[ChristianRock]

There's a very good reason why the E-PL1 goes for $60. It may be the cheapest ILC ever made. Whether it fits into a cargo pocket is irrelevant. I don't think the camera's durable enough to be carried that way. The LCD screen is a bit on the fragile side. I got a crack in mine just from carrying it around my neck. And it's 12 MP sensor is astonishingly noisy --- seemingly more so than the sensors typically found in cell phones. It does, to be fair, produce amazingly beautiful colors. But that's about all that can be said for it. Olympus tried to sell it new at $549, and at that price they had very few takers. I ended up buying mine for $130. Eight months later, Olympus was still trying to get rid of them. Does that mean that the camera isn't worth $60? No, that's it a fair price for the device. But it's not a camera for carrying in cargo pants. It's just too fragile for that.

With an EM-5ii + Oly 100-400:

That's interesting to know. I had not seen this type of comment before, that the E-PL1 was that badly built. Thanks, that's very useful.

Of course I know of the limitations of the 12MP sensor, but I'm considering ca eras with that sensor as an alternative to a 1/1.7" type compact, in that 100-200 dollar price range (with lens). The 16MP cameras are priced a bit higher - I'm sure it's for good reason, but I'm not trying to enter the system, just have a pocketable camera. I bet it would still beat the original RX100 (the E-P3 is actually on my radar now... so build quality shouldn't be an issue). Which is probably not in the spirit of this thread...

I might still end up with an old Panasonic LX series camera instead, the ones with the smaller (but not tiny) sensor, or an Olympus XZ-1 or XZ-2.

[ChristianRock]

Now the Olympus E-PM2, that seems interesting... metal body, same 16MP sensor as the GM1, touch screen, Olympus "color science" that supposedly got "borrowed" from their Kodak days... can be had for less than 100 dllars sometimes... and definitely seems pocketable... am I missing anything?

[R.Miller]

Seems to be a decent little camera. 2013 review:

Conclusion - Pros:
OM-D image quality in smaller, lighter, cheaper body
Excellent JPEG color and exposure
Suprising level of customizability with several user-assigned function buttons
Raw shooting and in-camera processing
Small but functional handgrip
Flash accessory included
Fast 8 fps burst shooting mode
Touch-sensitive screen available for those who want it; enough physical buttons for those who don't
AF is very fast and accurate - among the best AF systems out there for single AF

Conclusion - Cons:
Flash competes with other potential accessories for single accessory port
Image on LCD is difficult to see in bright sunlight
No external dials for exposure mode/shooting parameter setting
Sparse controls and compact layout may be too cramped for some

[JensMA]

Now the Olympus E-PM2, that seems interesting... metal body, same 16MP sensor as the GM1, touch screen, Olympus "color science" that supposedly got "borrowed" from their Kodak days... can be had for less than 100 dllars sometimes... and definitely seems pocketable... am I missing anything?

It is probably a fine one, I have looked for one but not very hard, being formost a Lumix fellow, and I have the GM1 and GM5 for when ultimate unobtrusiveness are needed. I just bought a EP-L3, mostly to get the 17mm pancake it came along with and the EP-L3 is marginally smaller than the GX1.

Proper pocketable lenses, I would say are the 12-32 and 14 mm in Lumix, the 17mm f:2.8 in Olympus seems to be the same. Not familiar with the Oly EZ zoom, it is the only one I dont have of the pancakes.

The Lumix PZ14-42 and 20mm are a bit bigger than the other Lumixes. They fit in a jacket pocket but not in a shirt breast pocket such as the 14 and 12-32 does, with the GM1/5. If you end up with the 12-32, think hard on getting its stablemate 35-100 f:4-100. That pair and a small body fits in the palm of your hand and gives you a 24-200mm reach in FF terms and delivers cracking results.

[hayuata]

Panasonic GX1 + Panasonic 20mm F/1.7 @3.2 ISO 160

I was walking around a small pond (floating boards to walk on) from a lake and saw this. We had a small heatwave week before this... so, a lot of dying organisms in there eh?

[Kiddo70]

Black-crowned Night Heron

[Kiddo70]

Blue Dasher

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Last edited by Kiddo70; 07-17-2023 at 09:00 AM.

[northcoastgreg]

Olympus "color science" that supposedly got "borrowed" from their Kodak days... can be had for less than 100 dllars sometimes... and definitely seems pocketable... am I missing anything?

Just a slight caveat about the so-called Olympus "color science." That was a genuine thing back in Olympus' four-thirds DSLR days, and it survived in the guise of the noisy 12 MP sensors used in their early m43 cameras. But once Olympus moved to the 16 MP sensor, they became more interested in gaming their ISO test scores than in preserving the full glory of their color science. Not that you can't get very good color out of the 16 MP sensor. But it's not quite at the same level at the 12 MP sensor which, despite the noise, produces amazing color. I suspect there's a bit of trade-off between the noise and the color, but who knows?

Nuthatch with the Oly 100-400:

[ChristianRock]

Just a slight caveat about the so-called Olympus "color science." That was a genuine thing back in Olympus' four-thirds DSLR days, and it survived in the guise of the noisy 12 MP sensors used in their early m43 cameras. But once Olympus moved to the 16 MP sensor, they became more interested in gaming their ISO test scores than in preserving the full glory of their color science. Not that you can't get very good color out of the 16 MP sensor. But it's not quite at the same level at the 12 MP sensor which, despite the noise, produces amazing color. I suspect there's a bit of trade-off between the noise and the color, but who knows?

Nuthatch with the Oly 100-400:

Thanks Greg. I did see that. That is why I'm not feeling down about looking at cameras with the 12MP sensor - being cheaper but it does have its advantages. Not hugely great ISO but better than the compacts that I've been looking at. It's supposed to be a pocket camera after all.

[blues_hawk]

Now the Olympus E-PM2, that seems interesting... metal body, same 16MP sensor as the GM1, touch screen, Olympus "color science" that supposedly got "borrowed" from their Kodak days... can be had for less than 100 dllars sometimes... and definitely seems pocketable... am I missing anything?

Hi everybody! I've been missing lately but just logged in and saw this. I have a e-pm2 as my "workbag" camera/backup. It sounds like a wheezing turtle but takes pics on par with my em-5. It also fits in an Ifak with a kit zoom. Super handy little camera. the only thing I dislike is the lack of evf but that keeps it small. I paid about 100$ for it used with the old style doghouse kit 14-42mm. The batteries aren't the same as the em5 though, which can get a little confusing if I'm dual wielding them. It's got the same sensor as the em5ii also. Oh yeah. It will definitely fit in a baseball jacket pocket.

[but then so does my em5ii with the collapsible zoom.]

[blues_hawk]

I got all wound up to post this in this months contest and then looked at the exif...


(evil sorbo)DISAPPOINTED!!

[WPRESTO]

Leaf hopper, just its head. Panasonic GX8 with reverse-mounted APO Componon 50mm f2.8 enlarging lens. The insect is very small, less than 3mm total length, possibly less than 2mm

[luftfluss]

Leaf hopper, just its head. Panasonic GX8 with reverse-mounted APO Componon 50mm f2.8 enlarging lens. The insect is very small, less than 3mm total length, possibly less than 2mm

Impressive work!

[WPRESTO]

Impressive work!

I wish the little leafhopper had been in better condition. I found it on the floor of the bathroom, alive but rather moribund and therefore easy to capture. I planned to photograph it alive, but it was dead within an hour or so. It must have been injured in some way as its jumping legs were all twisted at odd angles, something I could not see without magnification. I glued it to a pinhead so I could manipulate its orientation more easily. This is one of two short focus stacks. The other was taken directly from the side.

[Kiddo70]

Diamonds on the wings