E-M5 Mark II or Panasonic g85

[mikey201]

ive been mostly stuck on getting the g85 recently because im in need of a new camera. currently have the rx100 and this will be my first mirrorless

i do Alot of Videos and mostly landscape photos so g85 seems like a good fit but i also saw the olympus e m5 mark 2 and noticed they have alot of the same features like weather sealing,articulating screen ,mic jack,

only thing is em 5 doesnt have 4k..i also Love the retro look of the em 5 and was hoping the g85 came in silver but it doesnt

which camera would you choose and think i should get

thanks

 

[gary payne]

This has been a post of great interest for me since I'm looking to update equipment and am not too thrilled with the 20mp bodies value-wise.

What surprises me is that no one has mentioned that the G85 is significantly sharper than the EM5 ii (at least according to the review here on DPR). Maybe it's not that noticeable?

Also, the other major G85 advantage IMO is the super quiet mechanical shutter...which also has not been mentioned if I recall in this thread.

I have two EM1 bodies but I'm considering the G85 for shooting with Pana lenses, especially the Pl 7-14mm.

gp

 

[larsbc]

What surprises me is that no one has mentioned that the G85 is significantly sharper than the EM5 ii (at least according to the review here on DPR). Maybe it's not that noticeable?

I haven't done side-by-side comparisons, nor have I noticed any difference. Also, I shoot in raw mode, so I don't know if that makes a difference or not. The only sharpness difference I've noticed is that the G85's 1080p video is much sharper than the EM5 II's.

Also, the other major G85 advantage IMO is the super quiet mechanical shutter...which also has not been mentioned if I recall in this thread.

The EM5 II's shutter is very quiet as well. My GX7 has a loud, mechanical shutter so I usually used the e-shutter with that camera. But with the EM5 II, my default shutter on that camera was the Electronic First Curtain Shutter mode. It was very quiet and I don't recall ever using the e-shutter on it. It is louder than the G85's mechanical shutter, I think, but not enough to make a difference to me.

 

[Impulses]

Also, the other major G85 advantage IMO is the super quiet mechanical shutter...which also has not been mentioned if I recall in this thread.

I have two EM1 bodies but I'm considering the G85 for shooting with Pana lenses, especially the Pl 7-14mm.

gp

They both have really quiet mechanical shutters, it might be one is slightly quieter (haven't seen a comparison) but they're pretty quiet in relation to a lot of other bodies (GX8, older Oly bodies like the E-M1, etc)... That was one of the main selling points of the E-M5 II for me, along with EFC (when no Pana body had it) and e-shutter with full bit readout (which only the two Pana flagship models have).

 

[larsbc]

They both have really quiet mechanical shutters, it might be one is slightly quieter (haven't seen a comparison) but they're pretty quiet in relation to a lot of other bodies (GX8, older Oly bodies like the E-M1, etc)... That was one of the main selling points of the E-M5 II for me, along with EFC (when no Pana body had it) and e-shutter with full bit readout (which only the two Pana flagship models have).

If you're also counting non-current cameras, the GX7 also has a 12-bit read-out in e-shutter mode.

 

[Impulses]

They both have really quiet mechanical shutters, it might be one is slightly quieter (haven't seen a comparison) but they're pretty quiet in relation to a lot of other bodies (GX8, older Oly bodies like the E-M1, etc)... That was one of the main selling points of the E-M5 II for me, along with EFC (when no Pana body had it) and e-shutter with full bit readout (which only the two Pana flagship models have).

If you're also counting non-current cameras, the GX7 also has a 12-bit read-out in e-shutter mode.

Yeah, tho it was slower, like 1/15 or something like that no? All their current bodies are in the 1/22-1/30 range AFAIK (GX8 & GH5 having the full 12-bit readout). I thought this was a sensor capability, not sure why it varies so much across their bodies... Maybe it relies on some off sensor processing too.

 

[d3xmeister]

This has been a post of great interest for me since I'm looking to update equipment and am not too thrilled with the 20mp bodies value-wise.

What surprises me is that no one has mentioned that the G85 is significantly sharper than the EM5 ii (at least according to the review here on DPR). Maybe it's not that noticeable?

I don't notice much difference between them. That's from personal experience, shooting raw. I'm not saying there's no difference, just that I haven't noticed any in normal use

Also, the other major G85 advantage IMO is the super quiet mechanical shutter...which also has not been mentioned if I recall in this thread.

I think it was pointed out. I don't know what others are listen to (the ones that said there's only a slight difference) but there is a HUGE difference between them, the G85 is much, much quieter.

I have two EM1 bodies but I'm considering the G85 for shooting with Pana lenses, especially the Pl 7-14mm.

gp

 

[d3xmeister]

I went for the em5mk2 because it looks GREAT and it performs as good as it looks , even video is great and af in video works really good.

Don

 

[Donald B]

I went for the em5mk2 because it looks GREAT and it performs as good as it looks , even video is great and af in video works really good.

Don

 

[gary payne]

Hey d3xmeister

Thanks for your angle on the G85 shutter. It's really a significant upgrade. Although I use the silent electronic shutter often on my EM1 for wildlife and sometimes for stealth street shooting...it does have limitations for action and extra noise. So... regarding the G85, many owners on this forum are just sticking with the mechanical shutter and forgetting those distractions entirely.

That's progress.

When I looked/peeped at the raw image side by side comparisons (G85 review) on this DPR site I decided that the removal of the filter on the G85 brought it to approximately the same level of detail as the 20mp bodies. If you haven't checked it out, it's impressive. But it may be that in everyday use other factors are more important to the clarity of the image. Still, it's good to know that the G85 is that capable under the right conditions.

gp

 

[Impulses]

The E-M5 II doesn't have the AA filter either, FWIW, and there's quite a few test shots on DPR's comparison tool that are flawed.

 

[d3xmeister]

The E-M5 II doesn't have the AA filter either, FWIW, and there's quite a few test shots on DPR's comparison tool that are flawed.

I didn't knew that. Probably that's why I didn't spot any difference between the 2 cameras, it makes sense now )

 

[dinoSnake]

I went for the em5mk2 because it looks GREAT and it performs as good as it looks , even video is great and af in video works really good.

Don

--
Olympus EM5, EM5mk2 my toys.
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/9412035244
past toys. k100d, k10d,k7,fz5,fz150,500uz,canon G9, Olympus xz1

On mine, the AF in video is terrible, I would even say unusable. It is workable in bright light when shooting at F11 with lots of DOF, but any camera can do good in that situation.

And the 1080p quality is mediocre. My little Sony RX100 MK1 does much, much better. Also my GH4 was in a different league. However, I will say my GX85 has the worst 1080p quality of any camera I owned, I don't really understand why.

I do love my E-M5II, for reasons I can't really detail, I really enjoy shooting with it.

In reality there's only one think it really sucks at, and that is flash exposure. It's all over the place.

Ive had great flash exposure on mine it doesnt miss a beat i use it all the time for macro, the only thing anoying is off camera flash it sucks and so unrealiable im better off using s1 manual mode. Af in video is just as good as the gh5 from what ive seen and tested. Its smooth and no hunting like my em51 even in very low light. No complaints from me.

Cheers don

--
Olympus EM5, EM5mk2 my toys.
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/9412035244
past toys. k100d, k10d,k7,fz5,fz150,500uz,canon G9, Olympus xz1

I don't, I have terrible flash exposures, and I tried all modes possible, and ended up using Manual mode which of course require constant fiddling. I have no such problem with my other cameras.

When I say ,,terrible flash exposure,, it means that every time you take a photo, you don't know what you'll get, you can go from perfect exposure to sever underesposure to overexpusere, etc. Oddly, even when the scene is the same. It's very unreliable, I think that's the best I can explain

same here , might give the godox radio flash with ttl ago when more funds come in.

Don

I really think it is a flash variable, not a body issue. My FL50's seem to be more consistent, on both bodies, that my FL360L (FL600R). It shouldn't be so, but it appears to be true.

I'm awaiting a GN50+ TTL Godox m43 RF flash and X1 controller, I hope they will come soon and actually work (no Sony A7-like problems)

 

[gary payne]

The Dpreview review of the G85 said it specifically "out resolved" the Em5 ii. The G85 image quality has been getting rave reviews at other sites too. Imaging Resource for example.

gp

 

[d3xmeister]

The Dpreview review of the G85 said it specifically "out resolved" the Em5 ii. The G85 image quality has been getting rave reviews at other sites too. Imaging Resource for example.

gp

It could be, I didn't said it wasn't the case, just that using the 2 cameras I haven't noticed any difference while working with my raw files from both. I have not run any side by side test. My personal belief is that if there is a difference, it's probably too small to matter.