I did the Nikon dump, bought completely in to m4/3 when the E-P3 came out. I still love my E-PL2, but wanted a more advanced body. After a shoot where I was the expected pro, even though the photos delivered 100% from the 2 PENs, I somehow felt the need to keep a Niko DSLR for "work". I sold off the E-P3 and most of the relative gear except for an E-PL2 body and kit zoom.

Yup... kept going back to the Oly because IT was simpler to use, and the RAW AND JPEGS required less work to match my vision of the shot.

My OM-D will arrive today. Sold the Nikon stuff again.

Here's my short version. The Nikon always gives me a technically correct photo, essentially the one IT saw in all of it's Nikon firmware genius. The Oly gives me the photo I saw. I could probably tweak the Nikon, but I'm not a tweaker. Somehow the Oly defaults more to my vision than the Nikon. I know that's smoke and mirrors, but it just is.

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Nikon D600, 24-85VR, 70-300VR, P7700, SB-700.

Never used one, but I think people do say the GH2 has a good number of external controls. If so it may not be bigger by much but it could still have just enough surface area to make usability a bit better.

Hence I said it was a dilemma Then again the lenses will still be super small compared to DSLR lenses, so the overall kit size for people like me who want to have 4-5 lenses on hand at all times will still be significantly smaller and lighter even with an almost DSLR size camera. I always say it's not just any individual camera-vs-camera or lens-vs-lens comparison that wins the size comparison battle for m4/3--it's adding all that up and comparing the total difference that really tips the scales.

Potentially true, but one of the sacrifices that offsets the benefits is lack of control over depth of field (or, rather, lack thereof). There is no perfect solution... :D I keep wondering what the glass plate guys would have been saying about celluloid if there'd been a web forum where they could hash out their differences???

Agreed (with the reservation noted above)...I think everyone here would agree that it's better to have a picture taken with gear that had a few compromises than to have no picture and the "perfect" gear sitting at home/at the hotel/in the car because it was too big/heavy to take with you.

It may not sound like it, but I "totally get it." :)

An interesting thought

But regarding the sacrifices of the smaller format, at least compared to APS-C, I think the differences are gradually becoming irrelevant, and that is going to make other things (size, ergonomics) far more significant. Indeed, in the ultrawide to short telephoto range, m4/3 actually has more and better lens choices than most of the established APS-C systems (DX, EF-S).

DH

Hate to differ, as to Canon, all EF and EF-S lenses fit Canon's APS-C mount. So all of the Canon L series will fit the APS-C sensored bodies. At this point in time, only a handful of µ4/3 lenses can compare favorably with the full Canon L system. Unfortunately, those handful of lenses tend not to cover the very wide or the very long focal lengths.

G

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"Everywhere you look there are photographs, it is up to us photogs to see them."- Gary Ayala
My Snaps are Here: Unsharp At Any Speed
Critiquing my images are welcomed and appreciated.

"Sensored"? Someone must have been reading DPR, the sensored (censored) thread

The word you want is "format" as in Four Thirds format.

Like one earlier poster I offed all my Nikon and Sony gear for a OMD and several nice lenses and the 600 flash. So far my assessment is exactly as his was. The Nikon gave clinically accurate shots each and every time. The OMD is delivering what my eye saw with very little fuss. The Jpegs for average sized prints (8 1/2 x 11) and smaller is all you need to be sure. For larger more critical prints the ORF does the trick at delivering that Nth degree fine detail and color accuracy in the post. I'm receiving the grip today so very anxious to see how it helps with any handling. So far I haven't felt there to be any issues as I have smaller hands anyway. Now if the just get extra batteries I'm all set.

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Olympus OMD-E-M5 with HLD-6, 12-50mm zoom, 75-300 zoom, 45mm f1.8 prime, FL-600R Flash

I was shooting pics of action and everything else long before there was auto focus or metering, or anything else except manual settings. I have no problem doing that if I'm using a camera where that is necessary. But I no longer care to use such a camera.

I'm simply saying that for my use the EP3 requires more setting changes in routine shooting to get the results I want than the Nikons do; they also miss more shots. Simple as that. Like many folks I went to 43 for the smaller size. If A D7000 and lenses were the size of the EP3/lenses I would still have a D7000 and would have had no reason to look at 43. But a D7000/lenses is NOT the size of the '3/lenses. So here I am! ;)

After badmouthing my EP3/M43 a bit I thought it was only fair to update...

I guess it would be fair to say I've seen the light!

I have now concluded that this IS the camera for me (with a couple of quibbles). I spent some time in San Miguel de Allende (live here part time) and absolutely loved using the camera due to its size. Now this is not new, I've previously said I love the size. But over the past weeks I've done extensive walking with the camera and it delivered gorgeous photos. I guess I finally got used to it. That plus the 14-150 zoom I recently purchased has made it ideal for my use. The kit 14-42 was a perfectly decent lens performance-wise but totally worthless for me. At first in San Miguel I was carrying the camera with 14-150 mounted, the 45, and the 12 in my Domke F5XB.

I ended up carrying camera with 14-150 and the 12 in a pocket. It was a wonderful combination.

The quibbles? Well, the camera would be PERFECT for me if it had a built-in VF. The other quibbles - I seem to occasionally manage to accidentally adjust the exp compensation. When I was out shooting yesterday I realized I had shot a series of pics at +.7. It was a little annoying but didn't really matter since it was in raw and I was able to just dial those pics back down in Aperture. I still don't think the fill flash default settings are anything but mediocre at best but it's workable and I can correct the results in Aperture with no difficulty though I would rather I didn't have to do that (which I didn't with the Nikons) but it's not a big issue.

So my "wish list" for an EP4 would simply be a built in EVF WITH NO change in camera dimensions. They could make the rear screen smaller as far as I am concerned if they had to to accommodate it - I don't use it for much of anything. I would take the new 16MP sensor if they want to toss it in but don't really care - it doesn't do anything that I really need.

But the main thing I wanted to note was that after going through a good bit of angst over this M4/3 thing, I REALLY like this EP3 now and consider the effort involved in getting used to it to be well worth it!

It took me a few weeks to adjust to the OM-D. I was extremely frustrated with the viewfinder updates, the menu system to the point that I would have experienced joy just smashing the thing into tiny little pieces. The images were gorgeous, but the electronic viewfinder and menu system made the entire photographic experience terribly frustrating.

Interestingly, I use FF cameras. My first experience into µ4/3 was with the GF1. Using the camera was a dream, no transitional period, no learning curve ... it was just another camera, albeit a small camera, but a camera nonetheless. (I didn't like shooting like a zombie, so I immediately purchased a viewfinder and viola! I was as happy as a crab in wet sand.)

But the Oly is a whole new learning experience, if I didn't have five decades of SLR/dSLR experience behind me, I think it would have been less frustrating. Now I am happy with the camera, so much so I purchased another OM-D. If you miss a VF and won't mind 16mp ... it really sounds like you desire an OM-D (slap on a grip and it looks like a sawed-off Nikon).

I'm glad you've worked through the Oly frustrations. So where are those San Miguel images?

Gary

PS- Nearly everyday for more than a week, I would babysit the damn camera and played with the settings and menus and reading stuff on the internet just to get the camera to work the way I wanted it to work. Tons of trial and error ... kept learning in little bites and now I've finally consumed and digested most of what I want/need to know about the Oly. I came oh-so-close to tossing in the towel and just walking away.

G

PPS- Recently purchased an E-P3 for Mary Lou, so I have to set up her camera also ... *sigh*.
G

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"Everywhere you look there are photographs, it is up to us photogs to see them."- Gary Ayala
My Snaps are Here: Unsharp At Any Speed
Critiquing my images are welcomed and appreciated.