Micro 4/3 GAS, again

Alf

Top Veteran
Everybody knows that feeling, when everything can be cured by the sudden acquisition of that sweet, sweet new hardware....

Here we are: I'm still shooting with my Mesozoic black E-PL3, mostly with the 20/1,7 mkI and sometimes with the 45oly,7.5samyang, and 1442 oly trimurti.
Once a year I borrow the 40-150R and head east.
This time, it's going to be different.

The contenders:

E-PM2 off eBay, cheap and fast. Has IS and can use my vf3, but the cheap on is red.

GM1 with 12-32. Fast shutter speed and fast focus for the 20mm

E-M10 body only. New, fast, has evf, and I hate handling it. It costs as much as the GM1

GX7! Appears for 100eur more than the Em10/gm1, and with a 1442ois I won't use. But has evf,is and cuteness.

What to do?
 
As a GX7 owner, I can only give you a +1 for the GX7 - it's not only one of the most capable micro 4/3 bodies of used, but one of the most pleasurable to shoot with. There's nothing that it won't do. I find the small (and tillable!) EVF to be wonderfully useful. Btw I 'graduated' to a GX7 after using two excellent digital Pens - the PL2 (which had among the best ergonomics & 'shoot ability' of any of the Pens, IMHO) and the super IQ-endowed PL5 which, honestly, I found just a tad too small. The GX7 somehow just 'fits' my hands and begs to be used. One other underrated plus: its focus peaking picture is great for manual focus lenses (like the Rokinin/Samyang fisheye) - or for doing manual focusing with older 'legacy' lenses.

Incidentally I think it would 'mate' and work beautifully with you 20mm and 45mm lenses. The downside of having to get another 14-42 zoom is irritating, true....I was in a similar position when I bought mine. However to my surprise the plastic-bodied kit zoom is actually compact - and turns out to be one of the sharper lenses I have ever shot with, in spite of my (and many others') unwarranted prejudices against inexpensive kit zooms.

The built-in image stabilization actually makes the GX7 even more usable under low light conditions and at high ISO's. Of course that's true of the E-M10 as well. Honestly, if I didn't already have the GX7, I'd be seriously tempted by the E-M10 I think. But if you don't like the handling....why bother?

The E-PM2 is also a great camera....it's SO SMALL. And you have a VF3. And its IQ is simply outstanding. So, that's a difficult one. And the GM1 is just plain cute.

Maybe you should get not one but TWO new cameras? (grin)
 
I'd say don't get the GM1 unless you really want the ultra-small size. It's sensor isn't quite up to the level of the flagship m43 sensors. The EM10 and EPM2 definitely are, though, and I'm pretty sure the GX7 is also. I had a GX7 for a while and loved it, but I had both an EM5 and EM1 as well and loved them too. So between the GX7, EM10, and EPM2, I'd just decide based on size, how it feels in your hand, how you like the controls, etc. I think all three of them are basically equally great cameras - just down to which one makes you want to shoot more...

-Ray
 
I thought it could be good. Then I tried and it doesn't work in my hands : too dslr-like for its small size; but I don't want a larger dslr lookalike, even though I like the g6.
It was the same last time: enter shop for gx1, leave shop for epl3.
 
The GM1 has the same sensor as the GX7...and oddly enough (or perhaps not odd at all) thanks to housing this latest m43 sensor it actually outperforms the GH3 (which has the EM5/EP5 Sony sensor) for high ISO video (at equal bitrates). Not too bad an accomplishment that GM1.
 
The GM1 has the same sensor as the GX7...and oddly enough (or perhaps not odd at all) thanks to housing this latest m43 sensor it actually outperforms the GH3 (which has the EM5/EP5 Sony sensor) for high ISO video (at equal bitrates). Not too bad an accomplishment that GM1.

Really? I thought it shared the same flagship sensor with the GH4. Looking at DXO (for whatever that's worth), the GM1 sensor looks notably less good than the one in the GH4, which is within the margin of error with that in the EM1. When I had the GX7 and EM1 I found the two sensors to be equally good. Which just meeans I should probably stop looking at DXO (which I actually don't do a lot of) and trust my own experience...

OK, I take it back, buy the GM1 if it floats your boat. Even if the sensor isn't quite up to the standards of the flagship m43 sensor, it's pretty damn close!

-Ray
 
With something like the GM1 it's always going to come down to its almost oddly small size...thought about one for a while but having played around with an RX100 for a few days realised quickly that for me, the GM1 was just too small...that's obviously not the case for many.

Alf, of the cameras on your list, it would be either the GX7 or EM10 for me...if the camera feels comfy to hold then I'm kinda half way there.
 
I picked up the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Elite kit with the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 zoom for not much more than the price of the lens separately. Turned out a good idea as my wife is sick of her Sony compact camera outdoors who's screen is difficult to see in sunlight and I was thinking of getting an electronic viewfinder for either my E-P3 or getting the new E-PL7 and viewfinder. Turned out a lot cheaper and both of us are very happy. :) :)

Also got a Lee Little Stopper which I think I will find more useful than 10-stopper which I have always found a bit of a pain. Using the Little Stopper with a 2-stop grad gives me 8-stops which I generally find enough when I need more than 6-stops.
 
It's nice to be doing photography at a time when so many great bodies are out there. I have an E-PM2 and an EM5 and the sensor is just great. Of course, I also just bought the GX-7 and, again, the output is sweet.
 
I was never totally enamoured by the silver version of the E-M5, but for the reason I find that it suits the E-M10 shape better. The silver finish on the E-M10 also looks a little shinier to me as well, but I might just be imagining it.
 
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