Jclear Loc: Bradenton FL

Anyone who has used the Olympus, please respond with your thoughts and experiences. I am a 71 year old disabled vet with bad back and strength issues stemming from a form of ALS, and the Canon w/18-135 and Tamron 100-400 is getting difficult carry. I am considering a change to the Olympus and comparable lenses. I understand they are two completely different forms of camera but interested in pic quality and whatever your thoughts are on the Olympus. I am on a limited budget but don't want to give up on photography. Most of pictures are a mix of travel, zoo and wild life. I am considering selling the Canon and lenses to off set the cost of the Olympus, what are good prices for them? Thanks in advance. John

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Be sure to check the actual weight differences of cameras and lenses. The difference might not be that great.

Don't rule out a compact camera with a long zoom.
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-pocket-zoom---travel-zoom-cameras-2016-19720
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-roundup-consumer-long-zoom-compacts
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-roundup-compact-enthusiast-zoom-cameras
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-pocket-zoom-digital-cameras-2015-19720
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/0692551582/2015-roundup-advanced-zoom-compacts/01

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

I, too, have back problems and mobility limitations at 75. For those reasons As well as being an Olympus dslr user I went with micro 43. Mine is the e-m1. I think Olympus has outstanding optics and I am extremely satisfied with the IQ. Since I don't have the Canon I cannot offer direct comparisons. The e-m1ii offers some improvements over the e-m1 but I have just not found a good reason to make that investment......yet. I think you will enjoy the lighter, smaller Olympus system. I recently saw an ad for the e-m1ii with the 12-200 super telephoto for $1999. That saves a few hundred. With the 2x crop factor that lens covers 24-400 in full frame equivalent which seems to match your shooting objectives. Hope this helps.

AFPhoto Loc: Jamestown, RI, USA

First, thank you for your service. I am 76 years old and two years ago I switched from the canon 5D mkIII to the Oly em 1 mk 2. I kept the canon in case th oly didnt work out but haven’t used it yet. The oly is incredible.
Don’t hesitate to pm me with any specific questions.

bikerguy

Jclear I was a Canon shooter for 50 years. Most recently with teh Canon 77D, 10-22mm, 17-85mm and 70-300mm DO IS lenses. I switched to the E M1 MII. I is slightly lighter than your 80D but the lenses are much lighter. My kit consists of the 9-18mm, 14-150mm and 75-300mm. It is almost as wide as the Canon kit and much longer (600MM equivalent vs 420mm). It weighs about a pound less and is much smaller and better balanced with the longer lenses. Also, the camera itself is so much more sophisticated than the Canon of Nikon offerings. As a cereal commercial was stated..try it you will like it. I doubt that Canon will ever offer anything to entice me back. The image quality is incredible even without the Pro glass.

Rhl0630

I have both systems. 5 d3 7d etc. I almost always use the Olympus. I dust like it better. On,y negative is the menu system. It takes a while to learn. I really don’t see any difference in quality

bikerguy

I agree about the menu system. I kept reading about how hard it is and it kept me from really looking at the camera. Then I finally bit the bullet and found that the Super Control Panel and using custom settings takes care of 95% of the issues. I think the menu is complex because the camera is so sophisticated and can be customized in so many ways. Also, I like that firmware updates add meaningful features.

John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan

I switched from Canon to the Olympus E-M1, II and am extremely happy. My walk-around lens is the 12-100mm, f4, Pro (24-200mm equiv). Olympus builds rugged photo equipment, so the package isn't really that light. Suggest you compare the weights with what you have. I stated with the E-M10, III and the 14-150mm (28-300mm equiv) travel lens and the 75-300mm (150-600mm equiv) lens. That package is small and light weight and I took some very nice photos. Olympus cameras have what may be considered by many as a complex menu system, that takes some getting used to, however once conquered you'll love it and the cameras are very capable. If you make the move I would suggest the book by Darrell Young, Mastering the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. This will give you a general understanding of the camera and menu system, as well as a reference as you dig deeper into the camera's capability. The book is much better and more complete than the Olympus Owner's Manual. To me the advantages of Olympus is smaller and somewhat lighter equipment (check weights), high-quality lenses that are smaller and therefore less expensive and lighter than full-frame. Greater dof for landscape. The disadvantages are low-light performance and dof for macro (however focus stacking fixes that). I made the switch and will not go back. I love the E-M1, II and with the recent firmware update, Version 3.0 they have included many features from the E-M1X. All that said, I agree with Jerry, if weight is really an issue you might want to consider a compact with a zoom or something like the E-M10, III package I described above which gives you a lot of capability to be in-charge of you photography and have a very light-weight system. Good luck and do your research. There is no perfect system. It's all about tradeoffs. One last point: Use an across the shoulder strap rather that the short strap that comes with any camera. Much easier and more comfortable.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

On John's last point, I recommend the Bosstrap very highly. The best strap I ever had.

Jclear Loc: Bradenton FL

Many thanks to all of you who replied. I do use an optech sling strap and lowpro sling 250 pack. When comparing the weights, seams the M1 Mark II and either the 12-100 or 75-300 combined still weigh less than the Tamron 100-400 lens alone. With this system, it seems I could also go to a smaller/lighter carry system.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

especially the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V 24-1200 Zeiss lens. All in one and picture quality is excellent! Getting close to getting rid of my big iron and 12 lens.

bikerguy

Jclear I use a Lowepro Hatchback 22L backpack. The bottom half holds my camera, three lenses and multiple accessories (even more when travelling). The top holds non-camera gear. This pack, the Oly kit and Sirui tripod and I am good for the day. It is light and easy to carry.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

John seemed to sum up your dilemma really well... I had a 60D when I first ventured into M43 and never regretted it. I started with lower cost E-PLs (Pen Lites ) and realized I could put 3 bodies with primes attached in the same area as my 60D with 28-70L. One feature that was not mentioned is Focus Peaking which at my age of 75 really helps as my vision is not the best. This is a very valuable feature which is REALLY useful if you plan on doing any focus stacking. The camera is so sophisticated that you can do almost anything from the top buttons and selection lever. Menu is NOT difficult just laid out differently from Canon. I never sell anything and use the Canon for better low light performance. If I were to reduce my Olympus to a One body one lens system I would have just what John recommended; Mark II body with 12-100 lens which will give a FF FOV of 25-200. In body stabilization plus the additional in lens stabilization could give you up to 6.5 stops advantage; with weatherproof body and lens What more could you want ? BTW, once you really handle and use one you will marvel at the quality and construction.... I call it my baby Leica.

Jclear Loc: Bradenton FL

Thank you for your response, I'm really leaning toward the Olympus but with budget I would want to sell the Canon/Tamron package or individual. Unfortunately, I just recently purchased the Tamron about 4 months ago and am wishing I had considered the new system before the purchase. John

charleswendt

With an adapter you can use your Canon lenses. I use them on my OMD a6000.