Hi. I'll be travelling/backpacking for 2 months in October and still deciding which camera to bring. I settled on my Olympus PEN ep1 but now I've seen the newly announced LX7 which has everything the ep1 has (except interchangeable lens) and then some.

Can you please advise whether the PEN would be better to bring? What benefit would i have with it vs LX7? With the LX7 would it make my PEN obsolete?

Thanks

The Olympus has a MUCH larger sensor, with all the advantages that that brings.

__________________
• Wedding Photographer - Sydney and Wollongong
• Borrowed Moment (blog)

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

I'd start by asking what lens or lenses you'd bring with the E-P1? And do you care about isolating subjects against blurred backgrounds? The kit lens has a relatively slow aperture. The new LX7 has a very fast zoom that, IMO, largely negates the advantages of the larger sensor in the E-P1 with kit lens. With the addition of other lenses for the E-P1 my thoughts would change considerably.

I still own and continue to use the LX3.

Just before I transitioned to and when I traveled in which the purpose of the travel was NOT primarily photography-based, I left the Nikon D700 at home and opted to carry the LX3.

I now own a Panasonic GX1 that is, physical size-wise, equivalent to the EP-1. If I still owned the 20mm, I would mate it to the GX1 for a very good travel camera; however, my LX3 is still my preference since it is so easy to carry.

I have read that the LX7 will have a faster lens. Dimensionally, it appears to be quite similar to the LX3.

Having years of experience carrying and using the LX3, it is my recommendation that you carry the LX7 vice the PEN.

It all depends on your preference for size, weight, IQ etc.

I have and use my LX5 all the time, in spite of having four m4/3 bodies and a lot of lenses. There are times where cameras such as the LX5/LX7 are just the ticket and times where one will prefer m4/3, or FF format instead.

If you want to travel very light and easy and the IQ from the LX7 is sufficient for your needs, don't plan to print larger print sizes (or plan to just enjoy images on the computer) then I say go for the LX7 and enjoy it. I'm sure it will produce wonderful images.

If you have any doubts about the LX5/LX7, go to Flickr and elsewhere and view what people have produced with their LX5 cameras... there's a lot of stunning imagery that has been created with the LX5.

One feature that I especially like with the LX5 is the 24mm equivalent at the wide end of the zoom (that's the same as 12mm on m4/3)... most competing cameras only go as wide as 28mm equivalent, which isn't wide enough for my liking for a travel camera. Extra length at the long end of the zoom is of little importance to me.

If you want even higher IQ and don't mind juggling a few lenses and the extra weight, size, and messing with camera stuff... go with m4/3.

__________________
Don

Have a look at the samples on this page and click to view images at the largest size (Original) available... I think the LX7 produces excellent images which will be more than satisfactory for many purposes. The flower in the hand image shows that close ups even at f/2.8 (with this f/1.4 lens) yield surprisingly shallow DOF for such a compact camera.

http://masters.galleries.dpreview.co...PSUwveAzqU0%3d

Only you can decide what you need from a travel camera, depending on the end use of the images and how much gear you want to deal with.

P1000389: dpreview review samples: Galleries: Digital Photography Review

__________________
Don

If Olympus I would bring my 20mm lens plus a 12mm for landscape shots.

Will the LX7 be wide enough?

It's just as wide as the Olympus 12mm.

DH

__________________
E-M5 | E-PM2 | mZD 12-50 | ZD 12-60 | P 14-42 X | mZD 40-150 R | PL 25 | mZD 45