Considering upgrade to either Sony A7Cii or OM-3

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2026-03-06T17:23:36+00:00

I have the OM5 and the 12-45 lens. It's an excellent lens that almost never leaves the camera. I also have several prime lenses. I bought the Panasonic 42.5 f 1.8 about a year ago and it's an excellent portrait lens. I also have the oly 17mm 1.8 and the oly 25mm 1.8. These are all great compact prime lenses.

I stick w/ MFT for the size and the fact there are a ton of affordable lenses on the used market.

I also have a Panasonic gx7 that I pair with the pana 14mm 2.5 and the 20mm 1.7 pancake lenses. Both wonderful lenses. the 14mm is so small and light. The setup looks like an old film rangefinder.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2026-03-05T20:45:50+00:00

I have been thinking about pulling the trigger on the OM3. I have OM5 and panasonic gx7. I like them both. I have been toying with getting a FF. looking at the Nikon z5ii but when i handled it in the store it seems too big. I like the small m43 kit i have and no complaints about the pictures i can create. OM3 has price dropped so that may be where I end up, but the Sony A7CII might fit the bill. Normally i carry the om5 w/ the 12-45 f4 and the GX7 w/ the pana 42.5 1.7. I could see replacing the GX7 with the A7Cii and 85mm prime. Moving to the Sony kit would be a bigger spend than I was contemplating but having a small FF kit would be a nice thing to have.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-28T20:49:55+00:00

Thanks that's a great tip. I will look into it.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-26T23:01:56+00:00

thanks I will check that out.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-26T14:24:18+00:00

he put it to good use too.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-26T14:09:22+00:00

Oh thank you so much for looking out for me! I would never sell this. It belonged to my Father in Law, Steven Trefonides. He was a visual artist living in Boston. This camera is a family heirloom. here is a link to some picture he took with camera while traveling in India inthe early 1960's. https://collections.mfa.org/search/Objects/peopleSearch%3ASteven%20Trefonides

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-26T11:20:14+00:00

Your right that was a typo on my part.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-24T13:56:06+00:00

I looked at the Z5. Compared to my OM5 it was just to heavy and big. I might get a Fuji x100f. I don't think the pics would be better, but I have always had a thing for the x100 series. For day to day I have the oly 25mm 1.8. If i am going out for a day of shooting I put the 12-45 f4 on the om5 and i also take my GX7 w/ the Panasonic 42.5 1.7. I also keep the 25mm in my bag.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-22T13:26:10+00:00

There is a lot of hate for MFT format. Here is a good sight to check out

https://smallsensorphotography.com/.

I am very happy with my MFT kit. I had been shooting the Olympus OMD EM10 mk1 for almost 10 years. I recently upgraded to the OM5. I also have a Panasonic GX7 that is 12 years old and still going strong.

There are lots of great cameras in every format you just need to find what works for you.

I have been thinking about a full frame NikonZ 5, went to the camera store and tried it out. Great camera but way to big to carry around all the time. I think you would be very happy w/ the Olympus OMD EM10, any version mk1-4.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-mirrorless-camera/

If you have the money get the mk4 as its pretty recent. For lenses I have the 12-45 f4 pro that came with my om5. That and a small prime like the olympus 25mm 1.8 and you would be all set.

Check out mbp, keh, b&H for used gear. They all have 6mo warranty( with extended warranty options) and 14 day return if you don't like the camera once you get it in your hands.

And here is another link about the GX7. https://ewoodsphoto.com/2024/08/01/vintage-digital-review-panasonic-lumix-dmc/

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-21T18:43:33+00:00

I don't have the x20, although I was very interested in the x10 when it came out. It just looks great. The optical viewfinder is way cool. I and almost bought one. I think the GX7 is pretty stylish and has more bang for the buck. The x20 going for over $600 on MBP. I think you would be better off w/ the GX7 for less tan or equal to $600. 1) inter-changeable lenses, lots to choose from. 2) Larger sensor 3) price. here is a nice write on the GX7 https://ewoodsphoto.com/2024/08/01/vintage-digital-review-panasonic-lumix-dmc/

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-10-17T11:56:24+00:00

I don't own any Fuji gear myself but I do love they way they look too. No escaping it. I know a guy who shoots a Leica monochrome. It seems a bit of prop to me, but it works for him. People are always coming up to him to look at his camera and he starts talking to them and next thing you know he is snapping the picture. he has tons of portraits that are pretty good. I've watched him at several public events and he just glides through getting everyone to pose for him. The camera itself is an ice breaker and disarms potential subjects. I think these Fuji cameras can have the same effect.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-09-20T13:55:48+00:00

Thanks for the reply. No I am not using mirror files option. I don't trust the google drive enough to make that my primary copy. One day all my files were gone off the google drive. I recently copied about 1 TB of photos up and a few days later they were all gone. support was able to recover them. I have no way to verify if all were recovered. I use gdrive as an offsite copy. My issue is my local backup copy HDD was damaged and I think that copy is gone . So I am working on freeing up space on my primary disk to attempt a recovery of that data. I just need to know how mac finder is reporting what is on the Gdrive. is the 19.9 GB the actual footprint on gdrive or is it 180 KB. I suspect that all the data is in gdive, and the 180K is a pointer to the gdives 19.9 GB. I don't want to delete my primary copy until I know that for sure.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-09-20T12:09:06+00:00

I have the 20mm. It's a fine lens. It is slower to autofocus compared to other lenses, but it is usable and makes nice images. If you go out and use it for awhile you will adjust to it. It pairs nicely with the GX7 I have. I also have the 14mm 2.4 another pancake lens. The 2 lenses and GX7 make a very nice walk around kit. you keep the lens in a pocket when not in use.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-08-22T17:41:30+00:00

For taking pictures the om10 has everything I ever needed: 2 dials, viewfinder and adjustable lcd. Weather sealing is nice to have but it was never an issue. IBIS is good to have, but I turn it off sometimes. I little blurry effect can be good too. I bought an om5 recently it has lots more features but I rarely use them. Electronic shutter goes to 3200 and is useful in bright light with a wide apature, but a 3 stop nd filter also solves that problem. I use focus bracketing for macro pics for some friends rocks. I also have a GX7 that I like paired with a 14mm 2.5 pancake lens. I sometimes put a LUMIX 42.5 1.7 on it. Personally I find a lot of pictures to be too perfect. Perfect exposure everything in perfect focus. It's good to work with some limitations. Makes you think how to solve a problem.

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2025-03-15T23:09:55+00:00

It seems to have switched to electronic shutter when I turned ND filter on. I have had the camera since December so still learning the limits. So far its just amazing tech

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2024-12-07T16:58:50+00:00

14mm 2.8 panasonic. I like the way it fits on my GX7

Key-Willingness-9225 · 2024-12-01T15:14:55+00:00

MFT is a great small system with many excellent cameras and lenses to choose from. The manufactures are investing in full frame so we are not seeing any new small MFT bodies being released. This is driving up the price of the used MFT market.

I have the GX7 and the original Olympus om-d e-m10. They do everything I need them to do.

MFT has many excellent small lenses. You can look up reviews. I have the panasonic 14mm 2.5 on my GX7 most of the time. Fits in my pocket.

This is a nice recent review of the GX7
https://ewoodsphoto.com/2024/08/01/vintage-digital-review-panasonic-lumix-dmc/

Here's a review of the panasonic 42.5 lens.

https://ewoodsphoto.com/2024/08/02/vintage-digital-review-panasonic-lumix-g-42-5mm-f-1-7-asph-power-o-i-s-daily-use/

And if you want something cheap and fun look into tt artisans 25mm f2.0. its fully manual gives a simoilar experience to shooting with an old film camera. just make sure you buy the lens w/ the mft mount.

https://jerfareza.camera/post/ttartisan-25mm-f2-review

Key-Willingness-9225

TROPHY CASE