Is this an upgrade, or not? Olympus vs my older Panasonic

[susinead]

Hello people!

I have a Panasonic Lumix G6, and was looking at buying a travel lens, something like 14-140 mm or similar. It turned out that the only lens I could find in my price range, has a problem with many Panasonic cameras, producing "shutter shock" which apparently also other lenses do with those cameras. The only problem I've had with my Lumix G 14-42 mm has been that it doesn't produce as sharp photos as my other lenses. So I don't know what to do. I want a fast and sharp lens but without image stabilisation in my camera body, the only lens I'm left with is this 14-140mm with the shutter shock issue, since the rest of them are out of my price range right now.

So instead I started thinking of waiting for a while, saving some money and instead buy another camera body, an Olympus to be specific, to not be dependent on image stabilisation in lenses (and because I've been impressed by Olympus products so far). But if I buy another camera I really want it to be an upgrade, not to buy a new camera just for the image stabilisation.
So I was looking at this the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II. I'm still not great at reading specs and assess the quality of the camera.
What's important to me is to get sharp images, a fast and light camera, wifi to transfer images (as I have in my Panasonic), image stabilisation, good low-light performance. I also want it to work with my Nissin i40 flash.

Do you have an idea?

 

[Emanuel M]

Everything that works on Panasonic will work on Olympus.
The G6, G7, G85 are oriented for video work.
The E-M10, E-M5, E-M1, PEN-F, are more oriented for photography.

Having said that, I owned a Panasonic GX8 (loved it so much) and a Panasonic G85 (also pretty good).
The GX8 suffered from shutter shock, the G85 didn't. But the GX8's sensor was better, so I swapped the G85 for a Olympus PEN-F (uses the same sensor as the GX8, but has no shutter shock).

The Nissin i40 can be problematic - sold mine due to some problems while doing a photo shoot (the flash stopped working from time to time).

If you want something compact, check the Panasonic GX85.
The GX85 and the G85 have a great shutter mechanism and don't suffer from shuttershock, like their predecessors.

The E-M5 MK II is a great camera. A little overpriced.
But it checks all the requirements you've listed. But, also does the PEN F, that has a better, more recent sensor, the same stabilization and looks sexy as hell

Cheers

 

[BrentC]

The EM5 MKII would be an upgrade from the G6. It will have also have better low-light then the G^. Here is a good spec comparison site:

Olympus E-M5 II vs Panasonic G6 Detailed Comparison

 

[susinead]

Yes, the Pen-F looks really nice! It is a wee bit more expensive than I had planned. But if it's a good camera I could consider paying a bit more.. just need to wait longer before I buy, which is totally ok.
So you're now using the Pen-F? Do you have any example photos to share? (in as close to full size as possible)

Brent, thanks for your input. That looks like a nice detailed comparison site. (but they are wrong about the smartphone remote control - I use my iPhone as a remote for my G6 all the time) The camera certainly looks interesting. But what level of image stabilisation is it? 5-axis? Or 3? I read that there's a big difference between the two.

 

[BrentC]

Yes, the Pen-F looks really nice! It is a wee bit more expensive than I had planned. But if it's a good camera I could consider paying a bit more.. just need to wait longer before I buy, which is totally ok.
So you're now using the Pen-F? Do you have any example photos to share? (in as close to full size as possible)

Brent, thanks for your input. That looks like a nice detailed comparison site. (but they are wrong about the smartphone remote control - I use my iPhone as a remote for my G6 all the time) The camera certainly looks interesting. But what level of image stabilisation is it? 5-axis? Or 3? I read that there's a big difference between the two.

The EM5 has 5-axis. The stabilization is fantastic.

 

[Emanuel M]

You can check my Flickr page - Emanuel Mimoso
The first 40 images or so were made with the PEN-F.

I also use a Nikon D610 (example) but for everyday usage they are both great cameras (D610 and PEN-F) - sure the D610 will get more detail and better performance (that's why I use it for macro) but the PEN-F is a more advanced camera, filled with features - fast and reliable

Cheers

 

[susinead]

Thanks! Great pics! And I'm really impressed by your bug photos!
Both cameras look great, but I'm leaning towards the Pen-F for the newer better sensor and the reviews regarding street photography (one of my main interests in photography). I love the design, but looking at it, I do believe the EM5 MkII will be more comfortable to hold (I like the "handle" on the G6). I'm definitely going to visit a shop to look at them both. I saw that I can buy the Pen-F without lens for a lower price.
This could be a good project for the low-light season.

 

[Emanuel M]

Yes, the E-M5 has a better grip and you can even buy a better one.
I use the oficial grip for the PEN-F and it improves the ergonomics a lot

Cheers

 

[susinead]

I use the oficial grip for the PEN-F

Cheers

Hmm, what do you mean by that?? Some other piece you buy to it?

 

[Emanuel M]

Yes. It's the Olympus ECG-4 for PEN-F

Cheers

 

[susinead]

Oh, nice!!

 

[beagle100]

Thanks! Great pics! And I'm really impressed by your bug photos!
Both cameras look great, but I'm leaning towards the Pen-F for the newer better sensor and the reviews regarding street photography (one of my main interests in photography). I love the design, but looking at it, I do believe the EM5 MkII will be more comfortable to hold (I like the "handle" on the G6). I'm definitely going to visit a shop to look at them both. I saw that I can buy the Pen-F without lens for a lower price.
This could be a good project for the low-light season.

could be a good "project" - check them out at a store
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[susinead]

could be a good "project" - check them out at a store
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

Yes, as I wrote a couple of posts earlier.