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Iāve got a used E-M1 Mark II from my local shop. I found it for fairly cheap ($300, plus $80 for 1 year warranty and tax)
Thatās a great deal, very nice!
I feel you on that lumix series. I like the way they look and they have good reviews, but the prices are inflated right now for some reason which sucks.
I found a Sony A6100+kit lens for $440 (amazing deal), but after looking into their lenses, I felt like they were too expensive to the point where it wasnāt really worth it getting an entry-level camera.
Absolutely where I ended up. I knew I could get myself in at a certain point and then upgrade and swap things around later as needed, so it wouldnāt be wasted. Iāve been getting really good deals on some quality budget glass for the olympus. I did end up picking up that olympus 40-150mm for $80 in what appears to be perfect condition from mpb. I can tell itās a more budget lens because of some of the stuff being plasticā¦ but the clarity of the glass is absolutely exceptional for that priceā¦ and it weighs nothing. Iāll include the first couple pictures I took with it here.
For a lens that is half the size of a can of soda, it has that 80-300mm FF equivalent. I can see why people rave about this one as a starting telephoto.
I still donāt own any M43 lenses to test the camera outside, but Iām inclined to get:
Compact kit like the lens you own (14-42mm); All-purpose kit for travel/hiking (14-150mm or something); To be determined between: fast and manual prime (wider angle, ~9-17mm-ish), long reach telephoto (~300mm-ish), or macro (~60mm-ish).
So just so you can see the size of thingsā¦ Thatās a Rokinon / Samyang 7.5mm Fisheye, then the 40-150mm Telephoto, and the 14-40mm EZ on the camera next to my computer mouse.
The only thing about those super zooms like the 14-150 is that you can sometimes sacrifice quality. IDK that much about that lens, but I got myself a little camera bag thatās like 12 x 8 x 5 with a cross body shoulder strap for idkā¦ $15-20 online. It holds the camera, the lenses, the flash, the cleaning kit, the filters, the batteries, the charger, and the filtersā¦ and thereās still room left lol. So Carrying a bunch of M43 lenses is super easy and light weight. Doesnāt make me feel like I need to worry about super zoom coverage like I did with my canon. Always boils down to what kind of photos you think youāll be taking. My tactic was to get the 14-42mm based on recommendations online as a āwalking in the park lensā to get used to the camera and then Iāve just been filling in the blanks as I go. Going on MPB and UPP and just poking around thereās so many fun lenses in that $60-150 range that itās almost impulse purchases at that point. Iām still considering some of the manual ones from 7artisans as wellā¦ even new theyāre cheap and I keep hearing how theyāre good. Iām considering picking up extension tubes for my EM5ii to do macro shots at some point like I did for my canon. I still kind of want that 7artisans 3.5mm fisheye but I absolutely donāt needā¦ but it seems fun.
I honestly donāt know how wide of an aperture Iāll need yet, but Iāll likely have an idea after feeling how the camera performs in low light with the kit lens.
Itās been interesting for me. For fast action in lower lightā¦ there is no escaping needing good sensors and fast lenses. But because of the IBIS and some of the fun tools olympus puts in their camera software (live composite is so coolā¦ pretty sure the one youāre getting has that)ā¦ I have been able to take stills in lower light by using longer exposures and still getting cleaner shots. So I had to kind of reset how I thought about the exposure triangle settings.
I will keep you posted and update the original post soon relating my experience!
Iām excited for you. Using this olympus from 2015 has convinced me that I absolutely want to get a modern flagship M43 camera at some point.
Yeah, you definitely start to find the spots where you need to fill in the gaps. I find that the middle of the focal range is where I notice the biggest need for primes. That 14-42mm is handling most of the āwide to normalā for me right now since Iām not doing full on portraits with this particular cameraā¦ if I was Iād probably look into something in the 35mm or 55mm super fast lenses specifically for that task. With birding Iāve never been able to deal with primes since things change so quicklyā¦ Iām constantly using the full range of my 150-600m on my canonā¦ they never stay in one spot lol. I think for a āwalking around EDC lensā the 14-42mm has been fantastic. Olympus lenses have surprised me with their sharpness on non-Pro level stuff. Something to think about if youāre considering fast lenses in a range and wanting āmost bang for your buckā is to consider what the difference is between them in aperture. That 14-42mm at itās widest is f/3.5ā¦ thatās roughly 2 stops of light and not a ton of DoF in practice. At itās widest though itās f/5.6 so youāre talking about 3.5 stops of light and a more noticeable change in DoF. I kept hearing about the 20mm primes and suchā¦ but since I already had this zoom it felt like it wasnāt worth it because I was getting most of what I wanted out of it. Iām still considering that 7artisans 55mm f/1.4 II for a portrait lens because itās gonna offer more of a difference from what I have, but I donāt really need it right now.
Iām just rambling off on a tangent thoughā¦ sounds like youāve got it figured out. :)
I would also suggest start looking around for extra batteries. There are some better brands of 3rd party batteries that people seem to like. Iāve heard really mixed stuff about wasabiā¦ some people love it and some people say it sucks. Iāve had good luck with neewer and kastar so far. Reason being two foldā¦ 1. if you bought used the battery is also gonna be used and have lower life than it did when it was new and 2. mirrorless cameras use battery much faster than DSLR. I picked up a kastar 2 pack of batteries with a dual charger for my EM5ii for $22 total online. Itās been really nice so I can either carry a spare or just swap the low battery for a new one when I get home and not have to wait for any charging. Also aftermarket chargers all seem to work off USB-C which is really convenient as well.