Olly OM-D E-M10 Good idea?

gary0319 wrote:

Gelbvieh wrote:

I shoot mainly nature and wildlife and love my Canon 5D MkIII and 100-400 MkII but for some time now I have been toying with the idea of a lighter setup as a second camera and one to take with me when tramping and trips into town, etc. The Canon would still be my main wildlife setup but when exploring somewhere new I often don't want to carry that. I have a Canon GX7 but miss the longer reach that I am so used too and I find the IQ of the photos a bit hit and miss (bad photographer).

So I've been contemplating the Olympus E-M10 and pairing it with the Olympus 40-150mm Pro f/2.8 and 1.4x convertor. Now whilst I really would like the 12-40mm Pro f/2.8 I can't justify the cost, I was saving for a 7D MkII, but thought about the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5.

So views. Am I mad? Should I stick with what I have and keep my folding for the 7D MkII or go for a second lighter system? How do these two lenses stack up? Bear in mind that I am used to good quality photos that are tack sharp.

Thanks Gelbvieh

There are 6 of us that are camera "friends" that shoot together. Of the six of us all but one have moved from Canon (7d, 7DII, 5M11) to M43 in the last year,

Now that does tell me something.

We all do primarily nature photography, every thing from dragonflies to safari, and are all pleased with our move(s). Three of us shoot Olympus (E-M10 and E-M5 II) and two shoot Panasonic (GX7). We all went from shooting the Canon 100-400L to using the Panasonic 100-300 OIS on our respective M43 bodies.

How have you found the Panasonic 100-300. Do any of you have the Olympus 40-150 Pro to compare against?

I went from a Canon 7d/100-400 to an E-M10/100-300 and my image quality improved greatly. Now this is primarily because at 70+ years I was beginning to have problems hand holding the Canon kit weighed as much as a 5 lb bag of potatoes. I've recently moved up to an Olympus E-M5 II and would recommend you take a look at that. The focusing is faster than the E-M10 and more akin to what you are used to with the Canon. You should be able to find a used M5II for about $800.

I wish I could find any second hand E-M10's or E-M5II's here in New Zealand. Due to price and my uncertainty with a second different setup I thought I'd be better with the E-M10 to start with. I can always upgrade the camera in the future especially is focus tracking improves. I thought all I was really losing was the weather sealing, and a little bit in frames per second and the 5 axis stabilization. Anything else?

Also given you have used both how have you found the 5 axis stabilization of the E-M5II over the 3 axis of the E-M1o?

I've not had much time to try the M5II on bigger critters but here are a few "small" examples from my first outing with it and the 100-300.

Here's one with the E-M10 using the 100-300 and the internal 2x teleconverter (1120mm equiv).

Internal teleconverter???

Your photos speak volumes for your skill as a photographer and the camera and lens package.

Thanks Gelbvieh.