Help! E-M5+14-140 Pana Vs FZ1000

highwave wrote:

Hi,

I'm in a bit of a crises in my photography gear right now and would love the brain storming from others.

I have an E-M5 with an assortment of primes. I use to have the Oly 14-150mm and was disappointed at its performance on the long end so I got rid of it and purchased the Panasonic 45-150mm. The 45-150mm was excellent at 150mm wide open. Fast forward, I really got frustrated with changing lenses while hiking or out taking photos and really missed the superzoom of the 14-150mm.

I recently went out and got the FZ1000 which is an all out superzoom. I'm very happy with its performance. It can't possibly match the E-M5 with primes but it's sharp enough for my use and I really loved the flexibility of the zoom range letting me compose my shot the way I want to. You really grab the shot you want which is in my opinion, the reason why you buy a camera.

However it's not all good. The FZ1000 is a monster in size. I put it in my sling-bag and it swallows space. I really miss the portability of the E-M5+20mm and if I ever needed the zoom, I'd pack that separately which considerably saves space. So now I'm having second thoughts about using the 14-140mm Panasonic which is said to be better than the Olympus 14-150mm.

So anyone out there compared the Panasonic 14-140mm II to the FZ1000 on a M43 body? Any ideas in general or reflections? All discussions welcome here

Also, any questions you have on the FZ1000 are welcome so long as I have it

Please no bashing. Gear is gear. Respect the humans behind them.

Would you question be simply built on 2 major factors?

1) How good would be 14-140 M2 on EM5 or (might be later on newer M43 body)? More further discussion would be how much better would FZ1000 be (if yes) over your M43 setup?

There had been complaints on 14-140 M2 on SS or abnormal jittering in video because of over sensitive OIS. But like many members I am one of the happy user proud to have it, not on the absolute IQ but its over performance and versatility. Our good friend Mebpeguin had recently posted a few excellent samples from this lens (G7 +14-140M2). You might compare it for your judgement. As I saw quite many good images from FZ1000, I would not rule out its IQ, but IMHO likely be similar to what 14-140M2 could deliver. Never under estimate that IBIS power of EM5 which could allow extra stabilization to equalize majority of benefit from the fast speed of FZ1000's lens. Both are respectable gears.

It is only half of the answer and moving on...

2) What would be the size and weight you prefer? FZ1000 or EM5 + 14-140M2? How about put it on EM10 or EM10.2, of a smaller GX8.2 or larger GM5.2 in future?

I wish the above could help you to find a way out easier.