3 From Chinatown With OMD

I came so close to buying one of these yesterday ... to the point of ringing DCW in Brisbane to see if they had one, which they did! I was all set to head over there with my money in hand but had a reality check at the last minute and took a chill pill! LOL

The camera they had, had the lower end kit lens on it ... 14-48 or something like that but very slow I noticed, particularly at the long end of the zoom. For someone like me who generally works between 35mm and 50mm what would be the recommendation for a couple of fast primes and what would I expect to pay?
 
The 20mm f1.7 is really a cracker of a lens. Just fantastic. I sold the Panny Summilux 25mm f1.4 for it. That is, for many people, a sweet spot between the FF 35mm and 50mm. I'd start with that. It's about $350 or so if you find one used,sometime better. Definitely my top pic(k)!

That little 14-42 kit lens isn't bad. It has very little mass and volume, rather a spectacular feat of physics. It focuses VERY quickly.

Right now I have a three prime kit, the Panny 14 (very nice too), Panny 20 and the Olympus 45 on the way. Total cost of all three: ~$900.

But I'd still start with the 20.

cheers
doug
 
dreilly said:
The 20mm f1.7 is really a cracker of a lens. Just fantastic. I sold the Panny Summilux 25mm f1.4 for it. That is, for many people, a sweet spot between the FF 35mm and 50mm. I'd start with that. It's about $350 or so if you find one used,sometime better. Definitely my top pic(k)!

That little 14-42 kit lens isn't bad. It has very little mass and volume, rather a spectacular feat of physics. It focuses VERY quickly.

Right now I have a three prime kit, the Panny 14 (very nice too), Panny 20 and the Olympus 45 on the way. Total cost of all three: ~$900.

But I'd still start with the 20.

cheers
doug
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Thanks for that Doug ... I feel a little more confident about the OMD as a potential purchase now. I suddenly realised yesterday how little I actually know about the micro four thirds system and was genuinely concerned that there wasn't lenses available that would suit my shooting style ... and if there was they would be horrendously expensive!
 
I am a big fan of the Lumix 14/2.5 and the Lumix/Leica 25/1.4. The Lumix 14-45 Aspherical is a great zoom as well.
 
There are a great amount of lenses available from Panasonic and Olympus. A lot more are on the way. I know a lot of people dog the Olympus 17mm, but I quite liked it.
 
I started to get that over powering urge to race across town and get the OMD again today ... so I'm out mowing grass instead!!!! :p
 
If the urge lasts more then a week, you'll have to succumb, or cut grass for everyone in town!
 
I bought an OM1 within months of its initial release, along with 28, 50 and 200 Zuiko primes. Loved it. Later on I changed to Nikon. A few days ago I handled an OM-D in a camera store and fell in love again - particularly with that shutter. The sound and smoothness is sensuous. I could even put up with the EVF for that. And there are some nice primes.
Now you go and post these delicious image samples. Dammit.
 
lynnb said:
I bought an OM1 within months of its initial release, along with 28, 50 and 200 Zuiko primes. Loved it. Later on I changed to Nikon. A few days ago I handled an OM-D in a camera store and fell in love again - particularly with that shutter. The sound and smoothness is sensuous. I could even put up with the EVF for that. And there are some nice primes.
Now you go and post these delicious image samples. Dammit.
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I wish you hadn't said this Lynn because unlike a lot of the moon struck GAS inflicted souls around here you're so sensible ... and believable! :D
 
lynnb said:
Keith, my lawn needs mowing. Better do it myself!
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Lynn ... give me your address and I'll be down to mow your lawn ASAP!

Then we can have a beer somewhere on the way to that camera shop to see if they'll offer a discount on two OMDs! :p
 
Lynn, you have it right. The shutter sound of the OMD IS sensuous!

Keith, if I had some lawn that needed cutting, I'd give ya a call. But then we'd just be playing with the OMD!
 
kbg32 said:
Yup, you are right. But as of now, no one knows who Olympus sources the sensor from. In way I don't care. As long as it keeps working the way it does!
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dreilly said:
Companies are often cagey about the sources of their sensors. Sometimes they "tweak" them or perhaps even order them from the OEM with slightly-different specs? But you're right that it doesn't really matter, the E-M5 does nice stuff.
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It's true that it does not matter for those who experienced OM-D as a new Olympus customers.
But there are a lot of people who are leery at the quality of the Panasonic sensors that had been crammed in the recent Olympus cameras.

So I don't know why Olympus marketing is not making a big deal that this is not a Panasonic sensor. I guess they are clamped with some kind of agreement with Panny.

Personally, I agree with both of you. The new sensor is way better than anything we've seen before. And it just lends credibility to the entire m4/3rd platform.
 
It seems that Panasonic will be announcing the G5 soon. Details are not out yet. Just rumours.
 
Keith, as indicated above, you can get a good 3 lens kit for less than $1000. 14/2.5, 20/1.7, 45/1.8 are the most recommended. I went with the 25/1.4 over the 20/1.7, because of the distortion of the 20mm lens (it's uncorrected on Olympus bodies). This is personal preference, however, and the distortion is unnoticeable for most uses.
 
I tried one last week. It handles very well. I've pretty big hands, and was surprised it was so easy to use. My carry-everywhere-no-matter-what camera is the Olympus E-PL3, whose tilt screen I find indispensable. The weak point of the PEN cameras is high ISO performance. The OMD does very well here. Tempting, but I am still hoping for a focus peaking feature in the next iteration.
 
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