Beagleman Loc: Indiana

Okay, now that everyone has pretty well run down on this great Micro Four Thirds discussion, I am going to jump in with a question that is bugging me. I am considering purchasing either the Panasonic GX7 camera or a comparable Olympus. The GX7 seems to get pretty good reviews AND a person could use some of the great Olympus lenses that you have been talking about. HOWEVER, the biggest selling point for the GX7 to me is it's flexibility. I am speaking about the C1, C2, and C3 modes that it has that enable storing settings for differing situations so that the photographer can quickly change from one situation to another without making a lot of changes to the settings.

For instance, I like shooting my great grandkids (13 of them), but then I come across a unique landscape situation and it is hard to make the transition in settings and get the shot quickly. I have already asked a couple here in private messages, and appreciate their answers, but I got somewhat differing answers, so I still need guidance that may help me arrive at a consensus.

So, here are my questions to you avid Olympus fans:

1. Is there any way to store settings ahead of time for very different situations on the Olympus cameras?

2. I have been told there are no Custom storage modes for your setting preferences. So, what do you do when you are confronted with completely different situations? I don't make changes on the fly too well. What do you do?

Implicit in these questions is the concern whether the GX7 is as good with image quality, color, lack of noise, etc. as the Olympus cams. If the GX7 is actually on par with the Olys, I will shut up and get on with it. If not, I need to know how to adapt the Olympus cameras to my use.

Thanks a bunch for you responses!

Beagleman John

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

You can set 4 "my sets" to custom settings. I haven't taken the time yet, but I did have them set on my E-5. Honestly I'm not sure that I'll use them, since this thing has so many programable buttons and additional buttons that the E-5 didn't have. The direct access to HDR settings is so nice. That's what my E-5 "my sets" were.

EDIT:
I need to quit being lazy, and just set them up properly.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

I also primarily shoot on Aperture Mode. front dial set to exposure comp, back dial set to aperture adjust, fn2 button set to select iso. Between the thumb and the forefinger. I have access to what I need. The bottom button next to the lens on the front of the camera is set to turn focus peaking on and off. The top one is set to AF focus point.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

I contemplated the GX-7, as I really like the look of it (being a designer and all). However, the GX-7 doesn't have the 5 axis stabilization....and to me that was what sold me on the EM1...I had heard so much about it, and everything was absolutely correct. It's like gaining a stop or two.

RobertW Loc: Breezy Point, New York

Has to be gratfying to OLY to read some of these posts when a couple of years ago this was CANIKON world and a few musings about Olympus going under! It's certainly gratifying to me since I switched to Oly when my Nikon gear became too bulky and heavy to permit my wanderings with camera(s) at my side, loved what I was getting with an EP3 and a 12mmf2.0 fixed lens, expanded to the EM5 and more glass, realized my Leica glass worked too (Oh Yes!--always kept my Leica M), now going further with an EM1- Kepp up all the support, all you (new?) OLY users!

lukan Loc: Chicago, IL

My EM-1 is set up the same way. If I need landscape vs kids/ grandkids (I don't have any yet), I just adjust the Aperature with a quick top-dial finger turn. I usually shoot in Vivid, so that works just fine since the camera chooses the exposure and ISO. If I ever shoot in Natural mode, I turn it back to Vivid right after I'm finished. The 5-axis IBIS in the EM-1 is superb and the it is built like a high-quality keepsake. I also like the 16MP no anti-aliasing sensor coupled with the TruePicVII image-processing software. It DOES make a difference. I would bet the EM-1 generates better out-of-camera jpegs than the GX-7.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I know nothing about Panasonic cameras but will share what I can about the Olympus though I'm not as expert as some folks here. I have the EM5 and EM1. Both can store up to 4 "my sets" that have all your special settings in them. On my EM1, I have myset 1 as my base settings for everyday use (manual mode, SAF+MF), myset 2 as backbutton focus and aperture priority and some other tweaks I like for when I'm shooting mainly landscapes, myset 3 is CAF with tracking and auto ISO to take advantage of the new phase detect pixels that make it easier to shoot flapping pelicans and running toddlers. I haven't decided what to put on myset 4 yet. On my EM5, I had set it up as an HDR bracketing mode, but that's available on the dial with the EM1 so I don't need that one. I'll think of something...

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Technical comparison

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I am a proud owner of both and just getting into the E M1. The bad weather has slowed be down.

Panasonic corrects for some lens characteristic whereas I don't believe Olympus does. I'm not sure DXO takes this into account when testing cameras.

Someone correct me if I don't have right.

Check out Photozone's Panasonic lens test to find out more.

Beagleman Loc: Indiana

Thanks for your responses everyone. But how do you get to these "My Sets"? I assume in the menu somewhere, 'cause I don't see anything like that on the mode dial or elsewhere on the outside in photos. And once they're set they stay until they are changed I assume? If one can get to them easily, that is great.

--Beagleman

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Menu
Reset/myset

lukan Loc: Chicago, IL

I laffed. The EM-1 scored 73?! Standardize the test to be 16x20 prints and very few would beat that camera: maybe the D800e, the D800, a7r, Sony a99 (maybe), and that's about it! 73 is a joke on so many levels.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Ignore the overall score...look at the technical data...the rest is a popularity contest.

lukan Loc: Chicago, IL

In another Topic/ Thread on this website, the discussion is centered around whether to switch from Canon to Nikon for this one fellow. After several of pages of people stating their opinions, he posts some pictures and the majority are BLAH. The colors have very little life, the image is not SHARP, and they all seem woefully underexposed by 1/3 to 2/3 of a step. As I looked through the images, I thought to myself, without commenting in the forum, how lucky and happy I am to have an EM-1, some ultra-good glass, and a couple new/ empty SD cards. Life is good in my little Oly world, especially compared to the Canikon malcontents.

ocbeyer Loc: Baltimore

Sure, but I doubt if his pictures reflect on his camera's capabilities. Rarely does. Usually pilot error.