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Looking for a Range Finder to compliment my E-M1 II

Started Apr 29, 2019 | Discussions thread
Michael Meissner
Michael Meissner Forum Pro • Posts: 28,013
Re: Looking for a Range Finder to compliment my E-M1 II
1

Note, if you go with the Panasonic range finder cameras that have an electronic viewfinder, be sure to try it out in person.   A frequent complaint is that the Panasonic range finder bodies use a field sequential display, which unlike a normal LCD or OLED display uses one beam to show the 3 different colors, relying on your brain to merge them together via persistence of vision.  However some people are sensitive to such displays, and they see a rainbow effect, particularly when the camera is moved.

Also, the VF is rather tiny.  I don't see the rainbow effect, but for me, the VF is too small to use for extended shooting.

On the other hand, the Pen F uses an OLED display (compared to the TFT LCD display in your E-m1 mark II).  Now, because I need to wear polarized sunglasses all of the time when I'm outdoors in sunlight, I prefer the OLED display because it doesn't have polarization effects.  The Olympus OLED displays in the E-m10 mark II/III and Pen-F don't have as high of a refresh rate that the E-m1 and E-m5 cameras have with the TFT LCD display.  Some people will get headaches with due to the lower refresh rate.

I have both Olympus and Panasonic cameras.  I've been using Olympus since 2002, so I tend to have the Olympus menu system burned into my finger's muscle memory.  I find when I'm using Panasonic, I have to remember the differences between the two.  In particular, I find Panasonic cameras to be more sensitive to burning out the highlights, so I find I have to dial in exposure compensation more often on the Panasonic cameras.  I also find the Panasonic noise handling in JPG files to not be as effective as Olympus, so I tend to just use the Panasonic in situations where I'm not shooting at high ISO.

 Michael Meissner's gear list:Michael Meissner's gear list
Olympus Stylus 1 Olympus TG-5 Olympus E-M5 III OM-1 Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm F4.0-5.6 +13 more
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