Subjective camera preferences.....

I'm not in a position where I'd be able to afford to buy all of these cameras to find just the right one. In fact, I bought used and then went for a model that seemed to be going for a little less $ than some similar cameras that were on my want list initally. That's how I wound up with a GH2; it seemed to be a bit of a "sleeper" in the used market and was selling for considerably less than some other m4/3 cameras that I was looking at. The model I was really wanting was an EM5, but realizing that the GH2 checked pretty most of the boxes; decent EVF and lots of other controls and that I was able to get one for a few hundred less, I went with it. I kinda miss having the IBIS and that weather sealing that the Olympus has, but I'm pretty sure that the Olympus doesn't have a screen that tilts in all directions, like the Panasonic.

Anyway after using the GH2 for a while, I'm feeling like it's the perfect camera for me. I hear that the JPEGs do have a bit of an odd color cast, but I haven't really noticed that and since I shoot RAW pretty much all the time and really do a lot in the way of post processing, this kind of detail isn't going to be a deal breaker for me anyway. If I have a few complaints with the camera in that there isn't more in the way of on the body controls, like exposure comp, shutter speed, and aperture. I really like the idea of seeing the settings just by looking at the camera and knowing that things are set up just right even before you look thought the viewfinder. At the very least an extra control wheel would be nice so that one could set it up so that one is for exposure comp and the other for shutter speed and/or aperture. Still, after using the camera a lot, I've come to get pretty efficient with the controls even if they aren't my dream configuration. The quality of the EVF seems to be very good (and I wondered about this when I bought the camera as I had never used one of these before) and perhaps most importantly the images I get from the camera seem to be very, very good.... even with the pretty cheap (cheaply made, with the plastic mount) kit zoom lens that the camera came with. I'll add here that I've gotten pretty comfortable with the menu system which like any camera of this level of quality has a dizzying array of options, but yet they seem to be organized in a way that's pretty logical... I have nothing to compare this to though as I haven't had an Olympus in my hands to see if that system is as difficult as folks seem to say that it is.

I'm kind of impressed by the fact that folks are willing to throw so much time and money trying out so many different models in a particular system. The take away though that I get from the OP is that a) none of the many models tried is perfect and that b) the model I wound up with, the GH2 for whatever it's shortcomings are is a pretty good pick. Having had the GH2 for a while, I'm not really coveting anything else (OK, maybe just a little!) and I think that perhaps the Olympus cameras with their extra features that seemed so attractive to me at the time would perhaps in the long run not have been worth it to me, if the tradeoff is a much clunkier, less user friendly menu system. I really don't want to miss shots scrolling around trying to find the right setting, ya know.

I'm convinced that for me the m4/3 system is a great system. I wanted something small, yet very flexible and I have no complaints with the IQ so I don't feel like I'm missing anything not having a bigger sensor. I also love the fact that I'm able to adapt some old 35mmm lenses to the system and have gotten really nice results with them. That's a huge plus for someone like me who loves the idea of getting use out of my very old gear, digs the idea of combining old and new tech and just as importantly, can't afford all of those fab m4/3 lenses... and am willing to do the focusing myself. The only caveat to this system or really any system for me is that probably none of the cameras are going to seem like an absolute perfect solution... so I'm pretty comfortable making a decision on what I'm going to get and then dealing with the quirks of whatever that camera has. Even when I read about the most expensive gear like Leicas, I realize that there really is no such thing as a perfectly designed camera. If anything, what I hear about the Leicas is that there are a whole lot of quirks to get over if your going to enjoy using one of those... I just concentrate on taking the best pictures that I can and I look at the odd quirks than any camera that I'm using has as just a little extra challenge to getting there; the kind of thing that I'm much better off figuring workarounds for rather than obsessing about.