Micro 4/3 Advice on really portable M43 for street and travel shots

[Drdul]

If you want in-camera stabilization for a small body, I think that Olympus is your better option (not sure Panasonic offered it in a small body until the GX85?)

Something like an E-PL7 will offer a smallish body (not as small as the GM series) with IBIS. Same with the E-PM2, but I think the tilting screen and much faster operation of the E-PL7 is worth the slightly bigger size over the E-PM2.

Agree. If you want small with stabilization and presets, and 16 MP is enough, then the E-PL7 is a great choice. I shot with one for several years, and still keep it around as a small camera option (with a Panny 12-32) for situations when a larger camera isn’t possible or practical.

 

[imnotarobot]

apply a custom series of settings that I can save and access quickly, and
good auto focus, in-camera stabilization, and also offers a few customizable buttons for controlling metering options and burst options, since these are the two settings I seem to change the most while shooting street.

I travel a lot, writing this while on a 3 week trip. Own a GM1, my default carry, a GX9, an EP7 and 2 RX100’s that are my dedicated travel cams.

My thoughts:
The RX100's are a joy for travel. They take days, if not weeks, to set up but once that’s done you never have to visit the menu's. Wrap in gun grip tape, mount an adhesive grip and they’re fine in hand. They don’t come cheap and I’m careful with them.

GM1: no CAF, no IBIS, no EVF when the sun is not cooperative. Poor grip with larger lenses. My defaults are the PL15, P20 and G Vario 14-42. Not as delicate as the RX100's, less flexible, I've never travelled with mine as flexibility and adaptability is important during travel.

EP7: Great IBIS, great image pipeline, terrible control set. Forget it for travel.

If you want to stay in the m43 world, I’d strongly suggest a GX80/85. They’re not much larger, rugged, very easy to use, good/flexible control set and OK IBIS with primes, better with Penny coupled zooms.

 

[Rf53]

I travel a lot, writing this while on a 3 week trip. Own a GM1, my default carry, a GX9, an EP7 and 2 RX100’s that are my dedicated travel cams.

My thoughts:
The RX100's are a joy for travel. They take days, if not weeks, to set up but once that’s done you never have to visit the menu's. Wrap in gun grip tape, mount an adhesive grip and they’re fine in hand. They don’t come cheap and I’m careful with them.

GM1: no CAF, no IBIS, no EVF when the sun is not cooperative. Poor grip with larger lenses. My defaults are the PL15, P20 and G Vario 14-42. Not as delicate as the RX100's, less flexible, I've never travelled with mine as flexibility and adaptability is important during travel.

EP7: Great IBIS, great image pipeline, terrible control set. Forget it for travel.

If you want to stay in the m43 world, I’d strongly suggest a GX80/85. They’re not much larger, rugged, very easy to use, good/flexible control set and OK IBIS with primes, better with Penny coupled zooms.

You may have not read one of my previous posts, but I purchased an OMD EM5 III from a friend of mine who had his for sale. He let me borrow it back in May for some travel and I really liked it, but I decided to look further. In the end I think the the EM5 is really going to work out. It is definitely very compact, although nowhere near the size of the GM1. However, as I get to know it now it is full of great features, and as I customize it for my particular needs it is really everything I want in a travel/street photography camera. Having said that, one day I would love to have a Ricoh GRIIIx for travel, but i’m definitely not going to lay out over $1000 for the privilege.

 

[agentlossing]

You may have not read one of my previous posts, but I purchased an OMD EM5 III from a friend of mine who had his for sale. He let me borrow it back in May for some travel and I really liked it, but I decided to look further. In the end I think the the EM5 is really going to work out. It is definitely very compact, although nowhere near the size of the GM1. However, as I get to know it now it is full of great features, and as I customize it for my particular needs it is really everything I want in a travel/street photography camera. Having said that, one day I would love to have a Ricoh GRIIIx for travel, but i’m definitely not going to lay out over $1000 for the privilege.

I took an EM5II and a GRIIIx to Greece early this year, and the EM5II was more useful most of the time. Having different focal lengths is hard to beat for travel, and I would probably pick the GRIII 28mm over the IIIx if I did it over.

The EM5III has a much better EVF than the GX85, so what you lose in a slightly less pocketable package you make up for in user experience, plus it's a newer, higher MP sensor. I did wish some of my travel shots had more resolution. I think you made a good choice.

 

[mfturner]

I’m late to this thread, but I think you’ve made a great choice and hope you are enjoying the m5.3 . I have both a pm2 and an m5.3, and I love them both, but if I had to choose only one, the m5.3 is a better camera in every way.