Continue with 4/3 or go DSLR?

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Rybo

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Hi, this is my first 'proper' post, which I hope is not a familiar question covered before many a time (I did search, but being thorough is not my strong point!)

I have being using an Olympus E-PL1 for the fast couple of years, as it was my first camera and I love using it. Now, however, since leaving uni and gaining employment my desire for a new toy needs quenching. I work on a boat for weeks at a time, which brings trips to foreign ports (exotic locations such as Hull, Montrose and Blithe so far!!) and also a considerable amount of free time, so i have deemed it acceptable to upgrade my camera as I have more opportunity to practice photography.

I am in two minds however about what to upgrade to. I love the size and convenience of my PEN and currently have a couple of standard lenses(Kit and the cheap 40-150mm) telephoto and accessories (VF-2 and a handful of filters) for them, so was considering an upgrade to the E-PL5 and keeping my kit. However, recently I have spent more time taking a camera bag and tripod with me anyway, which kind of compromises the benefit of having a small kit. Would it serve me better to buy a DSLR (maybe the canon 700D) and having two separate kits, just taking my E-PL1 with me when I need something smaller.

I guess the point of my enquiry is whether anyone has experience of both systems and which they prefer? (All my friends have DSLRs and disregard the 4/3 straight away!)

Cheers for reading this waffle :P
 
I have a Canon 60d and panasonic gx1. I did have an e-pl1 before the gx1 but have recently upgraded as found an offer too good to resist.
I use the canon mostly but use my micro 4/3 when I don't won't to take my DSLR with me. I'd also never take a tripod etc when using my micro 4/3 ie it is used for portability and convenience.

I would therefore recommend buying the DSLR if you can afford to have both
 
If you're happy with the results your current kit gives you, stick with that until such time as you feel you NEED more rather than just WANTING more, then make a list of your needs and wants, sit down with some time to research which cameras meet all your needs and as many of your wants as possible while staying within your spending limit.

However, I fully understand the call of GAS! (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) So, if you're really suffering, make that list now. Once you've made the list, visit a proper shop, handle the cameras that are on the shortlist and see which feels best to you, see how easy it is to get to the settings you'll want most often. Very little can discourage you from using something than it not feeling right in the hand (apart from it turning out rubbish when you're certain it's the kit's fault not yours!!!) I don't think that the big names have cranked out any real lemons so any of them should do you proud but beware of buying relatively cheap and fast outgrowing your kit - IMO it's far better to have features that you don't need now than not to have them a few months down the road when a few extra quid spent now would give you those features later.

Do be aware that sea water/spray and electronics don't mix (or rather, mix too easily and terminally) though, so a good amount of weather sealing would be a good idea.

Happy shopping!
 
I think it depends what you want out of your photography, maybe go it to a shop and try out a few different cameras. I started with SLR then moved on to DSLR and have a wide range of lenses. I also started to build up CCS system mainly for when I want to travel light started off with a Pany GF1 and two lens and has grown camera upgraded to a G5 and a few more lenes added. Still a lot lighter than carrying around my Canon 5D2 and the quality is good enough from the photos. If I am going out with th intention of taking photos then I use the canon if holiday or other bits family based then it usually the Pany. The quality of photos from the CCS is on par with DSLR unless you doing big prints. If you happy the what you got then stick with it maybe getting a newer body or better lens. Getting something like the Canon will give you a bit more versatility but the CCS cameras are still great and I see more people out using them now so they are growing in use.

Have a play and decide which is best, if you want to change and afford to keep the pen then do it.
 
I "downgraded" from a 5D2 with a few L lenses to a Panasonic G5. I haven't regretted the move once.
 
Cheers for the advice it's much better than "Trust me, the bigger the better" comment my friend made earlier (I don't know what she was implying). I think I have to self diagnose myself with GAS, Nod! I do enjoy my camera still, so i may give it a few weeks thought and go spend some time down the camera shop. In the mean time, maybe I'll get a new 4/3 lens, then whatever i decide it will still be useful.

For the Panasonic users, what lenses do you use for landscapes? I would like a wide angle lens but, from what I have seen (olympus 12mm and 9-18mm), they are quite pricey.
 
Landscapes: 7-14mm.

I should say I have quite a lot invested in u4/3 - GH3, 7-14, 12-35, 35-100 plus other lenses/bodies. I really should get out and use them more.....
 
I guess it depends on how you feel about size of equipment. I just came back from a few days trip and had a Panasonic GX1 and three lenses in a small part of my backpack. The tripod need is quite smaller than the bigger ones for a DSLR with a 70-200 too. If you don't care about that, you may as well try DSLR, but am not sure there will be a huge improvement unless you choose a full frame sensor. Get a good lens instead, and see if there's a need for a newer body or another good lens...
 
After asking on here and in a few camera shops the concensus seems to be to continue with micro 4/3. I have been using my friends lumix g5 and have kind it comfortable use so I think I will look into buying either that or the G6.
I bought the lumix 20mm lens, as I couldn't resist!
 
Rybo you already have the excellent VF-2, and you've done the right thing and bought a decent prime lens ... two years later than you should have.
I think your first intention to buy an e-pL5 is still valid (because you have VF-2), think about the mZuiko 45mm too, or the nice Sigmas 30mm or 60mm, great value for money. Understand the e-pL5 is all-around better than the Lumix G5 or G6 in low-light high-ISO, and most folk prefer its skin colours and auto-whitebalance.
Do not sell your e-pL1, it is uniquely competent and will not be repeated.
 
I have DSLR and Fuji XPro. The XPro is wonderful, great value and great IQ. It does lack the speed and AF of a DSLR but in all other ways it works very well.
 
I'd add an OM-D to what you already have. Will give the DSLR look & feel as well as an image quality jump, while letting you use your existing lenses and keep your PL1 for portability. Add a nice fast prime as well if budget allows...

(That combo is probably the one thing that could tempt me away from my current 5D)
 
I would say stick with M4/3 myself.

You can go with an Olympus OMD or a Panasonic G series. You can shoot great shots on a M4/3 sensor and it will be you not the camera that makes the difference.

What type of shots do you take?
 
Wait a month or so for the new E-M10 to come out - a smaller, cheaper E-M5 with some upgrades from the E-P5 and E-M1 (wifi, shutter, possibly the VF4).
http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-olympus-e-m10-has-a-smaller-body-than-the-e-m5-and-built-in-flash/

Get it in a bundle with the new Olympus 25mm/F1.8 and you'll have a fast prime and your existing lenses will work fine. If you don't like the prime sell it and get a chunk of change back - but you won't, they're addictive!
EDIT, just saw you already bought the 20mm - good choice for landscape.
In terms of carrying round bulk, don't underestimate how far you can get with a tiny table-top tripod as something for when you can't face carrying the bigger one - there's always something to balance it on!
 
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Ulfric M Douglas, Haha It has been a long time coming, unfortunately I never managed to buy a filter (or a lens cleaner!!) for the majority of that time either! The E-PL1 was my 21st birthday present of my parents and If they had bought anything else for that price i don't think i ever would have stuck with photography! So it's definitely for keeps :)

Alf, I guess I prefer landscapes and street photography, but i am trying to approach other aspects of photography.

Malc, The E-M10 certainly looks nice, i'll make sure i try it out :) I have tried the e-m5 and I though it was really quite impressive, and felt so nice too!
 
I've recently gone the other way - Canon 7D with a nice 15-85 lens, to a Lumix GX7.
I'd suggest going into a shop and lining up a DSLR along with the lenses you'd want to carry with you on a day out and compare it with a similar m4/3 kit. Even something like the 700D and a standard zoom will be double the size and weight of a PEN or Lumix with an equivalent lens. I rarely took the 7D out with me if I was walking because of the weight and space it took up in my pack - now I always take the GX7 out because it's small enough to drop into the top pocket of my rucksack and the weight isn't an issue.
For a lot of people the size and weight advantage of a CSC outweighs any marginal difference in output quality of a DSLR.
 
Rybo said:
I have being using an Olympus E-PL1 for the fast couple of years, as it was my first camera and I love using it. Now, however, since leaving uni and gaining employment my desire for a new toy needs quenching. I work on a boat for weeks at a time, which brings trips to foreign ports (exotic locations such as Hull, Montrose and Blithe so far!!) and also a considerable amount of free time, so i have deemed it acceptable to upgrade my camera as I have more opportunity to practice photography.
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4/3 is a better travel option if you ask me. I don't own any 4/3 gear, but I know travelling with a D800 and lenses is a pain in the ass!! I've often considered a OM-D EM5 for travelling. The crap viewfinder puts me off, and ordinarily I'd rather hammer pencils up my nose than use a crap digital viewfinder... but when the alternative is lugging a big bag around in crowded places... being hot and sweaty from exertion... actually having a bruise on my left shoulder sometimes if I've got the big lenses with me... and generally just being very conspicuous... the devil's spawn that is digital viewfinders may actually make sense sometimes.

It would have to be an addition rather than a replacement for me.... digital viewfinders make me want to punch something, and travel stuff is a small, small percentage of what I do.... but if the vast majority of what you do is travel based, then I'd seriously consider 4/3, yes.
 
Have a look at the VF in the newer E-M1 or a small body with the VF4 attached (also post EM5). It's *much* bigger and I'm currently staving off desire for one and all bodies with it attached. My em5 is fine, my em5 is fine. They have genuinely great features included - 14x zoom is quite useful on manual lenses, and the live zebra or histogram is really useful.
 
For landscapes a 12-40 lens would be good. the 12-50 is OK too.

I use 4/3 but its not the same as the latest sensors. Though whatever you have it is important to know how to use it and get the best out of it. For instance you may get better dynamic range out of the EPL1 at ISO 200 as I do on my E-620 DSLR.
You may find a DSLR so heavy and large you wont take it out.

As for for your friends saying you need a DSLR ask them why exactly. The shot below was taken with my Olympus XZ-1 compact at night handheld in aperture priority mode and in RAW then processed in photoshop. I use it like a DSLR in a way but its a compact I should get a viewfinder for it.


China town backstreet B&W Explored by alf.branch, on Flickr
 
alfbranch said:
As for your friends saying you need a DSLR ask them why exactly.
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Attack is the best form of defence :D Just take nice pictures and when people see them they stop questioning your choice of camera :D
 
woof woof said:
Attack is the best form of defence :D Just take nice pictures and when people see them they stop questioning your choice of camera :D
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I rather agree
 
I have an enormous bag that contains a D7100, grip, 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, 11-16mm f/2.8, 17-55mm f/2.8, a couple of Yongnuo speedlights, triggers, batteries... you get the idea. It weighs a tonne. And I love opportunities to use it. These are generally akin to a small military manoeuvre, especially when a tripod and/or flash stands and reflectors are involved.

I also have a non-descript messenger bag that always contains a Ricoh GR and more often than not, an insert containing a Lumix GX1, EVF, 20mm f/1.7, 45mm f/1.8, Metz flash and Phottix triggers. This is generally the setup I'll go with, being both light and inconspicuous.

Recently thought about 'upgrading' to FX - until I realised that a Pen E-P5 would probably see more use and suit my current interests better. As others have said, it's horses for courses. Taking photographs is, for me, more important that the gear you use.
 
Rybo said:
After asking on here and in a few camera shops the concensus seems to be to continue with micro 4/3. I have been using my friends lumix g5 and have kind it comfortable use so I think I will look into buying either that or the G6.
I bought the lumix 20mm lens, as I couldn't resist!
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G5 is a bargain at the moment (£230) and you can get the tiny 14mm prime lens new (split from kit) on ebay for £122 if you want something wider than the 20mm. The 20mm is my favourite m4/3 lens though along with the 7.5mm Samyung fisheye. But there are plenty I have yet to try that also have great reputations (P 25mm, O 45mm, Sigma 60mm etc) and the more expensive stuff like the 2.8 lenses.
 
Second vote for the 7.5mm fisheye, it's a great landscape and city lens and very easy to use!
 
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