A few thoughts about Olympus vs Panasonic for wedding photography

I decided to share my experience as a professional wedding photographer using the micro 4/3 system.

I transitioned from Nikon D3 + D3s and a full lens and flash system with all bells and whistles to shooting entirely with Olympus micro 4/3. For the last 7-8 months I was shooting weddings and a lot of other commercial photography genres with 2x Olympus OM-D E-M1 with battery grips and one Pen mini 2 (E-PM2). I was switching between using only 12-40 f2.8 and 35-100 on the OM-Ds and 12mm f2, 25mm f1.4, 45mm f1.8 for the dark churches. Usually with the 45mm f1.8 I was struggling during the reception where it gets quite dark so I bypass the problem using only the 12-40 and PL25mm f1.4 - they are quite fast and reliable in the dark. The 45mm is useable in the church because people are mostly still. Moving people in dim light are a big problem for the 45 and also the 75mm f1.8.

Then I decided to go forth in making my dream to shoot weddings with three Pens come true. I bought another E-PM2 and an E-PL5 with a VF-4 viewfinder. It was great - no surprises there.

Last week I decided to go test the PL 42.5mm f1.2 Nocticron. I had heard that it focuses faster and saw a video of it blazing through a scene. Since I find no difference between the OM-D and the Pens in AF speed I jut took my E-PL5 (after all I was planning on using only pens and perhaps keep one OM-D for a few occasions). The Nocticron appeared to be a tad slower than the m.Zuiko 45mm f1.8 and this was very disappointing. Then I tested both lenses on a Panasonic GX7 and I was stunned with the explosive AF speed. It was like these were completely different lenses. The same happened with the m.Zuiko 75mm f1.8. These lenses actually became seriously useable in the dark!!!

I bought the GX7 and the Nocticron. A few days ago I shot a wedding in difficult lighting conditions and compared the Panasonic against a Canon 5D mk III with 85mm f1.8. We had a Canon 85 f1.2 too but it had no chance in that competition. The Panasonic and 42.5mm f1.2 was faster and more secure when focusing than the Canon! Slightly more, but still this is shocking for me. I was able to focus on running children in a way that I wouldn't feel sure with my Nikon D3s and Nikkor 85mm f1.4.

Similar things happened with the 12-40 f2.8. From a fairly quick lens in the dark it became even faster.

The way I see things now when I have more experience with both brands is:

1. Panasonic's AF is so much faster than Olympus' that it isn't even fair!

2. Shooting in difficult lighting conditions with the Panasonic and the long primes is a pure joy compared to the struggles I have with Oly

3. Panasonic's track pad AF (adjusting the focus point by dragging your finger through the screen while you're looking through the viewfinder) is so far the most comfortable way to move the AF point that I've seen so far.

4. Panasonic's silent mode with electronic shutter is a wonderful feature in scenes with little movement (I know about the issue with movement!)

5. Panasonic's video options simply rock

6. Panasonic's WiFi implementation is WAY better than Oly - the camera remains useable!!!, there is self timer, burst mode, bracketing mode - all missing in my E-M1s

7. The GX7 is nearly as comfortable to hold as the E-M1

8. The bounce flash ability of the "integrated evil" in the GX7 is quite cool!

And this is all that I can say about Panasonic GX7 that's good compared to any Oly that I have used.

7. Olympus OM-D E-M1 is a far better built camera in every way. It's tighter, it's solid and has a metal body, it has many times better durability - shock/freeze/dust/splash proof. All controls feel great and are simple to find. The Panasonic feels cheap with it's plastics. The EVF is small and has a rainbow effect, even the battery door wobbles!

8. The Olympus cameras are set up by photographers and not only engineers! I mean:

- Olympus's menu system is many times better organized.

- when you shoot, if you don't release the half-pressed shutter button and keep shooting, the recorded image review doesn't show on any Oly. It waits for you to release the button completely before showing you the last image. The GX7 forces you either to keep pumping the button constantly when taking multiple shots in order to see what you are shooting or disable the image review. This, compared to the Oly is simply lame.

- the GX7 (perhaps other Panasonics too) doesn't indicate blown highlights or black shadows before shooting. When you enable this function you only see it during image review where it blinks so fast that it becomes distracting. If you don't want it to blink, on the Oly you just switch the display mode to another full-sized view. The Pana forces you to disable the function altogether.

- the Olys allow you to set a minimal shutter speed when using auto ISO. The Pana doesn't. Instead it holds a SS equal or slightly higher than the 35mm equivalent focal length of the lens. Shooting with the 35-100 @ 100mm results in 1/200" which is relatively acceptable. Guess what happens when you put on the 25mm lens Who on Earth shoots dynamic social gatherings at 1/50"?! - the engineers, of course! Even the small E-PM2 does all that as good as the E-M1. When I shoot on A mode, I use auto ISO on Olympus and it's such a relief not to have to check the ISO and just concentrate on framing, focusing, nailing the right moment, adjusting the light direction and not killing a child that hangs around your feet. Panasonic - I need my shutter speed setting back. Please release a new firmware with it included!

- the GX7 doesn't have a Flash exposure compensation function unlike the Olys. I have a Metz 58 AF-2 which is also designed only by engineers who apparently don't shoot with their hardware. It's so slow to add a flash EV compensation that I usually do it in camera on my Olys.

- I mentioned that the camera controls are distinctive and are NOT flush with the body unlike the GX7 where I struggle to distinguish some buttons.

- The Oly allows you to customize it far more conveniently than the Pana - whether it's the mode dial or the other dials or buttons.

I could go on but I believe that only 10% of those who started reading me are still here.

Where am I going with this? - It is becoming obvious that micro 4/3 is a system that's ever more capable to handle the intensity of a wedding. Sadly only Panasonic seems up to a dSLR level of AF in the dark and Oly is a few steps behind in this aspect. I also think that this is intentional and is only a matter of firmware settings - this keeps both brands worth while but for completely different sets of pros and cons.

I'm in doubt now.

- Should I sell the Olys and get two more GX7s (I like to shoot with two or three prime lenses) so I get the blistering autofocus and bear with ALL the shortcomings of the Pana?

- Should I keep two cute pens and shoot with them and the GX7 - the Pens with the 12mm and 25mm and the Pana with the 42.5mm or the 75mm?

- Should I have two GX7s and a E-PL5 to keep also for tourism?

I welcome you to share your experience and thoughts.

Good observations. Each brand as their pluses and minuses. No system has it all. Maybe the GH4 will be your best solution.

Interesting review - many thanks for posting.

I'm not sure how the Oly 12-40 could be faster on a Panasonic body than on the EM1 though - the focusing is pretty much instantaneous on my EM1, even in very dark conditions.

I must say that the GX7 is a very capable camera and one I should have perhaps considered before I jumped into an EM5 to EM1 upgrade...

Yeah I watched some youtube videos showing Panasonic cameras autofocus abilities in the dark pretty stunning. I wish they would update the gx7 with depth defocus and some upgraded features like the evf and I would make the jump.

How's the autofocus on the 25mm 1.4 with the Olympus cameras compared to the gx7.

david6785 wrote:

How's the autofocus on the 25mm 1.4 with the Olympus cameras compared to the gx7.

All of my lenses focus faster on the GX7. That's: 12mm f2, 25mm f1.4, 42.5mm f1.2, 45mm f1.8, 75mm f1.8, 12-40 f2.8, 35-100 f2.8 and 14-42 f3.5-5.6 X Vario PZ. It's far more distinctive with the slower focusing lenses like the 42.5, 45, 75, 14-42 and less so with 35-100

PS

I take back my words about the highlight clipping indication in the GX7. There is a view mode that shows the entire image without the blinkies.

Panasonic has always been faster than Olympus in AF speed.  I still recalled the old Panasonic Gh1/GF1 runs circles over the similar Olympus e-P1, e-P2.  It wasn't until Olympus introduced the E-PM1, E-PL1, and E-P3 trio that Olympus finally cure its slow AF problem.

The GAP in AF speed has narrowed between the brands, but Panasonic is still ever so slightly faster in AF.

If you shoot Professional wedding, you should really consider buying a Panasonic GH4 instead.  The AF speed improvement alone makes it a worthy upgrade.

I agree with much of what you say, but not all. For one, I find Oly's menu system to be the most inscrutable, poorly organized, randomly grouped collection of duplicative functions imaginable. Sort of like Microsoft Word after a decade of randomly adding new features. Panasonic's menu's are a model of functionality and clarity by comparison. I suspect the reason you prefer Oly's menu system is that you learned it, and got used to it, before encountering Panasonic's.

The only other comment I'll bother to make at this point is that you're comparing two very different cameras. If you want to compare build quality, control layouts, ease of use, etc., you really should compare the EM-1 to the GH4. The GX7 is in a different class. The GH4 controls are far better than the much smaller GX7, the EVF significantly better, etc. And I think you'd find the AF even better than the GX7's.

Bob Meyer wrote:

For one, I find Oly's menu system to be the most inscrutable, poorly organized, randomly grouped collection of duplicative functions imaginable. Sort of like Microsoft Word after a decade of randomly adding new features. Panasonic's menu's are a model of functionality and clarity by comparison.

Count me in on that! I have both Panasonic and Oly bodies and Panasonic is far more user friendly and almost as customisable.

I especially like the option to go straight back to the last menu used on the Panasonics, rather than start back at the root menu with Oly...

The Custom positions and setup is also far far better than Oly's weird and convoluted MySet option which is totally useless on EM5, only just OK on EM1/EM10

The only other comment I'll bother to make at this point is that you're comparing two very different cameras. If you want to compare build quality, control layouts, ease of use, etc., you really should compare the EM-1 to the GH4. The GX7 is in a different class. The GH4 controls are far better than the much smaller GX7, the EVF significantly better, etc. And I think you'd find the AF even better than the GX7's.

True, GX7 is comparable with EM10, EM1 and GH4 are the same level....

No OIS on GH4 though and nothing Panasonic have compares to IBIS on an EM1

Very interesting and thorough comparison.  I appreciate the effort.

Coming from the E-3, E-5, I have no problem with the Olympus menus, love the in-camera image stabilization, and have a bunch of four thirds lenses that seem to work well with the E-M1, so that is why I stuck with the Olympus body.  Nice to know we have so many good alternatives, however.

Thanks again,

Joe

Get you a GH4 and you are there....

horsth wrote:

Get you a GH4 and you are there....

+1

To the OP: I hope you have discovered the brilliant GX7 flash exposure compensation by now?

You should try a GH4 before making a decision. The focusing speed of this thing is stunning. I'm using the f1.2 42.5 at the moment - it focuses at about the same speed as the 12-35, 35-100 and 14-140 and noticeably quicker than my GX7.

Having said that, it is so fast with the GX7 that I would question the need for anything faster for normal purposes.

@007peter - the gap in AF speed may be smaller with the fast focusing lenses but the slow ones a brought up to life on the Panasonic. There have been many occasions where in open shade I was shooting with the E-M1 and 45mm f1.8 people walking towards me as they perform a traditional Bulgarian dance that we see on every wedding and I was struggling with no more than 50% keepers. I tried the slower 42.5 f1.2 and the GX7 in a similar way and my keeper rate went up to about 95% with zero effort.

I will check out the GH4 although I like the small cameras more and even more the lack of the common dSLR look.

@Bob Meyer - about the organization of the menus - it's kind of funny that what you say about the Oly menus I would say about the Panasonic's - what a randomly spread mess! Indeed it may be a case of getting used to one thing first. It's like when I was shooting Nikon and my colleagues had Canons we tried exchanging our cameras and it took us a Looong time to figure out how to change the AF point or other trivial settings. After a few minutes we said in one voice "arrrrrrrrrgh, give me my camera back!"

About comparing two different cameras - perhaps I've failed to convey that I'm comparing the GX7 not only to my E-M1 but also to my E-PM2 and E-PL5. Even my smallest Oly sounds rigid and like a small brick when I knock it with my finger. The Panasonic sounds hollow.

@SidSnot - sure, the option to return to the same menu after you exit it is very nice on the Panasonic!

@Guy Parsons - indeed it's a blessing that the 12-40 is so reliable in the dark. I quickly fond that when I started shooting in difficult lighting. It and the 25mm f1.4 were my go-to lenses for such occasions. Not anymore.

@Jeanadriane - I'd like to thank you for stimulating me to dig deeper to find the flash exposure compensation. I did find it and set it as on one of the on-screen Fn buttons. So I take back my statement on that note as well.

@MayaTlab0 - TBH, no, I did not try that. I will check it out while I still have one OM-D left after selling the other. Thanks!

@wansai - there's a lot of sense in your comment. Indeed I want the Olympus to be the best m43 option in every aspect. I love the handling and the attention to the small details when working with the cameras - whether it's the E-M1 or the E-PM2. I have the feeling that I will not regret getting my first Panasonic because it made a big wish of mine a reality - to be able to shoot portraits of couples dancing in dim light with my portrait lenses with even more confidence. The Panasonic is leaps and bounds ahead in this area.

@b0k3h - I concur that in the situation you describe the 12-40 and E-M1 are a serious competitor to the dSLR cousins. I can always rely on it. But still, the E-M1 limits the use of some of my lenses.

I thought about that - what do I need more often - a splash/freeze/shock proof body or the fastest AF I could get? It's the AF 99.9% of the time. Even more so the way I use to change AF points on my E-M1 is most often by repeatedly pumping the joystick until I reach the desired point out of 81. Sometimes I use the front and back dial to speed things up but that still requires me to push the joystick once to activate AF point selection. Now with the Panasonic I just touch the screen with my thumb as I'm looking through the viewfinder and adjusting the AF point is a blast. I'm having so much fun with it.

@bluelemmy - thanks for your input! It intrigues me and is exactly what I was thinking during the wedding a few days ago - the 42.5 f1.2 is so fast on the GX7 that I couldn't imagine needing anything faster. Still... would I refuse faster AF? - Absolutely not!

I cannot compare cameras like you. I have been a long time professional (40+ years) and have used various Fuji and Nikon digital cameras the last 12 years. I sold them all after retiring and bought a Panasonic G6 instead with 42-45 and 45-150, just for artistic and fun shooting.

A few weeks ago I shot a friends wedding, just as a friends service. As I was not willing to invest seriously in equipment I bought for this occasion a 2,8/19 mm and covered about 60% of the wedding with it.

I was surprised how well and fast it focusses. The keeper rate was indeed about 95%. So you are right about the focussing qualities of a Panasonic camera.

Leen Koper