Upgrade to E-P5 or E-M10 mk II or GX80/85 or something else?

Elmokki wrote:

I know the EVF on GX80 can't match VF4. I'm pretty sure neither can the one on E-M10 mark II. That said, the only cameras that are upgrades that it fits are E-M1, E-M5 and E-P5 and it feels a bit pointless on two of those since they have built in EVFs. I rarely enough use EVF already since it's bit of a hassle to put it on so I don't think I'd miss it too much.

I'm also not considering non-MFT cameras. I have enough lenses that changing the system does not feel like it's worth it.

So just to clarify: the VF-4 is the best viewfinder in MFT. PEOD. You do give up when you select a different body. You are gaining handling and integration with any of the cameras you are discussing.

I am still stuck trying to decide bodies myself. Same situation (E-PL5 + VF-4). Mine is further impacted by my glasses and my current lens choice. The Panasonic bodies focus my favorite lens much slower (43 14-54mm Mk II). On any of the Olympus bodies it is a rapid focus as a contrast detect lens. Now, I love this lens, so I wanted to compare the viewfinder and the focus speed. The bodies I used for testing were: E-M10.2, E-M5.2, GX85 and G85.

Viewfinder comparison to VF-4. E-M10.2 and E-M5.2 are not as bright and do not have enough eye relief so the corners are clipped off when using the viewfinder built into the camera with my glasses on though I do wear my glasses fairly far far off my eyes. The GX85 was no where near as bright and clear, and kinda looks funny (camcorder feeling). It was however visibly easier to see corner to corner without moving the camera. The G85 had a nice and bright, though still weird looking (camcorder look) but was very image centric and nice. It was notably the best for wearing glasses, however the information was very… non-distinct as everything was displayed in white (can this be changed). Its nice but makes it less noticeable when you may have information you need but nicely focuses you on the image.

Handling comparison. In hand handling, the G85 was the nicest grip, the E-M10.2 actually had the nicest controls, followed by the G85 and E-M5.2. All of them are a major step up from the E-PL5 (E-PL6 is basically identical).

In focus speed with the old Oly 14-54mm Mk II, in the indoors store test? The speed difference was insane. The E-M10.2 and E-M5.2 were very, very fast. The E-PL5 is actually about like the old Contax G series cameras r the old 50/2 Macro on an E-1. The G85 and GX85… were significantly slower. Like count to one almost two between focus.

This is completely a store shelves demo test of cameras I had available that should be on my list. The problem is… I was disappointed in the absolute most important part of the Olys to me: the viewfinder.

No E-M1, but with the viewfinder issue… kinda sucks.