Who's more reliable/less prone to malfunction? - Olympus vs Panasonic

Martin Ocando wrote:

Of all the stories that I've heard, indeed Panasonic seems to have less reports of failures than Olympus, but in my case, both have failed or malfunctioned.

My E-M1 have been suffering the rear dial issue for quite a while, although I learned to live with it. I work it out for a couple minutes when I'm going to shoot, and it works for the duration of the shoot. So, not so bad for me.

Get it fixed if you can Martin.  Mine played up as well and it was only chat on the forum that alerted me to the fact that it was not made that way.  It was like that from the day I bought it.  Now repaired it is just so much nicer to use.  If you have the earlier model then just watch out for sunburn of the evf sensor.  It is far too delicate and prone ot this.  I was paranoid about this when me camera first came back but the paranoia has disappated to the point where I now use the camera with normal due care.

Although, my Panasonic 45-200mm failed completely, to the point that it no longer focuses. It moves the elements, but never achieves focus. And I haven't dropped it. It has been in a dry box for quite a while, though, so maybe the oils have dried up. Although, other lenses have also been on the same dry box, and they are working flawlessly.

Yes, this is unfortunate but perhaps one case in the face of a continuing litany of posts about a few widely recurring similar problems suffered by many users.

So, I would have selected Option 3: Both manufacturers are equally reliable/un-reliable

Yes you could have chalked up one of these votes but my Panasonic experience lens and camera body has been 100% positive.  I hasten to add that my Olympus lens experience has also been 100% positive.

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Martin
"One of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make is to look at the real world and cling to the vain hope that next time his film will somehow bear a closer resemblance to it" - Galen Rowell