Question on M43

emzee wrote:

Hi,

I am trying to re-enter into the world of photography after a brief interval. I have used film SLRs in the past and in the digital world, I tried Pentax and Canon systems. Last one I used was Canon 5D Mark II with 24-105mm lens. However, after 2011, I did no spend any time on photography due to some personal reasons. Now I am coming back to the world of photography.

My needs are family (kids - outdoor and indoor portraits), occasional landscapes, street photos. I want to enjoy the photography rather than worrying too much about the large equipment. Image quality is important, but I would not be printing anything more than 20x30 (that itself is very extreme as most of the time I would not be printing anything). M43 caught my attention as it looks to have the right balance of image quality with the equipment size. After all I would like to enjoy the photography as it is not a source of income for me.

Could someone help me to answers for the following questions

1) How good is the Panasonic GX-8 compared to some of the full frame options from Canon? (6D, 5D Mark III). Since I have used Canon 5D Mark II, I am quite familiar with Canon setup. Is image quality very much acceptable?

Can't comment relative to FF (but others have) but I can say that Ihave had the G1, GX1, G5, GM1, GX7 and they are reliable cameras that never gave me any trouble at all. The image quality on the early cameras (G1, GX1 2008-2011) left me wanting better, but since then that hasn't been an issue

2) What about the lenses like Panasonic 15mm, 42.5mm and 25mm (from Olympus and Panasonic)?

They are very good. I have the 15/1.7 and find it is a good lens for landscapes and for indoor groups shots. I am not heavily into video, but I got a few nice low light videos out of it.

The Panny 25/1.4 has lots of accolades for sharpness, DOF and bokeh but the Oly 25/1.8 is good too, and half the price.

The 42.5/1.2 is a great lens for portrait and indoor work, but very expensive. But I've not seen a complaint that it wasn't worth the price paid.

I might opt for a superzoom also for video and I am thinking of getting Panasonic 14-140 for that.

Might be a little slow for indoor work. The Olympus 12-40/2.8 is closest to your old zoom and has excellent IQ. There is also the Panasonic 12-35/2.8 with excellent IQ which may track focus a little better on the GX8 but with slightly less zoom range. Both these lenses are F2.8 constant aperture, and so might do better for indoor video.

3) What about the flash systems in Panasonic world?

The Panasonic and Olympus flashes are interchangeable as far a connection to the hotshoe goes. Wireless trigger compatibility is more complex.

Metz flashes for Olympus/Panasonic work quite well too, as does the Yonguo line. I use a Metz, not that I use a flash much.

Since the camera is smaller, the flash head can be closer to the lens than with FF cameras.

Regards,

Emzee.