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Trevolly

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Good evening all

I own an Em1mkii and when I’ve gone out taking photos my wife has accompanied me with a little Panasonic TZ70. She is enjoying taking pictures more and more and is thinking of buying a camera with interchangeable lenses. Having the Em1mkii I’ve said that if she got an Olympus as well I could help her along and she could use any lenses I have.

Weve seen a couple of packages which look pretty good. Been looking at an Em10mkii package which cones with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens for £479 or an Em10mkii package which comes with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm R lens for £649.

She has no interest in video (knowing the Em10mkiii has 4K) but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the two cameras and if it’s worth the jump to the em10mkiii. She is a complete beginner and will spend some time on auto but I’m hoping I can help her get the most out of the cameras.

Id appreciate any help / advice.
 
For anybody who wants success right away and still grow into the camera later, an E-M10 model seems ideal. I'm agnostic on the ii vs. iii question, owning neither, but do think the mini-SLR design with EVF and popup flash makes a compelling setup.

And when she steals borrows yours she'll feel right at home!

Good luck!

Rick
 
Trevolly said:
Good evening all

I own an Em1mkii and when I’ve gone out taking photos my wife has accompanied me with a little Panasonic TZ70. She is enjoying taking pictures more and more and is thinking of buying a camera with interchangeable lenses. Having the Em1mkii I’ve said that if she got an Olympus as well I could help her along and she could use any lenses I have.

Weve seen a couple of packages which look pretty good. Been looking at an Em10mkii package which cones with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens for £479 or an Em10mkii package which comes with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm R lens for £649.

She has no interest in video (knowing the Em10mkiii has 4K) but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the two cameras and if it’s worth the jump to the em10mkiii. She is a complete beginner and will spend some time on auto but I’m hoping I can help her get the most out of the cameras.

Id appreciate any help / advice.
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I agree with Skeeterbytes, the E-M10 II is a dandy camera. I have no issues using it as a sidekick to my E-MK1 II or Pen F. I use the 14-42 EZ (I like the pancake form factor) the Rokinon 7.5 Fisheye, and the 14-150 as my go to lenses on the E-M10 II. Go for it (and buy one for yourself while you are at it, you 'll soon be borrowing hers)
 
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The EM10ii or iii would be very capable. What mode does she usually use? If she prefers to use a fully auto mode, I've read that Panasonic has one of the best fully automatic modes. I never used the "iAuto" mode on any of my Pansonics or Olympus bodies, so I'm not sure how they would compare in that regard.

If it were my wife, I'd be looking at the GX9 and the EPL8 because she prefers compact cameras over the larger camera bodies and she'd think the EM10 is too big despite how light it is. The GX9 has the newer 20 mp sensor and an EVF (some don't like its EVF, but it is still an advantage to have one), but you'd save some money with one of the 16 mp bodies.
 
There is a YouTube video by Gordon Liang/Camera Labs that makes the EM10 Mk III sound very appealing for a newbie because of the reorganized menu system. I gather that the grip is much improved as well. And, finally, I think I'm right in saying that there are features of the new Workspace software that are available with this model but not with the older one.
 
I have the M10 II and am very happy with it. The M10 III appears a bit dumbed down, but not too much (certainly not as much as the E-PL9).

There is a nice youtube by Peter Forsgård, comparing the two. In short, if you are mainly interested in taking still pictures take the M10 II, if your priorities are video take the M10 III. Link:
 
Trevolly said:
Good evening all

I own an Em1mkii and when I’ve gone out taking photos my wife has accompanied me with a little Panasonic TZ70. She is enjoying taking pictures more and more and is thinking of buying a camera with interchangeable lenses. Having the Em1mkii I’ve said that if she got an Olympus as well I could help her along and she could use any lenses I have.

Weve seen a couple of packages which look pretty good. Been looking at an Em10mkii package which cones with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens for £479 or an Em10mkii package which comes with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm R lens for £649.

She has no interest in video (knowing the Em10mkiii has 4K) but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the two cameras and if it’s worth the jump to the em10mkiii. She is a complete beginner and will spend some time on auto but I’m hoping I can help her get the most out of the cameras.

Id appreciate any help / advice.
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Now is the best time to make this a 2 person team when shooting. Thus, a Pen F or Em5 II will be a great way she can follow the exposure settings you use, and learn other skills at the same time. Because what you do she can copy and learn in the process.
And best part is, you can cover a huge range of focal lengths as a team. One camera with the 12-40, and the other with the 40-150. After a few outings, the team will be able to capture just about any shot without needing to change lenses.

And, as a team, you can switch between cameras. No rule says you must only use one camera. That's why getting a EM10 or EM5 would be the best way to go. Both have similar layouts.
 
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Trevolly said:
Good evening all

I own an Em1mkii and when I’ve gone out taking photos my wife has accompanied me with a little Panasonic TZ70. She is enjoying taking pictures more and more and is thinking of buying a camera with interchangeable lenses. Having the Em1mkii I’ve said that if she got an Olympus as well I could help her along and she could use any lenses I have.

Weve seen a couple of packages which look pretty good. Been looking at an Em10mkii package which cones with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens for £479 or an Em10mkii package which comes with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm R lens for £649.

She has no interest in video (knowing the Em10mkiii has 4K) but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the two cameras and if it’s worth the jump to the em10mkiii. She is a complete beginner and will spend some time on auto but I’m hoping I can help her get the most out of the cameras.

Id appreciate any help / advice.
Click to expand...
The grip alone would make me take the III over the II. If you can, hold them both and see. I was surprised how much better the III was. If they had put a modern sensor in it I would have bought one, but in my case I had several 16MP m43 cameras already.

Not sure about your area of the world, but Oly probably has a on-line store that sells refurbs. I've seen some good deals on refurbed EM10 IIIs with the PZ lens.

--
Jonathan
 
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Thanks for the advice. I think the EM10 is a good choice just trying to decide between the mkii and mkii.
 
Thanks for the info about the video. Was informative and helpful.
 
An EM10 is probably a great option. However, I tried one in the store and thought the build felt a bit cheap compared to my EM5 (I am the type of person who greatly appreciates excellent build quality, though). I ended up finding a used, but like new, EM5 mkii for $350. The camera is awesome for the price!

There are a lot of great bargins if you are willing to shop the used market.
 
Both the E-M10 Mk II and Mk III are nice cameras. They both have things that they do better then the other.

The only thing that I really miss on the Mk III is being able to use E-Shutter in manual mode which the Mk II can do.

The Mk III has more focus points than the Mk II.

The Mk III has the same reworked menu interface as your E-M1 II just with fewer options in it. Some of those options were moved to the AP mode on the mode dial.

The IBIS on the E-M10 III comes closer to the E-M1 II than any of the other OM-Ds.

For a new photographer I guess the way I'd probably describe the difference between the E-M10 Mk II and Mk III, (ignoring the video aspect.) is that the Mk II has just a little more room to grow into while the Mk III is a little more beginner friendly.
 
Get a used E-PL8.
 
I always find the tactile difference between metal and plastic-chassis cameras obvious when picking one up. Another observation is some makers are better at the plastic models than others. Bargain-basement DSLRs seem the worst of the lot, for whatever reason.

In m4/3 my minuscule GM5 and relatively small E-M5 project quality in part because of the metal underpinnings. I've generally found the Oly plastic cams well enough made to not be distracting, although the Pen EMs never impressed.

Cheers,

Rick

--
Equivalence and diffraction-free since 2009.
You can be too; ask about our 12-step program.
 
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Trevolly said:
Weve seen a couple of packages which look pretty good. Been looking at an Em10mkii package which cones with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens for £479 or an Em10mkii package which comes with a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm R lens for £649.

Id appreciate any help / advice.
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I had the same idea, and I thought the E-M10 II would be perfect for my wife. So we went to the camera store together to take a look. We played around with the cameras for a while and she disliked Olympus because it didn't have a grip. She picked up a G7 and fell in love with it. Now I have a happy wife. There's a moral to this story somewhere.

Greg
 
Thanks for the advice with the cameras. I’ve managed to get hold of both of the cameras and I’ve taken my wife to Kew Gardens today to test them. She feels v comfortable with the em10mkiii but I worry that it might me a bit too simplistic and limit her in the near future. Pretty much agree with what you have said so thank you.
 
Trevolly said:
Thanks for the advice with the cameras. I’ve managed to get hold of both of the cameras and I’ve taken my wife to Kew Gardens today to test them. She feels v comfortable with the em10mkiii but I worry that it might me a bit too simplistic and limit her in the near future. Pretty much agree with what you have said so thank you.
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Some friendly advice.... let her get what she is most comfortable with. My wife and I have shot side by side for over 25 years, and I would never even think to presume what she might want in a camera. Because of not forcing my perception on her we have shared a wonderful hobby.....and as it turns out, she wins the most blue ribbons.

Encourage her buy the E-M10 III and have fun together.
 
You can pick up an M10ii on eBay for under £200 body only or £300ish with lens. I recently picked up a silver body in great condition for only £160. So, if you’re not sure, secondhand is a good option... buy it, try it, sell it if she doesn’t like.

I went for ii rather than iii for silent e-shutter and, I believe, more metal in the body.
 
DustyBin said:
You can pick up an M10ii on eBay for under £200 body only or £300ish with lens. I recently picked up a silver body in great condition for only £160. So, if you’re not sure, secondhand is a good option... buy it, try it, sell it if she doesn’t like.

I went for ii rather than iii for silent e-shutter and, I believe, more metal in the body.
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I too like my E-M10 II, and although I toyed with swapping it out for the mark III, I decided I would keep the 10.2 for any number of technical reasons.

However, I’m a man and I make decisions based on specs and performance and .. .. money. The OP might make decisions the same way, but perhaps his wife is like mine, and specs and performance and, yes, even money are way down on her list. What is important to my wife is how the camera feels in her hand and how well the EVF allows her to connect with her subject, and above all.........how much can the camera enhance her artistic capabilities when making the image, without having to get caught up in the technology.

And, like I mentioned above.....she’s the one that wins the top awards. Maybe art does win out over science (or technology).
 
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