Sonoma County, California countryside...

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by AudioNut

Stephen,

I "tried out" an Olympus OM-D E-M5 earlier this year, when I bought my Fuji X-E1 and absolutely loved the camera body, unfortunately, I was not impressed with the "kit" 12-50 lens. And, at the time, I was looking for an "all in one" camera and the Fuji 18-55 zoom seemed superior in image quality in looks/feel and in lens speed. I also thought the built-in flash on the X-E1 offered additional utility that would be beneficial to my particular needs.

I have, on several occasions, regretted my decision, and wished I had looked for an alternative to the 12-50 Oly zoom, but I do love and enjoy the X-E1.

Wish I could have both.

I continue to use a Nikon D7000 and a D5100 with a relatively full complement of lenses for my DSLR needs but I am seriously considering selling one or both of those cameras in favor of an Olympus mirrorless. I noticed that Amazon has lowered the price of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 and it might be a good time to jump into that system.

Hi Julian,
Your thinking has been along the lines of mine, pretty much point for point. I've been doing extensive research on M4/3 lenses and have come to the conclusion that if I got a used OM-D, I'd pony up for the Panasonic 12-35/2.8 G X Vario zoom and the Oly 45/1.8, at least to start. The Panny would be the equivalent of a 24-70mm/2.8 in 35 mm equivalent, and that lens would serve in probably 85% of my shooting situations for "regular" photography. The 45 1.8 I've read great things about, and it would serve as a short tele and portrait lens, the equivalent of a 90mm/1.8, which would be pretty sweet. Future lenses would be the 35-100/2.8 Panny, which would be the equivalent of a 70-200/2.8 and perhaps a 17mm/1.8 Oly pancake, which would make for a very compact camera with 34mm equiv focal length, great for all-round street photography-type situations. If I weren't still doing some motorsports work, I'd be ditching the whole dSLR setup and going for an all Oly OM-D based mini-dSLR system.

But the Fuji X-Pro1 would always stay as my "rangefinder"/honey/fine art/god I love this camera camera.

[ChrisAZ]

Julian and Stephen: After years of shooting SLRs/DSLRs, medium format, and even Leica rangefinders, after basically losing my Nikon system to my ex (a pro photographer) in my divorce, I started looking at smaller/lighter alternatives. Played with a Pentax DSLR but had significant reliability issues and finally settled on an Olympus OMD with an Olympus 12mm 2.0, Panasonic Lumix/Leica 25mm 1.4, and Olympus 75mm 1.8. Reasons for my decision? Form factor, build quality, in body image stabilization, fast focus, fast ISOs, IQ (not a D800 but no slouch), portability, built in EVF and great glass. My lenses are superb and I'm thinking of getting the Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm 2.8 as a walk around and travel lens. Downsides? The user interface and I wish the camera was faster for multiple shots - this is no sports camera. I'd also like a better selection (i.e., any) long fast telephotos/zooms (probably will come with time).

But I was really tempted by the Fujis which reminded me of my beloved Leica (and no I'm not going to drop the cash for a digital Leica). I was only really concerned about long term system viability, some initial handling issues and limited lens selection. So if either of you picks up an OMD I'd be interested in your long term impressions of one system vs the other. I've got to feed my audio habit as well so I don't want to invest in two camera / lens systems.

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[Jerome W]

Very nice pics Stephen. Awesome indeed.
Hey you decided to post only about photography now ? No more hifi ?
Nothing to complain about though. You excel in both subjects.

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