panasonic has an eqivalent) if that is on the cards. There are some excellent primes, too, but some of those are Panasonic ones, the "PanaLeicas". Panasonic also make some excellent zooms like the 12-35mm f2.8 or the 35-100mm f2.8 which plenty of folks prefer over their Olympus equivalents (I have never used a Panasonic camera, alas).

In terms of bang for the buck, the Oly OM10 Mark II and the Panasonic GX8 seem pretty tempting at the moment, at least where I live.

One point, strictly imho: because the sensor is smaller and therefore more is demanded of a lens in this format, I suspect it pays to be choosy and get good glass only.

Second point: if you are hoping for cracking fast tracking AF for sports coverage, you won't do better than a DSLR. Imho, mirrorless isn't there yet though eventually I expect it will be. The likely forthcoming E- M1 Mark II will probably show the way ahead. That doesn't mean that a camera like the E-M1 or E-M5 Mark II can't do tracking, just that it is pretty rough and barebones compared to Nikon or Canon (or at least that is my impression from using it on the E-M5 Mark II).

I haven't mentioned video because I don't use it, but my impression is that Panasonic is superb for video.

Anyway, in short, very happy with M43 here.

[UncleVanya]

In case no one here has noticed a member has posted an M43 GX7 and some lenses in the marketplace. I have no relationship to this sale just wanted people to know about it that might be most interested.

[surfar]

Yes, look at the images taken with the F/eye body cap(sold now) that's for sale with the GX7( a good starter M43 imo)


Also checkout John Flores on Instagram, hes shooting with the GX85/80 and sometimes with the GM1(smaller than Q)


Panasonic menus are better than Olympus, but neither are as good as Pentax.


If you are considering the OM1 with consideration of the lower price? Consider the rumour that the Mk ii version is supposed to be same retail which is pretty reasonable value.Also research the Pano GX8(brick size)


Lens selection is vast, 2 companies plus a fairly good 3rd party array.


The 12-32(p) and 35-100(p) tiny zooms are good consumer grade lenses, the 2 bodycaps are fun and do well in good light(both f8)Add 100-300(p)or 75-300(o)....a fun little system.

[HudsonShooter]

You can buy k mount adapters that can use your manual lenses.
I use both right now and find my g7 more responsive than my q system.

[surfar]

g7

And next month a G8 announcement?Definitely a GH5!

[northcoastgreg]

What's on my potential shopping list right now is the Oly E-M1 which should have some good prices as it's soon to be replaced. Pair that with the Oly 12-40/2.8 or stick to primes?

The EM-1 and the 12-40 is a nice combo. The only slight caveat I might have is that that particular combo does not leverage the size and weight advantage as well as some others. It's not necessarily significantly smaller or lighter than a K-3 + standard zoom. Another combo to consider would be EM-5 (i or ii) or EM-10ii and the Pany 12-35 f2.8. Or any of those smaller OM-D cameras combined with whatever prime lenses suit your fancy.

I originally purchased the EM-5 as a small backup for my K-5. But due to the fact that the EM-5's 5 axis stabilization is so much more reliable than what's in Pentax APS-C DSLRs, the EM-5 evolved into my camera for hand-held work. M43 works well as a compact kit as well, except that the high-end zooms, with the possible exception of the Pany 12-35, tend to be a bit on the heavy side.

[IchabodCrane]

The EM-1 and the 12-40 is a nice combo. The only slight caveat I might have is that that particular combo does not leverage the size and weight advantage as well as some others. It's not necessarily significantly smaller or lighter than a K-3 + standard zoom. Another combo to consider would be EM-5 (i or ii) or EM-10ii and the Pany 12-35 f2.8. Or any of those smaller OM-D cameras combined with whatever prime lenses suit your fancy.

I originally purchased the EM-5 as a small backup for my K-5. But due to the fact that the EM-5's 5 axis stabilization is so much more reliable than what's in Pentax APS-C DSLRs, the EM-5 evolved into my camera for hand-held work. M43 works well as a compact kit as well, except that the high-end zooms, with the possible exception of the Pany 12-35, tend to be a bit on the heavy side.

Thanks, Greg... much appreciated. I tried out a E-M5 II in our local store and just couldn't get comfortable without that nice grip. Must be I'm so used to and spoiled by Pentax ergonomics which is pushing me more toward the E-M1. Even with the 12-40/2.8, the weight savings is quite noticeable over my K-3 paired with just about any zoom.

[mecrox]

Thanks, Greg... much appreciated. I tried out a E-M5 II in our local store and just couldn't get comfortable without that nice grip. Must be I'm so used to and spoiled by Pentax ergonomics which is pushing me more toward the E-M1. Even with the 12-40/2.8, the weight savings is quite noticeable over my K-3 paired with just about any zoom.

I don't know if this is true where you are, but over here Oly is currently offering a deal with the E-M1 of a free battery grip (you write in, I think). This is a considerable saving over buying one for either camera but at least the Em-1 has a finger grip built in whereas you have to buy it as an extra for the E-M5 II.