streetshot Loc: Los Angeles, California

Context: I've had the Lumix GX-7 since it came out and 4 lenses, including the Leica 15mm and the 20 1.7. In the film days I shot with Nikons and also have a D300 and 3 good lenses. I don't use any of that heavy equipment any more and I should probably sell it. I shoot most street scenes and some travel and landscape all with the Lumix. I want the best IQ possible in a light camera. Since I have the lenses for the Lumix I figure I should stay with that system. My question: Is it worth it to replace the GX-7 with the Olympus E-M5 Mark II for mostly image quality reasons? Are there any other suggestions (like lenses etc) that you can offer?

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

I have no experience with the Panasonic body, but do have the EM1 which I am extremely happy with. I have become interested in shooting with fixed-focal length lenses since purchasing the system and own several, in addition to a couple of zooms. I can attest the 14mm Panasonic is excellent, as is the Oly 12mm F2. It is expensive but if you do landscapes, it will quickly become your go-to lens. It is fabulous. I have also used the Oly 45mm. Very sharp and reasonably priced but the focal length is not something I use very often. For street photography, I have the Oly 17mm f1.8, which is another excellent lens. It is pretty much on my camera at all times, as a walkabout lens. I recently purchased the Oly 9-18 for landscapes. It seems to be pretty good, but I haven't had too many opportunities to use it yet to be able to really evaluate it. I also have the Oly 12-50. Good focal range but not a real impressive lens, particularly give it's price. If you are interested in a zoom of that range, I would recommend the 12-40 PRO, instead. Anyway, my 2 cents...

streetshot Loc: Los Angeles, California

Thanks...do you find the Olympus satisfactory for your landscapes?

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

I say go with the E-M5II. You can still use your Panasonic lenses and you'll have all the new features of the Olympus camera.

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

Very much so, however, I only print and display up to 13X19. I know a couple of guys in my area that shoot with the Olympus system and say that going up to 30X40 still yields an acceptable print. I haven't seen that personally, but I guess that would depend on your personal taste and preference for extreme detail. One area in which the smaller sensor does not excel, however, is night sky photography. I have tried to do some astrophotography with my EM1 and the images are noisier than I like.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Have not used the Panasonic cameras but I have the Olympus EM5 (original version) and EM1, like them both. Have a mix of Oly and Panasonic lenses. Only problem with using Panasonic lenses on the Oly cameras is that some of them have chromatic aberration that would normally be self corrected in the native camera. I don't have any trouble doing the correction in post, and the panasonic 20 is my favorite lens. I do mainly landscape and street, with family and travel shots of course and some macro. I am quite satisfied with what I get. I would not claim to be a pro by any means but do sell some prints in a small local gallery, so I'm kind of particular about my images. I print up to 13x19 but I usually take a side trip through perfect resize if I'm going much larger than that, to be safe. The only drawback to m43 is a higher tendency to noise, which you probably notice in the Panasonic too, but there are software solutions which help, and how you shoot can also make a big difference in how much noise you end up with.

If you want to see some OMD images, look at topics started on my user profile page.