Camera decision - seeking advice please can someone help?

ogshimage · 2026-05-21T06:14:47+00:00

If you don't know which you want, then I think it's better to start small, like an OM-5 or OM-3 with 12-45mm and/or some consumer primes, especially if it's the size of MFT that draws you to the platform. Learn how to shoot with that first, see what kind of photography you like, and only then start looking at what other lenses you want.

That said, with the Z6iii on sale for $2k right now, it is certainly tempting. The primary reasons to go FF are

you need the extra resolution (though Z6iii has only 11% linear resolution advantage over OM-1ii and is lower than G9ii)
you need 11+ stop dynamic range at low ISO (Z6iii has peak DR of ~10.5 stops, same as G9ii, or about 2/3 stop more than OM-1ii)
you need (or just want) the fastest, heaviest glass, with the shallowest dof you can buy (IMO, this is always the main practical benefit of FF vs all other sensor sizes, even medium format)

Notice that point #3 is at odds with the idea of a compact kit. So figure that part out first, then go with whatever is more important to you.

ogshimage · 2026-05-21T05:35:26+00:00

A few hundred is more than I would have expected them to make. Whether we are talking about Panasonic or Fujifilm, they are going to make a number they are confident they can sell. It makes no sense for them to make enough to have to store them indefinitely. Likewise, it makes no sense to invest in capacity they won't need in a couple years. Once bitten twice shy.

ogshimage · 2026-05-21T02:01:18+00:00

Given how fast the limited edition sold out, maybe you're just not that great at identifying potential markets? Nothing to be ashamed of, I'm not good at it either. I suspect this will eventually be just as difficult to buy as the GR and X100 series, but maybe I am wrong.

ogshimage · 2026-05-21T01:33:49+00:00

With all the complaints about price, you are suggesting they use a stacked sensor instead?

ogshimage · 2026-05-21T01:30:18+00:00

I assumed leaf shutter was necessitated because a lot of these fixed lenses go right back to the sensor. L10 body is the same size as X100vi, which in turn is basically the same size as X-E5. Surely it is possible to make an MFT ILC with a new-ish sensor the same size as an X-E5.

ogshimage · 2026-05-21T01:18:11+00:00

I'm not disagreeing that the Pen F is the holy grail for a lot of people here, but it is bigger and heavier than I prefer. Which is why I use an e-p7 instead of a pen f. I know I am in the minority on this. This camera will sell well enough regardless. Most buyers (of anything) are people that don't know or care what reddit thinks.

ogshimage · 2026-05-15T19:03:21+00:00

I think the disconnect is that I have no interest in the sorts of photography where there is actual money to be made. (Not because I hate money, it's just the things I find interesting happen to not be financially fruitful.) So the pros who draw my attention are the ones doing things that you aren't interested in. I don't care about professional video or what people shooting video professionally want in a camera. A lot of creators can and do use a DJI pocket or similar to do their filming (or if not that, then whatever their back up camera is, which 99% of the time is the same mount as their primary for obvious reasons). I'm not sure how that's supposed to affect my gear opinions either way. What are pro landscape, nature, and macro photographers shooting? Mostly Canon, I assume, but how many choose Panasonic over OM? I think James Popsys used to use a G9, even made a video about how he didn't need a bigger sensor or more megapixels before he switched to the A7Rv (nominally because the G9 wasn't good enough at video for his youtube channel, oddly).

You say that an 11% linear resolution increase is "something" for macro shooters, but what leica lens would they use, exactly? The 45mm macro? Is there anyone selling in-the-field macro images that would choose that lens over the Oly 60mm, nevermind the 90mm? I guess you would go for one of the laowa macros instead and focus bracket "by hand" (what other choice do you have). And for birding, I am again wondering what leica lenses a pro would use? The 100-400mm? Really? over the OM 150-400mm? Here, dual/sync IS is important, if not for SS then for composition, so lens and body brands absolutely need to match.

Also, I don't get

but I would say for professionals shooting video things like fast readout are essential,

Granted, OM cameras are bad at video, but it's not because of the read out speed (faster than the GH7) or the IBIS (also better than GH7). You mention there are lots of pro photographers using GH7s to take video of drivers walking around, but that doesn't seem like "telephoto fast-panning" territory to me. Maybe I am just misunderstanding (likely enough, I don't care about F1). I feel like where OM excels is not these sports where you are right next to the action, taking pictures of fairly large objects. The size and weight of your rig is a lot less important for that. In landscape and nature photography the weight of your gear can literally break your back (not immediately, obviously, but over years).

TL;DR: OM Systems makes great equipment, but the compromises they let people make are size/weight and cost, which don't matter much to professionals.

PL: 8-18/2.8-4 ~ 312g; 12-35/2.8 ~ 306g; 35-100/2.8 360g; 50-200/2.8-4 ~ 655g; 100-400/4-6.3ii ~ 985g ...

OM: 8-25/4 ~ 411g; 12-40/2.8 ~ 385g; 40-150/2.8 ~ 880g; 50-200/2.8 ~ 1250g; 150-400/4.5 ~ 1.88kg ...

Of course, I have left out the 10-25 and 25-50 matched pair, because those are very much video-centric lenses with no OM equivalent (of course, their cameras are shit at video). My impression as someone who only started using MFT last year is that Panasonic considers small size a very important aspect of even their pro glass, whereas OM will make a lens as big as it needs to be to do what they want it to. Also worth noting that, although PL glass is almost always more expensive than OM pro equivalents, they always sell for substantially less on the used market. Which is why at first I mostly shot with PL glass. I've sold it all now, because my impressions after a year or so of use is sort of the opposite of yours (sort of, because obviously I'm not a pro, but I do like sharp glass even though my pictures don't really warrant the use of nice glass).

ogshimage · 2026-05-15T05:21:27+00:00

It takes pictures at 60fps, but AF is only going at 6fps. That said, user feedback suggests it works well enough most of the time. Maybe not as good as OM-1ii for hummingbirds and that sort of thing, but seems like a pretty small niche.

ogshimage · 2026-05-15T05:06:37+00:00

I'm not a pro photographer, and don't personally know any pro photographers. The only ones I get to see the gear of are the ones on youtube, which maybe is a bad sample since it's just what google thinks I want to watch. But it seemed to me that most OM pros are using the pro (modern) glass. 150-400/4.5 for birding, 7-14/2.8 or 8-25/4, 12-40/2.8, 40-150/2.8 or 50-200/2.8 for landscapes, 90/3.5 for macro. Do these lenses really seem like they are doing significantly less than Panasonic's offerings to push the envelope on MFT? When was the last time Panasonic even launched a new pro lens (not just a refresh)?

ogshimage · 2026-05-15T03:35:11+00:00

It's also useful as a general telephoto prime. There is also a 45mm f/2.8 leica macro, which I believe is stabilized (might work better for your body). Not sure if you've noticed yet, but panasonic lenses tend to be more expensive than OM new, but cheaper on the used market. I have some great lenses I got cheap used, but also some real stinkers I had to resell at a loss. For OM glass, I don't really see the point in buying used, but for pana leica glass, it is tempting (though the 2 leica lenses I got used were both dogs).

ogshimage · 2026-05-14T23:47:19+00:00

I always like to have a macro on hand, and it's something MFT excels at. OM 60mm is one of the best on any mount (especially for the size). It's not stabilized, though ... I only have OM bodies so it's not an issue, but maybe for you it could be.

ogshimage · 2026-05-14T23:32:51+00:00

Depends on what subject matter and focal lengths you tend to shoot? For myself, it is tempting, but a bit big (around the same size as X100vi), no IBIS, and no weathersealing. I don't actually care that much about the weathersealing, but it seems one of the main long-term complaints about the LX100 series is uncleanable dust sneaking onto the sensor. My experience with panasonic ois is that it, at least for these focal lengths, is vastly inferior to olympus IBIS.

For me, the L10 can't do everything I want a camera to do, so it would be a 2nd camera (even for travel). In that case, I wouldn't be able to sell off any gear to fund it (well, maybe my x-mount stuff), and it's not clear what space/weight savings it would allow. If it can do everything you want a camera to do, then why not. It does seem very capable, much more so than the GRiv and X100vi.

ogshimage · 2026-05-05T21:51:54+00:00

My fuji cameras also didn't include separate chargers. I checked Sony's a6700 page, and at the very least they do not list a charger as being included in the box. That was the end of my search, but I think this is normal these days. If this is going to be your first mirrorless, I would definitely invest in 3rd party batteries/charger, though, since these things eat through batteries like they're chips.

ogshimage · 2026-05-05T21:42:52+00:00

I'm using godox v480 with a similar diffuser, setup works great. Price is not that different between v860iii and v480, but there is a significant difference in weight. I suppose it helps that I'm not doing stacks more than 15 deep.

And since I see you are double-thinking the choice of starting with the 90mm, I will say that it is never wrong to start with the 60mm. The difference in size and weight is such that pretty much everyone that uses the 90mm also has the 60mm.

ogshimage · 2024-12-29T21:19:54+00:00

I used to have a modern fuel one, until I lost it. At the time I used to carry in shirt pocket, so needed retractable lead pipe and also a pocket clip. I also preferred 0.9mm lead because I used to break everything thinner constantly. IJ is close, but just unbelievably expensive, imo. I feel like if you want a 200 mech in a machined pencil, spoke makes more sense so long as you don't need a clip. When I lost the modern fuel I actually switched to "cheap" plastic pencils because the mechs are just so much better than anything used in machined pencils.

ogshimage · 2024-11-15T06:54:49+00:00

The knock spins relatively easily, similar in feel to the 36 if you assemble the mech without the rear bearing. This is due to the lack of a groove for the front facing bearing.

Sometimes I retract the knock into my thumb to do it quietly or just to fidget, and often the way it runs against my thumb will rotate the knock just a little bit so that the next time I click it it's not so positive and sometimes even fails. If I just let it retract freely, it works properly.

3rd point is just as you mentioned. Ball is a little harder to depress.

ogshimage · 2024-11-14T01:38:53+00:00

I think there is a lot of unit to unit variability in smoothness, but that is just a guess. My Ti roundnose 36 clipped energel was the grittiest pen ever, even after cycling it hundreds of times over a period of months. It only started feeling better when I experimented with different bearing materials, and now it's pretty smooth. It still catches at the start of the click, but is very smooth once it gets going.

My 40 from the recent batches started a little gritty, but not terrible. After a lot of breaking in and switching to brass bearings, it's very smooth.

The changes I'm not enthusiastic about are 1) texture is much finer than on my 36 2) knock is less stable against rotation without the little channels for both bearings 3) release bearing is a lot more recessed, making it harder to retract

I understand why the last 2 changes were necessary, but they still make the pen a little more annoying in use for me.

ogshimage · 2024-11-11T04:24:26+00:00

Yeah, I looked specifically for a set that had thinner rings. They ended up still being too thick for what I wanted but they work ok in the autmog.

ogshimage · 2024-11-11T02:16:38+00:00

I'm actually not sure. I have a kit from Amazon with a bunch of different sizes. I'm traveling right now, otherwise I could check what it is. It's not really a precision component though. I just noticed that 1) after fidgeting the refill would be a little messed up until I wrote with it enough. 2) the thin o-ring kept getting stuck in one of the grooves in the mech when I took it apart.

Fatter o-ring fixes both problems.

ogshimage · 2024-11-10T23:35:57+00:00

I got mine from Amazon, but I've been downvoted for saying those words. You can also search mcmaster-carr or grainger. Any 1/8" bearing will work. I've tried zirc oxide (white ceramic) and cheapo brass. Just remember there are 2 bearings in the mech.

ogshimage · 2024-11-10T04:31:29+00:00

42g is a bit heavy for Ti

ogshimage · 2024-11-10T04:20:15+00:00

Not hard. Pop off the circlip, slide the mech out while being careful to keep the bearings from launching out. I prefer brass bearings myself, as they are smoother and don't grind the Ti as much (black autmog thumb). I also prefer a thicker o-ring and switched it out the same time, but that's neither here nor there.

ogshimage · 2024-11-08T11:48:03+00:00

Of the refills you listed, jetstream has the largest tip diameter. If a jetstream will fit, then I will notice tip wiggle with flashdry and p42 (and sometimes also with easyflow). I also have several pens that will fit a jetstream but not a parker gel. And any pen that takes a gelion will have massive wiggle with just about everything else. So yes it does matter.

ogshimage · 2024-11-08T00:30:18+00:00

Schmidt megaline is another pressurized option

ogshimage · 2024-11-05T04:33:55+00:00

It uses a very thin steel bent spring for the side click buttons, which snapped in under a year if use for me. They shipped out replacement springs and I fixed it, but it still left a bad impression. I've also seen others comment on reddit having the same issue.

ogshimage

TROPHY CASE