Panasonic GX7 or Olympus PL5

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I have decided to treat myself to a smaller compact system camera in the hope I will carry it about more and not miss so many shots in 2015 because I haven't got my camera with me:banghead:. As the title states these are the two I am looking at currently. I was hoping that the folks on here would be able to give me some current user advice as to what they think of the cameras and specifically whether anybody has used both and whether they have a preference. Landscape and macro are my fave genres but I also shoot a little bit of wildlife. I am keen to know whether I can use other lenses on these cameras as well. Would I need an adaptor to do this. Any info on these cameras will be gratefully received. :ty:
 
I haven't owned either of these particular models but i have owned Panasonic and Olympus camera's in the past, if video is important then i would definitely say go for the Panny, plus i think the GX7 has a viewfinder.

Hopefully someone who has had both will be able to advise you better :)
 
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Thanks for response. Video is something I keep saying I am going to try........ but still haven't got around to it. Would not call it a deal breaker at the moment. Viewfinder Now that is something that i will definitely bear in mind.
 
Had the E-PL5 since May and I love it! Swapped over from Canon 40d because of the lighter weight carrying all that DSLR gear all over the hills and dales!
Smaller camera, smaller lenses, smaller bag, smaller tripod.....well you get the idea.
The E-PL5 seems to be going for a little less than the GX-7, so you could buy the EVF and negate that plus. I have the EVF-3 and like it very much.
Taking it off and using a pancake lens (9mm fisheye or 14mm panny in my case) makes it very pocketable.
I have the 75-300mm for wildlife and find it excellent in use and about 1/4 the weight of the Canon f4 70-200mm I used to cart about the Yorkshire Dales!
Not used the GX-7 myself much, although tried a mates and to be honest, physically, not much difference.
 
I have the GX7 - pancake lens, a small zoom and the 100-300mm - which I can get into my Thinktank bag with other bits and bobs... Good stuff. I took it to Australia in September... Great. Don't know the other one. What about looking and seeing if there are threads on Flickr to compare what people have posted with these two systems? Good luck deciding...
 
wontolla said:
Had the E-PL5 since May and I love it! Swapped over from Canon 40d because of the lighter weight carrying all that DSLR gear all over the hills and dales!
Smaller camera, smaller lenses, smaller bag, smaller tripod.....well you get the idea.
The E-PL5 seems to be going for a little less than the GX-7, so you could buy the EVF and negate that plus. I have the EVF-3 and like it very much.
Taking it off and using a pancake lens (9mm fisheye or 14mm panny in my case) makes it very pocketable.
I have the 75-300mm for wildlife and find it excellent in use and about 1/4 the weight of the Canon f4 70-200mm I used to cart about the Yorkshire Dales!
Not used the GX-7 myself much, although tried a mates and to be honest, physically, not much difference.
Click to expand...
 
Having read threads and also been to read about the Oly OMD10 I am now putting this into the equation and it has a viewfinder. Looking at the price of them both f I bought a viewfinder to go with the PL5 it brings it up to a similar price on the OM D 10 and I am quite liking the sound of this one but prefer the weight of PL5 :eek::eek::banghead::banghead: Think I better make a detour home via Currys tomorrow night and see whether they have any in stock for me to play with.
 
That there E-M10 isn't much heavier (in real life) than the e-pL5 ... but surely you have to know if a viewfinder is important to you.

My recommendation is the e-pL7, but I have add-on viewfinders coming out of my ears ... VF-4 is the bee's knees.

GX7 is a good camera but marmite in terms of handling.
 
Since having kids I moved from a DLSR, as I never carried it with me due to its size, to a CSC. Since then I have had the OM-D E-M5 and now I have the GX7. Both are good cameras producing some good results.

Personally I think the GX7 is a heavy camera for its size but the size is great and I like the tilting view finder. I could not live without a viewfinder.

Whilst I really liked the OM-D I kept losing the eye piece, which was frustrating. That said I like both cameras and would have either. Get to have a play with both and see which feels best in your hands and the most intuitive for you to use. It's definitely a choice down to preference more than performance.

There is a good choice of m4/3rd lenses and they are all interchangeable, so there is no real need to go for other systems lenses and use adapters. Also the m4/3rd lenses are reasonably compact, compared to lenses for full frame and APC sized cameras, so it makes no sense for their size and weight advantage not to use them.

Sent from my iPhone using Talk Photography Forums
 
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I have the GX7 and love it. The EVF is bright and has good coverage, and the fact that it tilts is a bonus. If you are into these things there are a load of features such as a very usable pano mode as well as a time lapse mode built-in. I have the standard 14-42 kit lens, the 20mm pancake and the Olympus 60mm macro, which is superb.

Next in line is the Panny 45-200 zoom, which, with the 2x crop factor, gives the equivalent of 90-400. I have had this system since last April and, although I still have my Canon 40D kit, it has not been used since getting the GX7. My back appreciates it a lot!
 
Then there is the tiny GM5 with its EVF. I'm not saying go for that instead. But in "addition"! When you get the m43 bug. Pancake zoom, trouser pocket, and you are good to go.
 
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Owned the E-pl5 for a year and loved it. Tried the GX7 and loved the feel and handling more. Better in the hand, built in view finder and a good over all feel. Sold the E-pl5 and got the GX7 last month from Jessops. Some good deals available at the moment and may still be doing cash back too.

Image quality is very similar and took a little getting used to the new menu layouts but over all it is easier to customize and access these presets. Has a silent shutter mode using an electronic shutter, a big plus for stealthy shooting/ street photography, focus peaking (makes manual focusing very speedy and accurate), I always found this a bit of a pain with electronic viewfinders or rear screen. Built in viewfinder! Had the VF4 for the epl5 which was great but as i didnt keep it on the camera all the time there were occasions where i missed shots looking through my bag to put it on!

Also GX7 avoids any potential issues with Panasonic 20mm lens. Had experienced horizontal image banding with the Olympus (2 lenses tested). Rare occurance but a pain in the ass when it happens. Tends to happen at higher iso's (1600+) well. not really high and only happens in certain lighting conditions. As far as i'm concerned the 20mm is a must have lens so this was a big factor for me.
 
The cameras are pretty close, so I think it's more of a preference thing. You'll probably like either, but if you can get an opportunity to try both in hand that would be the best way to decide.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I have tried both cameras and have decided that i do meed a viewfinder and have also factored in the oly emd 10 and this looks like it may be the one.
 
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