m4/3 recomendation

Wired · 03-18-2013, 07:48 PM

I'm thinking of getting into a m4/3 system to acompany my Q, Pentax APS-C, and Nikon FF systems. Got the other 3 might as well get the m4/3 right? Well no.

My wife wants to get into photography more, but she is very intimidated by my K5's let alone the D600 and doesn't even want to hand them to me let alone try and use them. She thinks the Q is too small. She doesn't want her own camera, but she wants to be able to grab one of my cameras and head out the door without the fear of screwing something up if she needs too. So I thought a m4/3 would be the best way to go. I bought the MX-1 for her to try, but she said she would have liked it better if she could mount a flashgun to it, and she would like the option for a EVF.

I was thinking OMD-5, because I know I would love it. But it's a lot of money for what would essentially be a third camera in the house. So I'm kind of looking at the Panasonic DMC-GX1 right now. It can be had for $500 with kit lens locally, and pretty close to a direct exchange with the MX-1. So I wouldn't be out anymore cash, aside from an adapter to mount my Nikon and Pentax lenses. Its got a a decent review on DPreview...

What else in the $500 range for a m4/3 would you recommend? She doesn't like the Nikon 1, I had one before and she wasn't a fan.

CB Knipp · 03-18-2013, 07:57 PM

I hear Panasonic M4/3 cameras are great. I have personally only shot with Olympus in regards to M4/3, however. I love the OM-D, but it is a little pricey. Physically, the Oly cameras are far sexier in my opinion, but that only goes so far and is only my opinion. I would trust that any of the Panasonics (sorry, I get confused with the names) are great cameras and there are some wonderful lenses available. If you are wanting something in that size, I would look at the Panasonic and Olympus offerings before the Nikon and Canon ones. Sony is also a good contender, but they can get expensive and I just generally prefer the Olympus (and probably Panasonic) systems more in that class. Good luck and sorry I don't have much experience with them!

pinholecam · 03-19-2013, 08:06 AM

A G3 is nice alternative to the GX1.
Built in EVF.
Largely similar in IQ.
Can be had for a song now since GX1 has been out for a while and also the newer replacement G5.

Honestly, I'm not sure if m4/3 is the way to go.
I have a G3 and nice small primes.
But I use it so little, cause for real light use, I use the Q.
For more serious use, I use the K5/K30; 5D or MF film.
A lightly kitted K30 (ie. 1-2 small primes) providing me a better balance of IQ/size/weight/handlingDOF ctrl (but thats just me)

But if your budget is $500, then its the G3 or GX1.

Wired · 03-19-2013, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by pinholecam

A G3 is nice alternative to the GX1.
Built in EVF.
Largely similar in IQ.
Can be had for a song now since GX1 has been out for a while and also the newer replacement G5.

Honestly, I'm not sure if m4/3 is the way to go.
I have a G3 and nice small primes.
But I use it so little, cause for real light use, I use the Q.
For more serious use, I use the K5/K30; 5D or MF film.
A lightly kitted K30 (ie. 1-2 small primes) providing me a better balance of IQ/size/weight/handlingDOF ctrl (but thats just me)

But if your budget is $500, then its the G3 or GX1.

yea, I know for me it makes little to no sense because I'm in the same boat, Q -> K5 -> D600 -> 645

but my wife wants to learn, and she dosn't want to learn on the K5, and the Q is too small, so m4/3 is probably her best bet. the nice thing is the GX1 has the same sensor as the OMD, and comes with arguably better glass. So thats what I'm leaning towards. the G3 has a EVF eh? I didn't notice that...I'll have to go man handle them and see what I like better.

ducdao · 03-19-2013, 10:14 AM

Why don't you get her a Sony NEX camera? The Nex-5N is around $300-400 these days. She can get e-mount lenses if she likes a smaller package or she can also use your other lenses with various adaptors.

Wired · 03-19-2013, 10:20 AM

Originally posted by ducdao

Why don't you get her a Sony NEX camera? The Nex-5N is around $300-400 these days. She can get e-mount lenses if she likes a smaller package or she can also use your other lenses with various adaptors.

We are both anti-sony. Mostly because of their reliability track record in our families.... 6 broken down ps3's, 2 broken down ps2s, three bad tvs, two bad laptops. All within a month of the warranty end date. That and I had a 5N to try it out before the Q and decided I didn't like the egronomics of it very much.

Panasonic, samsung, lg, olympus, pentax, all brands both of our families have long history with and very little if no product failures.

Wired · 03-19-2013, 11:54 AM

Went with the GX1 today @ lunch. I handled the G3, the OMD, Pen EP2, and the V1-2 from Nikon.

The GX is the most pocketable, second fastest AF, arguably the best kit lens, and definitely the best price @ $450. I'm also intrigued (albiet not much) but the 3D shooting capabilities offered by a $250 lens.

Going to go out and do a five camera comparison shoot tonight..... Q, GX1, K5, D600, LX.

ducdao · 03-19-2013, 12:50 PM

Originally posted by Wired

Went with the GX1 today @ lunch. I handled the G3, the OMD, Pen EP2, and the V1-2 from Nikon.

The GX is the most pocketable, second fastest AF, arguably the best kit lens, and definitely the best price @ $450. I'm also intrigued (albiet not much) but the 3D shooting capabilities offered by a $250 lens.

Going to go out and do a five camera comparison shoot tonight..... Q, GX1, K5, D600, LX.

Glad you pulled the trigger. Looking forward to your comparison report

pinholecam · 03-19-2013, 04:03 PM

Originally posted by Wired

Went with the GX1 today @ lunch. I handled the G3, the OMD, Pen EP2, and the V1-2 from Nikon.

The GX is the most pocketable, second fastest AF, arguably the best kit lens, and definitely the best price @ $450. I'm also intrigued (albiet not much) but the 3D shooting capabilities offered by a $250 lens.

Going to go out and do a five camera comparison shoot tonight..... Q, GX1, K5, D600, LX.

Wow! thats fast.
Congrats on the new camera.
Have fun.

Wired · 03-20-2013, 10:02 AM

That's how I roll

So far I'm really enjoying it, especially for street style shooting. I do wish it had a tilt screen for that purpose though.

The screen is near unreadable in bright daylight, especially with reflections off the snow. I'm going to play with brightness settings to see if I can maybe overcome that.

The lens is nice, but slow, I do a lot of low light and I like my bokeh, so 5.6 makes me cry, but that being said, bokeh is very nice indeed.

The raw files got a bunch of data hiding inside, and the colors are nice and vivid. I'm very impressed with the overall rendering capabilities. Dare I say it may put the Q out of a job?

But its got me wanting more, the OMD at the end of the day is not much bigger if not the same size once you shove the EVF on the GX1,, and I'm clamoring for that 20mm pancake lens. There is a strong chance I may still grab the OMD....

nickthetasmaniac · 03-20-2013, 07:13 PM

Originally posted by Wired

But its got me wanting more, the OMD at the end of the day is not much bigger if not the same size once you shove the EVF on the GX1,, and I'm clamoring for that 20mm pancake lens. There is a strong chance I may still grab the OMD....

Given that you've already got the D600 and 645 for high-end stuff, if you buy an OMD my money would be on you ditching K5 quick smart. The OMD with decent primes is such a well rounded package that the 3% extra image quality you'd get from the K5 just won't be enough I reckon

Wired · 03-21-2013, 11:28 AM

Originally posted by nickthetasmaniac

Given that you've already got the D600 and 645 for high-end stuff, if you buy an OMD my money would be on you ditching K5 quick smart. The OMD with decent primes is such a well rounded package that the 3% extra image quality you'd get from the K5 just won't be enough I reckon

I doubt it. You'd think the D600 would have replaced the K5 as my goto, it hasn't. In fact its rarely even in my bag. I think I need to invest in a good zoom before I start to fall in love with it. I'm holding out till Pentax announces their K5 followup hopefully within a few weeks.

Even then, my ultimate lineup I would like by June would be:

Q, OMD, K5, K3, D800, LX, 645

Q: 01, 02, 06
OMD: 20mm panasonic, 17mm Oly, 75mm oly, kit zoom
K5/K3/LX: FA 31, FA43, FA77, DA*16-50, DA*55, DA*50-135, DA 10-17
D800: 28 1.8, 50 1.8, 85 1.8, 135 2.0 DC, 80-200 2.8
645: A-75 2.8, A-80-160 4.5, A-45 2.8

Reality will see me getting the OMD, 17mm, 80-200 f2.8 nikon, FA 43, and maybe the 645 zoom. I'd be missing very little from that list by then as I got 80% of it already

Aegon · 03-21-2013, 01:52 PM

As an owner of an E-PM2, K-5, and D600, I have to admit that I use the E-PM2 and K-5 more than the D600.

But when I do use the D600, I think the keeper rate is pretty high and the quality is definitely better. But most of the time I can't be bothered. I was hoping a clear winner would surface and I could jettison the others, but that hasn't been the case so far.

Wired · 03-21-2013, 03:01 PM

Originally posted by Aegon

As an owner of an E-PM2, K-5, and D600, I have to admit that I use the E-PM2 and K-5 more than the D600.

But when I do use the D600, I think the keeper rate is pretty high and the quality is definitely better. But most of the time I can't be bothered. I was hoping a clear winner would surface and I could jettison the others, but that hasn't been the case so far.

I'm in the same boat.

It really depends on the lens with the 600 though. I can't stand my 50 1.8 for color reproduction, the image quality is fine, and it has depth in the details. But the colors look flat and lack contrast.

While the 85 has better color rendering, and fantastic detail depth, it still lacks the contrasty magic that is Pentax. And I love high contrast...

03-18-2013, 07:48 PM	#1
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519	m4/3 recomendation I'm thinking of getting into a m4/3 system to acompany my Q, Pentax APS-C, and Nikon FF systems. Got the other 3 might as well get the m4/3 right? Well no. My wife wants to get into photography more, but she is very intimidated by my K5's let alone the D600 and doesn't even want to hand them to me let alone try and use them. She thinks the Q is too small. She doesn't want her own camera, but she wants to be able to grab one of my cameras and head out the door without the fear of screwing something up if she needs too. So I thought a m4/3 would be the best way to go. I bought the MX-1 for her to try, but she said she would have liked it better if she could mount a flashgun to it, and she would like the option for a EVF. I was thinking OMD-5, because I know I would love it. But it's a lot of money for what would essentially be a third camera in the house. So I'm kind of looking at the Panasonic DMC-GX1 right now. It can be had for $500 with kit lens locally, and pretty close to a direct exchange with the MX-1. So I wouldn't be out anymore cash, aside from an adapter to mount my Nikon and Pentax lenses. Its got a a decent review on DPreview... What else in the $500 range for a m4/3 would you recommend? She doesn't like the Nikon 1, I had one before and she wasn't a fan.

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03-18-2013, 07:57 PM	#2
CB Knipp Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Sendai, Japan Posts: 169	I hear Panasonic M4/3 cameras are great. I have personally only shot with Olympus in regards to M4/3, however. I love the OM-D, but it is a little pricey. Physically, the Oly cameras are far sexier in my opinion, but that only goes so far and is only my opinion. I would trust that any of the Panasonics (sorry, I get confused with the names) are great cameras and there are some wonderful lenses available. If you are wanting something in that size, I would look at the Panasonic and Olympus offerings before the Nikon and Canon ones. Sony is also a good contender, but they can get expensive and I just generally prefer the Olympus (and probably Panasonic) systems more in that class. Good luck and sorry I don't have much experience with them!

03-19-2013, 08:06 AM	#3
pinholecam Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,706	A G3 is nice alternative to the GX1. Built in EVF. Largely similar in IQ. Can be had for a song now since GX1 has been out for a while and also the newer replacement G5. Honestly, I'm not sure if m4/3 is the way to go. I have a G3 and nice small primes. But I use it so little, cause for real light use, I use the Q. For more serious use, I use the K5/K30; 5D or MF film. A lightly kitted K30 (ie. 1-2 small primes) providing me a better balance of IQ/size/weight/handlingDOF ctrl (but thats just me) But if your budget is $500, then its the G3 or GX1.

03-19-2013, 10:03 AM	#4
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	Originally posted by pinholecam A G3 is nice alternative to the GX1. Built in EVF. Largely similar in IQ. Can be had for a song now since GX1 has been out for a while and also the newer replacement G5. Honestly, I'm not sure if m4/3 is the way to go. I have a G3 and nice small primes. But I use it so little, cause for real light use, I use the Q. For more serious use, I use the K5/K30; 5D or MF film. A lightly kitted K30 (ie. 1-2 small primes) providing me a better balance of IQ/size/weight/handlingDOF ctrl (but thats just me) But if your budget is $500, then its the G3 or GX1. yea, I know for me it makes little to no sense because I'm in the same boat, Q -> K5 -> D600 -> 645 but my wife wants to learn, and she dosn't want to learn on the K5, and the Q is too small, so m4/3 is probably her best bet. the nice thing is the GX1 has the same sensor as the OMD, and comes with arguably better glass. So thats what I'm leaning towards. the G3 has a EVF eh? I didn't notice that...I'll have to go man handle them and see what I like better.

03-19-2013, 10:14 AM	#5
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160	Why don't you get her a Sony NEX camera? The Nex-5N is around $300-400 these days. She can get e-mount lenses if she likes a smaller package or she can also use your other lenses with various adaptors.

03-19-2013, 10:20 AM	#6
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	Originally posted by ducdao Why don't you get her a Sony NEX camera? The Nex-5N is around $300-400 these days. She can get e-mount lenses if she likes a smaller package or she can also use your other lenses with various adaptors. We are both anti-sony. Mostly because of their reliability track record in our families.... 6 broken down ps3's, 2 broken down ps2s, three bad tvs, two bad laptops. All within a month of the warranty end date. That and I had a 5N to try it out before the Q and decided I didn't like the egronomics of it very much. Panasonic, samsung, lg, olympus, pentax, all brands both of our families have long history with and very little if no product failures.

03-19-2013, 11:54 AM	#7
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	Went with the GX1 today @ lunch. I handled the G3, the OMD, Pen EP2, and the V1-2 from Nikon. The GX is the most pocketable, second fastest AF, arguably the best kit lens, and definitely the best price @ $450. I'm also intrigued (albiet not much) but the 3D shooting capabilities offered by a $250 lens. Going to go out and do a five camera comparison shoot tonight..... Q, GX1, K5, D600, LX.

03-19-2013, 12:50 PM	#8
ducdao Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Montreal/Vermont Posts: 2,160	Originally posted by Wired Went with the GX1 today @ lunch. I handled the G3, the OMD, Pen EP2, and the V1-2 from Nikon. The GX is the most pocketable, second fastest AF, arguably the best kit lens, and definitely the best price @ $450. I'm also intrigued (albiet not much) but the 3D shooting capabilities offered by a $250 lens. Going to go out and do a five camera comparison shoot tonight..... Q, GX1, K5, D600, LX. Glad you pulled the trigger. Looking forward to your comparison report

03-19-2013, 04:03 PM	#9
pinholecam Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,706	Originally posted by Wired Went with the GX1 today @ lunch. I handled the G3, the OMD, Pen EP2, and the V1-2 from Nikon. The GX is the most pocketable, second fastest AF, arguably the best kit lens, and definitely the best price @ $450. I'm also intrigued (albiet not much) but the 3D shooting capabilities offered by a $250 lens. Going to go out and do a five camera comparison shoot tonight..... Q, GX1, K5, D600, LX. Wow! thats fast. Congrats on the new camera. Have fun.

03-20-2013, 10:02 AM	#10
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	That's how I roll So far I'm really enjoying it, especially for street style shooting. I do wish it had a tilt screen for that purpose though. The screen is near unreadable in bright daylight, especially with reflections off the snow. I'm going to play with brightness settings to see if I can maybe overcome that. The lens is nice, but slow, I do a lot of low light and I like my bokeh, so 5.6 makes me cry, but that being said, bokeh is very nice indeed. The raw files got a bunch of data hiding inside, and the colors are nice and vivid. I'm very impressed with the overall rendering capabilities. Dare I say it may put the Q out of a job? But its got me wanting more, the OMD at the end of the day is not much bigger if not the same size once you shove the EVF on the GX1,, and I'm clamoring for that 20mm pancake lens. There is a strong chance I may still grab the OMD....

03-20-2013, 07:13 PM	#11
nickthetasmaniac Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2,361	Originally posted by Wired But its got me wanting more, the OMD at the end of the day is not much bigger if not the same size once you shove the EVF on the GX1,, and I'm clamoring for that 20mm pancake lens. There is a strong chance I may still grab the OMD.... Given that you've already got the D600 and 645 for high-end stuff, if you buy an OMD my money would be on you ditching K5 quick smart. The OMD with decent primes is such a well rounded package that the 3% extra image quality you'd get from the K5 just won't be enough I reckon

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03-21-2013, 11:28 AM	#12
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	Originally posted by nickthetasmaniac Given that you've already got the D600 and 645 for high-end stuff, if you buy an OMD my money would be on you ditching K5 quick smart. The OMD with decent primes is such a well rounded package that the 3% extra image quality you'd get from the K5 just won't be enough I reckon I doubt it. You'd think the D600 would have replaced the K5 as my goto, it hasn't. In fact its rarely even in my bag. I think I need to invest in a good zoom before I start to fall in love with it. I'm holding out till Pentax announces their K5 followup hopefully within a few weeks. Even then, my ultimate lineup I would like by June would be: Q, OMD, K5, K3, D800, LX, 645 Q: 01, 02, 06 OMD: 20mm panasonic, 17mm Oly, 75mm oly, kit zoom K5/K3/LX: FA 31, FA43, FA77, DA16-50, DA55, DA*50-135, DA 10-17 D800: 28 1.8, 50 1.8, 85 1.8, 135 2.0 DC, 80-200 2.8 645: A-75 2.8, A-80-160 4.5, A-45 2.8 Reality will see me getting the OMD, 17mm, 80-200 f2.8 nikon, FA 43, and maybe the 645 zoom. I'd be missing very little from that list by then as I got 80% of it already

03-21-2013, 01:52 PM	#13
Aegon Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,416	As an owner of an E-PM2, K-5, and D600, I have to admit that I use the E-PM2 and K-5 more than the D600. But when I do use the D600, I think the keeper rate is pretty high and the quality is definitely better. But most of the time I can't be bothered. I was hoping a clear winner would surface and I could jettison the others, but that hasn't been the case so far.

03-21-2013, 03:01 PM	#14
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	Originally posted by Aegon As an owner of an E-PM2, K-5, and D600, I have to admit that I use the E-PM2 and K-5 more than the D600. But when I do use the D600, I think the keeper rate is pretty high and the quality is definitely better. But most of the time I can't be bothered. I was hoping a clear winner would surface and I could jettison the others, but that hasn't been the case so far. I'm in the same boat. It really depends on the lens with the 600 though. I can't stand my 50 1.8 for color reproduction, the image quality is fine, and it has depth in the details. But the colors look flat and lack contrast. While the 85 has better color rendering, and fantastic detail depth, it still lacks the contrasty magic that is Pentax. And I love high contrast...