Back and forth between Panasonic and Olympus.

We recently bought a Panasonic G85 and love it. It is really my wifes camera but I also use it. I am now looking for a used camera and I am wondering if having both brands is hard to get used to or would I be better off getting something from Panasonic?  I am thinking of the Olympus E-PL6. Seems to be a good size and some of the prices seem ok.

Thanks Ivan

I could be wrong, but in my experience every camera is different, same brand or not.  Yes, all (recent at least) Olympus have the Super Control Panel, but other than that...

Another issue would be batteries.  If you could be happy with a camera that uses the same battery as your wife's camera, that would be worth something...

I was thinking of getting a second EM1-II but instead got a EM5-II to replace my EM5 and that means I still have two different batteries.

Lenses will pretty much work on each, although Olympus at least has certain features that will only work with Olympus lenses and other features that will only work with CERTAIN Olympus lenses.

Only you can decide.  There are personal physiological and mental responses to a camera that no third party analysis can  reveal.  I have made some mistakes with cameras that  I have subsequently sold.  My main  satisfactory technque has been rental (from LensRental.com).  This has ruled out several potential candidates.   It is costly, but not as costly as buying the wrong camera,

I have one Olympus and two Panasonic cameras. It is not a problem to switch between them.

Both are ticking time bomb! 16mega pixels really, Wtfreg its 2017--
'what we do in life, echoes an eternity'

I had a GX1 and E-M10 at the same time for a while. I didn't like switching between the two. I used the E-M10 much more so that had a lot to do with it. If you are using both regularly, it shouldn't be a problem. I did upgrade the GX1 to an E-P5 and the E-M10 to an E-M1.1 Now the two cameras share batteries and have similar interfaces (although I wish the E-P5 would show the SCP full time on the LCD when the VF-4 is attached.)

rarecoinman wrote:

Both are ticking time bomb! 16mega pixels really, Wtfreg its 2017--
'what we do in life, echoes an eternity'

What is your budget for this second camera?

RSSrsvp wrote:

What is your budget for this second camera?

My budget seems to grow ;-). When I started to look for the first camera my budget was $1000 and no more. Camera, 2 extra lenses, batteries, filters and a tripod and I am close to $1700. I am just not sure how much I will get into it. My last real camera was a Minolta SRT-101 a very long time ago . Since then its been point and shoots.

I would like to keep it less than $500 but the more I look thats getting hard. I am more concerned with size at this point and whether I want to mix brands. We are just learning the Panasonic G85 and not sure I want to learn Olympus at the same time. But if the price is right I will give it a try.

I went to my local camera shop and tried a few cameras. The Olympus E-PL6 seemed ok and I tried a new Panasonic GM but that was too small.

The search continues...

im45us wrote:

RSSrsvp wrote:

What is your budget for this second camera?

My budget seems to grow ;-). When I started to look for the first camera my budget was $1000 and no more. Camera, 2 extra lenses, batteries, filters and a tripod and I am close to $1700. I am just not sure how much I will get into it. My last real camera was a Minolta SRT-101 a very long time ago . Since then its been point and shoots.

I would like to keep it less than $500 but the more I look thats getting hard. I am more concerned with size at this point and whether I want to mix brands. We are just learning the Panasonic G85 and not sure I want to learn Olympus at the same time. But if the price is right I will give it a try.

I went to my local camera shop and tried a few cameras. The Olympus E-PL6 seemed ok and I tried a new Panasonic GM but that was too small.

The search continues...

Frankly I would consider really stretching your budget and purchase a second G85. The learning curve will be much shorter as you are already versed in the Panasonic menu and the Oly menu may complicate things. Wait for a promotion and go for it as we both know that the G85 is what you really want.  

You can track the prices on www.camelcamelcamel.com.

By the way although you purchased the first camera for your wife you are doing all of the posting you should add the G85 body and the lenses to your DPR profile's Gear List.

I owned the E-PL6 and personally I would go with the Panasonic GX85. With the GX85 there will be less of a learning curve since the interface will be very similar to the G85. It's smaller than the G85 and you'll get an EVF which the E-PL6 lacks. The E-PL6 is cheaper but it will feel like a major step backward if you start using the features on the G85.

You should be able to find a used GX85 for around $500.

AznJunkie wrote:

I owned the E-PL6 and personally I would go with the Panasonic GX85. With the GX85 there will be less of a learning curve since the interface will be very similar to the G85. It's smaller than the G85 and you'll get an EVF which the E-PL6 lacks. The E-PL6 is cheaper but it will feel like a major step backward if you start using the features on the G85.

You should be able to find a used GX85 for around $500.

Adorama has a used GX85 for $549 and a GX85 with the 12-32mm f3.5-5.6 lens for $599. They are both D rated which means "little or no signs of wear" which is excellent. They have a return policy and give a used warranty.