Question on M43

emzee wrote:

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?

Apart from DoF control differences, Canon (having a larger sensor) will shine at high ISO compared to 4/3 sensor of GX8. So if you expect to be routinely shooting at ISO 1600/3200 and up, you'll be better off with an FF camera.

Other than that, the output from any modern MFT camera is perfectly fine.

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

For GX8, I would prefer Panasonic lenses, due to support for DFD focusing and Dual IS system (only for lenses with OIS obviously). As for the lenses you mention, 15/1.7, 42.5/1.7, 42.5/1.2 and 25/1.4 are all excellent. The cheapo 25/1.7 is a decent lens, but not very sharp (ie. it's fine across the frame even wide open, but it's not as sharp as you would expect from a prime lens).

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

That's a bummer. From what I heard, Panasonic 14-140 suffers from jittery OIS in video mode. And is known to be prone to shutter-shock (but that's only important for stills). So you might want to google that first.

3) What about the flash systems in Panasonic world?

Can't help you much on this one. I got myself a second hand Olympus flash from the old 4/3 system. Works perfectly fine on Micro 4/3 with TTL, high-speed sync mode, remote triggering with on-camera flash and all the basics like that. All perfectly functional for $100. But Panasonic also has its own flashes dedicated for Micro 4/3. Those are probably better.