Panasonic vs. Olympus bodies with a bagful of Panasonic lenses

Hi everyone.

Yes this is a "which camera do you reckon I should get?" post. My apologies in advance if it turns out long-winded, but please bear with me a little.

I'm a journalist but have transitioned to a nice PR job in which I don't need to photograph or do video for a living anymore. Still do a few side gigs though, as an assistant in weddings and doing live show/music concert/music recording studio photography for old friends & acquaintances. Plus I do travel & everyday personal stuff.

I've been using m4/3 since 2011, coming from 4/3 and FF. I've sold my FF gear (overkill IQ, too conspicuous, too big to haul) but I kept some older 4/3 lenses.

I currently own three m4/3 bodies: an old Panasonic GF1 that I keep because, well, selling it isn't worth the hassle; an Olympus E-PM2 because I was a cheapskate and thought 'why pay for an OM-D when I can get the same sensor for much less'; and a Panasonic GX1 that I bought at a fantastic price when they were about 18 months "old" because I wanted more off-screen controls than what the E-PM2 had (which is almost none). That's my current lineup and I've used the heck out of all of them - all three got faded button labels etc. I'd love to sell them and get a better camera though - one with proper controls that is.

I saved on cameras (never paid more than $300 for one) so I could get good lenses. So now I've got a great Panasonic lineup: 7-14mm f/4, 12-35mm f/2.8, 35-100 f/2.8 and a very recently acquired 100-400mm f/4-6.3. I also own a 20mm f/1.7 and the brilliant Olympus 45mm f/1.8. As for older 4/3 stuff, I still have my old Olympus E-400, Panasonic/Leica 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5 and Olympus 50-200 f/2.8-3.5 (non-SWD). I particularly like the 50-200 even though it's heavy and only autofocuses with the E-400.

After this long intro, here's the thing: I want a new camera and have narrowed my options down to refurbished Olympus E-M1 mark I (in silver please), Panasonic G8/G80/G85 or maybe go all the way and just get an E-M1 mark II.

I'm considering the Olympuses because 1.I like Olympus cameras and 2. It'd be really sweet to use those older 4/3 lenses with a modern camera. The mark I has price and the silver colour option going for it; the mark II has a better sensor and better IBIS, plus a bunch of other niceties - two card slots, faster/better AF, the list goes on but does NOT include the crazy burst rates. I don't really care about that. Now if they made the mark II in silver I'd have no choice but to close my eyes and swipe the credit card for those $2k. Thankfully, they only come in black BUT I can stretch the budget and with Olympus' policy of firmware updates i kinda feels like an "investment" (though it clearly isn't in my case). You can see I'm tempted.

Having said all that for Olympus, the fact remains that I have a great Panasonic lens collection AND I just blew a ton of money on that 100-400mm. So the G85 at $1000 with a kit lens looks really good, 16MP sensor and all. That's half the price of the mark II for a stabilized, weather sealed camera with a good VF and fully compatible with my lenses.

So, is the E-M1.2 worth the difference? Is the senor THAT MUCH better? Or should I go with Panasonic for dual IS and just general compatibility? As for E-M1 mkI, provided I can find it, how does it compete with G85?

With the G85, will it provide much better IQ than what I already have? I like the idea of a proper viewfinder and 4k video wouldn't hurt, but can its IBIS compete with the Olympus cams?

Lots of questions I know. I'd love to read your opinions. Thanks for reading all this & thanks in advance for any replies.

Navegador wrote:

...

So, is the E-M1.2 worth the difference? Is the senor THAT MUCH better?

20Mp vs 16Mp... Because of the OSPDAF hybrid AF system EM1-2 is currently the best camera to shoot with your FT lenses.

Or should I go with Panasonic for dual IS and just general compatibility? As for E-M1 mkI, provided I can find it, how does it compete with G85?

According to reports, Dual IS can match with the stabilisation power of EM5-2 (see a review on GX8 here , the section about Dual IS in the middle).

Under the latest Synchronized IS (Oly calls it?) of EM1-2 and compatible lenses that can reach 6 stops of stabilization, it might still be the best at the present moment. According to my home testing, Dual IS-1 of GX85 can support up to 5 stops stabilization and suppose Dual IS-2 of G85 might do a bit better... Please bear in mind, there are more Dual IS 1/2 support Pany lens than Syn IS supports lens from Oly...

Nevertheless, EM1-2 should belong to a flagship class and so, be better to compare with GH5. G85 has been improved a lot from the traditional class of Gs that were strapped down model of GHs, but is still not yet a flagship model, should be closer to the class of EM5...

With the G85, will it provide much better IQ than what I already have?

If comparing to GF1, GX1, yes a definite IQ step up. For GX85 (should be closed to that of G85) ISO6400 could be usable whereas GX1 would never touch. Not to mention I'll limit G1 to ISO200 (likely not much better for GF1?).

Removal of AA filter making GX85 (same for G85) far sharper than GX1 and although GX7 has the same sensor, image from GX85 is obviously sharper having more detail (at the first glance I compared them) and more importantly, far less digital taste (more natural) IMO.

...

Now if they made the mark II in silver I'd have no choice but to close my eyes and swipe the credit card for those $2k. Thankfully, they only come in black

Seriously? I fear you won't make a wise decision if something as trivial as body color is that important to you. Concentrate on things that matter like features, ergonomics, weatherproofing, and IQ.

I find that I save more money and aggravation in the long run by buying a few good cameras instead of a slew of outdated cheap cameras.

I've just been through all this stuff. To my surprised, I posted here asking for help and I got great advice. I didn't take all of it, of course, but I got some really good food for thought and I think I came out pretty well at the end.

Let me say right at the start, you shouldn't have got the E-PM2, you should have gone for the E-PL3. I did, after an E-PM1. A superior camera in lots of ways.

BUT I moved on from that to Panasonic cameras when I reckoned Panasonic had got their JPEG color right -- I only use JPEG. I switched because of the handling and the menus.

I reckon Panasonic's ergonomics and UI leave Oly for dead -- although Oly is catching up in ergonomics, from what I see on this forum, but not yet UI.

My choice now is the G85, just recently bought to replace a G6. I also have a GX7.

As I remarked in another post, I was disappointed Panny didn't put the 20 MPX sensor in this camera, but really, given the IQ I get out of it, it is more for boasting rights than for the reality of what I need. The 16 MPX tweaked as it is, is great.

Sadly, the G85 comes only in black. I would have preferred white (like my G6), or silver (like my GX7). But I am willing to wear the black for the camera's other virtues, the great shutter (nearly silent in EFC mode, lovely), weather proofing, Dual IS with OIS equipped Panasonic/Leica lenses, and seemingly endless capabilities. I regard it as the premier middle range camera of any format today (the E-M1 II and GH5 are the two top cameras, I believe, but I don't need what they do that is beyond the G85.)

There might be one other Panasonic you're not considering: the GX8. You can get that in silver, and it does have the 20 MPX sensor. I think it is weatherproofed too. You would have to look at the specs. People say it is big, but the fact is, that if you made up a box that would fit the body of, say, the E-M1 II, you would find that the GX8 fitted that box too. Much like my G6 pretty much fitted the same box as the E-PL3, when it was ready to work with a lens and the VF2 fitted.

The GX8 is a premier camera, but at a couple of years old, right now it is priced pretty similarly to the G85 and can be bought for even less used.

I should add that there's no way I'm getting Olympus lenses in the range that my current Panasonics cover. Love them and they represent a considerable investment.

I consider my lens collection complete for my purposes.

I hadn't heard of that flare issue, never saw that with the E-PM2. I'l look into it. Thanks for your reply.

Hen3ry wrote:

I've just been through all this stuff. To my surprise, I posted here asking for help and I got great advice. I didn't take all of it, of course, but I got some really good food for thought and I think I came out pretty well at the end.

It seems you do get that from time to time!

Let me say right at the start, you shouldn't have got the E-PM2, you should have gone for the E-PL3. I did, after an E-PM1. A superior camera in lots of ways.

I tried both but the price difference at the time helped with the 45mm f/1.8 purchase. The E-PL3 *is* however a superior camera.

BUT I moved on from that to Panasonic cameras when I reckoned Panasonic had got their JPEG color right -- I only use JPEG. I switched because of the handling and the menus.

I reckon Panasonic's ergonomics and UI leave Oly for dead -- although Oly is catching up in ergonomics, from what I see on this forum, but not yet UI.

I was brought up in an Olympus family so to speak - well, literally in fact, my grandad was into superzooms in the 80s and 90s and my dad took my baby pictures with a Trip 35 and an old Pen! Then I got the E-400 in 2007. You can say I'm a native Olympus speaker so the UI won't scare me away. $2000 price tag yes, but not the menus. Having said that, again you're right in that Panasonic's UI does seem to be much easier.

My choice now is the G85, just recently bought to replace a G6. I also have a GX7.

As I remarked in another post, I was disappointed Panny didn't put the 20 MPX sensor in this camera, but really, given the IQ I get out of it, it is more for boasting rights than for the reality of what I need. The 16 MPX tweaked as it is, is great.

Sadly, the G85 comes only in black. I would have preferred white (like my G6), or silver (like my GX7). But I am willing to wear the black for the camera's other virtues, the great shutter (nearly silent in EFC mode, lovely), weather proofing, Dual IS with OIS equipped Panasonic/Leica lenses, and seemingly endless capabilities. I regard it as the premier middle range camera of any format today (the E-M1 II and GH5 are the two top cameras, I believe, but I don't need what they do that is beyond the G85.)

Another commenter was a bit critical of my using camera body colour as a factor in this decision but what can I do? I just think silver's nicer and for the price yes I'd like to choose a nicer colour. I don't really like that dark grey on the G7 though.

Some will say I'm "comparing apples to oranges" with G85 vs. E-M1 mark II but the features you mention are similar between the two. It's the lens compatibility vs. sensor improvement thing that's bugging me. No so much in resolution as in noise, DR and PD autofocus.

There might be one other Panasonic you're not considering: the GX8. You can get that in silver, and it does have the 20 MPX sensor. I think it is weatherproofed too. You would have to look at the specs. People say it is big, but the fact is, that if you made up a box that would fit the body of, say, the E-M1 II, you would find that the GX8 fitted that box too. Much like my G6 pretty much fitted the same box as the E-PL3, when it was ready to work with a lens and the VF2 fitted.

The GX8 is a premier camera, but at a couple of years old, right now it is priced pretty similarly to the G85 and can be bought for even less used.

Ah yes, I looked into it. Not much of a fan of the form factor at this point though, and it seems the AA filter robs that 20MP sensor of its assumed quality edge over the 16MP sensor in the G8/80/85. Maybe it's superior in other parameters though. I'll have another look.

Thanks!

Navegador wrote:

Having said all that for Olympus, the fact remains that I have a great Panasonic lens collection AND I just blew a ton of money on that 100-400mm. So the G85 at $1000 with a kit lens looks really good, 16MP sensor and all. That's half the price of the mark II for a stabilized, weather sealed camera with a good VF and fully compatible with my lenses.

So, is the E-M1.2 worth the difference? Is the senor THAT MUCH better? Or should I go with Panasonic for dual IS and just general compatibility? As for E-M1 mkI, provided I can find it, how does it compete with G85?

With the G85, will it provide much better IQ than what I already have? I like the idea of a proper viewfinder and 4k video wouldn't hurt, but can its IBIS compete with the Olympus cams?

Lots of questions I know. I'd love to read your opinions. Thanks for reading all this & thanks in advance for any replies.

When I picked up the G85 to complement my E-m1 mark I seven months ago, I started a thread on the nuts and bolts differences (mostly not image related) between the Olympus cameras I've used since 2001 (most recently the E-m5 mark I and E-m1 mark I, but also E-pm2 in the past) and the G85. My main reason for adding the G85 was it supported an OLED viewfinder which is more friendly when wearing polarized sunglasses, but also had weather sealing and sensor shift stabilization. The thread filled up, and I continued it in another thread:

• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/58680241
• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59110694

I am a JPG shooter that mostly shoots events (renaissance faires, steampunk events) and also vacation shots. I tend to set my defaults at the beginning of the day, shoot, and do minimal post processing. Because I generally keep my camera down to the side, and only bring it up to my eye when I see a decisive moment approaching, shoot, and put the camera back down, I don't tend to fiddle with settings.

Generally, I've been happy with the G85 pictures. However recently, I've noticed one issue that has soured me slightly on the G85, and that is I see whites (particularly white shirts) getting over-exposed in a few cases. Unfortunately for the renaissance faire and steampunk events, a lot of people wear white shirts/blouses. I need to have a weekend where I'm not doing anything and it is sunny that I can experiment with the appropriate options to see if I can change things. I described the issue in this post:

• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59664822

One other thing that I've been playing with is externally powering the cameras. In this regard, the G85 is much better than the Olympus cameras, as it provides s simple and cheap method to power the camera via A/C adapter (or external battery), while the Olympus solution is more convoluted and expensive:

• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59407043

I bought the E-m1 mark I when I wanted more telephoto and I looked at the price of the E-m1 mark I vs. the Olympus 40-150mm pro lens, and it was cheaper to get the E-m1 mark I and use my existing 50-200mm mark I lens (and EC-14 tele-converter if needed). The 50-200mm is the main classic 4/3rds lens I use on the E-m1.

Now, in terms of the E-m1 mark II, I looked at it, and I decided that I personally did not need the extra features. For instance, I typically find the E-m1 high speed sequential shooting to be too fast, and I tend to use low speed fps and tune it down to 3 fps (this is because I keep the camera on low speed sequential shooting, and at 3 fps, I can remove my finger from the shutter without taking duplicate shots, but I can keep the shutter pressed down when I need to take duplicate shots). Olympus uses the TFT LCD in the electronic viewfinder just like it does in most of their cameras (except for the E-m10 mark II and Pen-F), so I would have had to deal with parts of the EVF being unviewable when I wore the sunglasses. If I were doing sports or shooting more video with the micro 4/3rds, then it would be a different issue.

I still have my GF1 for the same reason you do.  Easy to keep, not worth the effort to sell.

When I decided to buy a second M 4/3 body, I rented both the Pen F and GX8 (along with the Olympus 75 1.8 and the Panny/ Leica 42.5 1.2. The GX8 fit my hand better than the Pen F ( though in fairness, I should have rented the accessory grip too).

After putting both cameras through their paces, I decided -- for my needs -- the Panny was a better fit (Oly's menu system was a factor here).

That being said, it reads like you've settled in the Olympus camp. In your position I'd rent an EM1 II and use that experience as the basis of a decision to either buy that or its elder sibling.

The E-M1II works very well with the P/L 100-400 and has the best CAF capability of the M43.  So if you shoot action that is the camera to get.

I upgraded from a e-pm1 to a e-pm2 and used it for a number of years. The only thing that I really did not feel completely comfortable was the shutter. So I bought a GX85 which has an improved mechanical shutter as well as e-shutter. I have to say that even the mechanical shutter in GX85 is extremely good with no hint of shock that I can detect.

john isaacs wrote:

In my experience, Panasonic is more likely to blow highlights than Olympus. I usually have my Panasonic cameras set to -1/3 or -2/3 Ev for that reason. I nearly always have the camera set to display the image with highlights to check, so I can reshoot if needed.

Yeah, I was figuring that probably will be the solution.

Which is one reason I always shoot RAW. If you are a JPG shooter, then I suggest you shoot RAW+JPG (which I used to do), and then you can toss the RAW if your JPGs are okay, or use the RAW to recover if they are not. At any rate, I eventually stopped shooting JPG at all, and now shoot exclusively RAW.

For various reasons, I just don't want to shoot RAW.

The big difference (for me) between Panasonic and Olympus is that Olympus will show blown highlights/crushed shadows in live preview, allowing you to adjust the exposure before shooting. This is the Highlight/Shadow option for EVF and LCD. It applies to JPG, so you might not blow highlights in RAW even if it's indicated due to the increased headroom. But there is an adjustment for this; I set it to maximum because I shoot RAW. I shoot a lot of concerts/events where the lighting can be very harsh, and use this to ensure that my subject is not blown out even if there are a lot of bright lights that are.

Well the G85 now has zebra patterns to indicate blown highlights.  However my main desire is not to have to do fiddling on a picture by picture basis.  I find I get better street type shots if I don't have the camera up to my eye all of the time, and just bring the camera to my eye, shoot, and put it back to my side.

BATTERY POWER: My Panasonic bodies can be easily powered by external battery using the dummy battery terminals that are used for AC power. Olympus requires you buy the battery grip, and an AC adapter that plugs into the grip; it's no simple matter to provide external battery power with that solution. I don't know why they won't support this, since the Olympus batteries are total wimps compared to my Panasonic GH3 batteries. In fact, putting the camera in a cage where it's not simple to access the battery port means Panasonic is still the video solution.

There is a third party solution (tether tools case relay power) that has a fake battery like Panasonic provides, but it is not something Olympus did.

REMOTE CONTROL: For me, the Panasonic remote control app is better than anything else I've used (Olympus, Nikon). My application is a bit specific, but I will shoot events where I put the camera on a boom and control with iPhone, then bring it down and immediately shoot by hand, and then back on the boom. I can establish iPhone connection and use either iPhone or camera controls without changing the connection.

Yeah, the Panasonic app does seem better than OI Share.

dmanthree wrote:

Twong wrote:

I upgraded from a e-pm1 to a e-pm2 and used it for a number of years. The only thing that I really did not feel completely comfortable was the shutter. So I bought a GX85 which has an improved mechanical shutter as well as e-shutter. I have to say that even the mechanical shutter in GX85 is extremely good with no hint of shock that I can detect.

I just moved from a GX8 to an E-M1.2 and the softer shutter was the first thing I noticed. Not that the GX8's shutter was bad, not at all.

One thing I miss is that Oly has no way to attach a sound to the e-shutter release. I'm old school and like audible feedback.

That would be good.