Vintage Micro 4/3 Cameras

mFT: In the "classics", I've owned and used Panasonic G1, GF1, and Olympus E-M1 and E-PL1 extensively ... still have the E-M1. Neither of the G1/GF1 ever had any problems. The E-M1 is a rock, a brilliant little camera, if complex.

The E-PL1 I bought used for $80. It ultimately died when its IBIS died. I bought an E-PL7 then, but despite it being a higher spec camera, never gelled with it. I gave it to my niece a few years ago.

Prior to mFT, I used FT DSLRs. The Olympus E-5, the Panasonic L1 were my first two and both did great stuff, then I got a pair of Oly E-1s very cheap. Still have one of the E-1 bodies and a few lenses, it remains my all time favorite DSLR.

I picked up a Panasonic GX9 a year or two back as well. I use it occasionally, and it produces very nice results. I re-acquired a Panasonic-Leica Summilux-DG 25 for it, which works brilliantly, use it with that, the Olympus 15 and 9mm "body cap" lenses, the Panasonic 14mm f/2.8 and its wide converter, and with the FT 11-22, 25, 35, and 50-200 lenses using the adapter. It's particularly handy with the 15mm BCL as its small, rectangular profile drops handily into my bicycle pack.

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Panasonic cameras don't generally give the impression of being exceptionally well-made, but they last forever in my experience. I have a beat-up GF3 that just won't die, even though I've opened it up twice and removed the scratched and delaminated screen surface. Olympus can be a little more delicate.
 
agentlossing said:
Panasonic cameras don't generally give the impression of being exceptionally well-made, but they last forever in my experience. I have a beat-up GF3 that just won't die, even though I've opened it up twice and removed the scratched and delaminated screen surface. Olympus can be a little more delicate.
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Olympus quality depends upon what model line. The E-1, E-3, and E-5 are bricks: pro-grade cameras with build quality that allows them to be used as hammers easily; the 'lesser' DSLRs were much lower spec. The E-M1 and its direct ancestors (mk II and beyond variants) are built in the same manner as the E-1,3,5 ... Other Olympus models are build for consumers, primarily on price point discriminators, and are much less robust.

Panasonic showed how well they can make a digital camera with the L1, their market entry point flagship. It is/was superbly made. Then they went to "effective if a little crude" build quality, which (frankly) works for most people, most uses pretty well.

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A digital photographer’s perspective of equipment age looking back from today:

Tuesday: new
Monday: mature
Sunday: venerable
Saturday: veteran
Friday: aged
Thursday: vintage
Wednesday: ancient
Tuesday: fossilized
 
Godfrey said:
Olympus quality depends upon what model line. The E-1, E-3, and E-5 are bricks: pro-grade cameras with build quality that allows them to be used as hammers easily; the 'lesser' DSLRs were much lower spec. The E-M1 and its direct ancestors (mk II and beyond variants) are built in the same manner as the E-1,3,5 ... Other Olympus models are build for consumers, primarily on price point discriminators, and are much less robust.

Panasonic showed how well they can make a digital camera with the L1, their market entry point flagship. It is/was superbly made. Then they went to "effective if a little crude" build quality, which (frankly) works for most people, most uses pretty well.

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EM1's had an issue with strap lugs and dials falling off. Pretty sure they quietly fixed those issues in the subsequent models.
 
agentlossing said:
EM1's had an issue with strap lugs and dials falling off. Pretty sure they quietly fixed those issues in the subsequent models.
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I've had mine since the model was introduced in 2013 (first one sold locally here in SF Bay Peninsula area) and have never seen a loose strap lug or dial. I've made roughly 75,000 exposures with mine over the years. None of the 10-15 other folks I suggested the camera to and bought one, that live locally, have either.

I'm curious: Where did you hear that this was an issue with a significant percentage of camera units to be worth mentioning?

I also heard on one of these forums that early Olympus E-1s had some issue with the body covering becoming loose and peeling. The E-1 I kept was made in October 2003. I bought it in 2007 with 5700 actuations logged. It's now got over 18,000 actuations logged ... and the body covering is still perfect. The one I sold ... same thing.

As a result, I find the credibility of such rumors to be low.

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It's not isolated or rare, the mu-43 forum has plenty of documentation, and my own experience of OMD cameras involved exactly two more build issues than with Panasonic cameras... Out of two owned Olympus bodies, versus 7 or 8 Panasonic. It's not unreasonable to point out that (especially earlier) Olympus M4/3 camera have had problems.

Yet I'm still getting another one. Like I said, the dedication is a good thing. Just vet used Olympus cameras carefully, I guess.
 
agentlossing said:
It's not isolated or rare, the mu-43 forum has plenty of documentation, and my own experience of OMD cameras involved exactly two more build issues than with Panasonic cameras... Out of two owned Olympus bodies, versus 7 or 8 Panasonic. It's not unreasonable to point out that (especially earlier) Olympus M4/3 camera have had problems.

Yet I'm still getting another one. Like I said, the dedication is a good thing. Just vet used Olympus cameras carefully, I guess.
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I was on at least four Olympus and Panasonic mFT forums for years, since I have owned and still use mFT equipment for a long time, starting with the Panasonic G1 on its release in 2009. I don't recall even one comment like what you're reporting from any of those forums: Please point me to this documentation, That's what I'm asking. Until you can provide some source for your statements, I can only continue to not consider them credible.

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Trouble is we are talking about old cameras and don't know the full story.

But ask in any garage and they will tell you about one or two customers who wreck cars (suspension and gearboxes for instance) just by driving them but in their own individual way...

FWIW I've digital cameras in the 15-20 years old zone and dread the thought that they might die on me as they were just so well thought out and put together.


Regards, David
 
Godfrey said:
I was on at least four Olympus and Panasonic mFT forums for years, since I have owned and still use mFT equipment for a long time, starting with the Panasonic G1 on its release in 2009. I don't recall even one comment like what you're reporting from any of those forums: Please point me to this documentation, That's what I'm asking. Until you can provide some source for your statements, I can only continue to not consider them credible.

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I'm definitely not going to do that, I have zero interest in arguing over it. Like I said, despite my reservations over Oly build quality, I have another one which is out for delivery today. I'll probably give my thoughts about the EM5ii somewhere along the line, providing this one is in good condition and no problems which would necessitate returning it.
 
Larry H-L said:
A Google search for "Olympus EM-1 strap lugs" will point you to several sites that document the problem of lug failure.
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Okay, I did. I found four posts that referred to about seven to ten failures. That's a pretty low incidence of a problem ... if it was common, I'd expect to see ten times that many. I also searched for dial problems with the E-M1. Most of the incidents that came up were associated with the E-M1 II, however, or weren't articulated clearly enough as to which E-M1 model they were experienced with.

This data gives me very little reason to worry about the build quality of Olympus E-M1 cameras. I've seen more strap lug failures and button/dial problem incidents surface with Leica M typ 240 and Hasselblad 907x bodies, and there are far fewer of those in the field than there are Olympus E-M1 bodies.

No manufactured product run is ever 100% defect free.

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David Hughes said:
Trouble is we are talking about old cameras and don't know the full story.

But ask in any garage and they will tell you about one or two customers who wreck cars (suspension and gearboxes for instance) just by driving them but in their own individual way...

FWIW I've digital cameras in the 15-20 years old zone and dread the thought that they might die on me as they were just so well thought out and put together.
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Indeed. I've had scads of digital cameras over the past twenty years, used them all quite a lot more than any film camera I ever owned, and only a couple of them have ever needed any service at all or broken irreparably.

The only one of my current digital cameras that I worry about is my Light L16, really. It is a very complex machine, both mechanically and with respect to its internal and external software. I fully expect that it will at some point become a brick and a display-only artifact of the 20-teens photographic equipment world. Until that happens, I'll keep enjoying the use of it. :)

I wish I could say the same for my film cameras. Of course, any that I buy nowadays are truly old and mostly neglected for a long time, generally need service already even as I buy them. I add the cost of a service into my budget for every film camera I buy now.

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Godfrey said:
mFT: In the "classics", I've owned and used Panasonic G1, GF1, and Olympus …

I picked up a Panasonic GX9 a year or two back as well. I use it occasionally, and it produces very nice results. I re-acquired a Panasonic-Leica Summilux-DG 25 for it, which works brilliantly,…

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I have the G1, which I bought after I’d bought an m-mount to m43 adapter, to use as a backup camera. I’ve never used it much. Then I bought an EM-5, initially for the same purpose, and have used that a lot, either as a second camera, or as a primary camera, often with my Ricoh alongside for wide angle shots. The EM-5 and m-mount Voigtlander 40mm made for a very good and compact short telephoto. But Godfrey’s mention of re-acquiring the Panasonic-Leica Summilux DG 25 should be a warning to me to disabuse myself of ideas of selling it. One of the best 50mm equivalent lenses I own. And maybe a reasons to hang onto the E-M5.
 
When micro four thirds was announced back in the mists of 2008, it seemed like a dream come true. Moving from small sensor compacts to DSLR's in the mid 2000s meant that I still had to carry something like a Canon G7 or G10 along with my 30D if I wanted to shoot video along with taking high quality stills. m43 promised a camera which not only took decent images, but had good video capabilities, beyond what was offered in small sensor cameras. Little did I know that it would become a personal camera odyssey spanning almost ten years.

The first was the E-P1, which I thought looked super, but never bought. Here it is at a big camera expo in Sydney in 2009:

Olympus E-P1 at PMA 2009 Sydney by Archiver, on Flickr

The camera that really intrigued me was the Panasonic GH1 in 2009, which sold for what seemed like exorbitant money, along with a similarly expensive 14-140mm lens.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/0351809779/throwback-thursday-the-panasonic-gh1

Eventually, I bought an Olympus E-M5 in 2012, after having to hide my M9 from a rainstorm made me think about getting a weathersealed camera. The E-M5 was a third generation m43 camera and seemed to fulfill the promise of micro four thirds: a small camera with interchangeable lenses that provided decent still and video quality. I used it extensively in 2012 and went overseas with it in 2013, and took loads of photos and video. It's still an awesome camera. With the battery grip, it looked like a baby pro body. I took it overseas again at the end of 2017.

E-M5 with Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8

EM-5 - Nobu by Archiver, on Flickr


E-M5 with Olympus 45mm f1.8


E-M5 - He Sits and Waits by Archiver, on Flickr

After the E-M5, I got the GH3 in 2013, which I used for video work and some stills for a year and a half until I replaced it with the GH4 in 2015. Five years on, I got a pristine secondhand Panasonic G9 which I've been using ever since. Can you tell that I like Panasonic cameras? They are some of the best value cameras around.

GH3 with Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8


GH3 - God Rays over Boort by Archiver, on Flickr


GH4 with Panasonic 35-100


GH4 - The Deafening Roar by Archiver, on Flickr

G9 with Olympus 17mm f1.2 Pro

G9 - Smokehouse by Archiver, on Flickr

In between, I snagged the Panasonic GX85 and GM1. That little GM1 is a gem. Small enough to go in a jacket pocket with a pancake lens, excellent video, great colours, everything is just so nice.

GM1 shoots the GM1, Olympus 25mm f1.8

GM1 - Lumix by Lumix by Archiver, on Flickr

Now, I'm awaiting the upcoming Panasonic GH6 to further cement my m43 video lineup. But there's a very cheap GH1 at a local shop, which I just might snag as a way of fulfilling that dream from 2009.
 
I recently have been having problems with my knees (arthritis and bursitis) so I decided to try micro 4/3 again as the weight of the lenses for Sony full frame is getting to be a drag. I dug out my old Panasonic G1 and it still takes great photographs. Remember when 12MP was considered huge?

I have just received a Panasonic GX9 and just have to choose a couple of extra lenses (I still have the old 14-45mm kit lens). It is small and suitably RF like. The lenses are much lighter and the quality seems good enough for my print sizes.

Some recents from the G1:

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I know I'm in the minority here when I say the GF1 is the worst camera I have ever bought. I had absolutely no joy from it. I did buy the EVF to put on top, but it was as bad as a video camera finder from the 80's.
I did like the 20/1.7 that came with it though, and I bought a GH1 when they were discounted prior to the introduction of the GH2. The GH1 had an acceptable EVF and I used it up until recently when I traded it in for a disproportionate discount when I bought my Nikon Z6ii.
I still have the 20/1.7 and I am looking for a body to use with it, but it is not going to be one of the old ergonomic nightmares from the early M43 days.
 
Nitroplait said:
I know I'm in the minority here when I say the GF1 is the worst camera I have ever bought. I had absolutely no joy from it. I did buy the EVF to put on top, but it was as bad as a video camera finder from the 80's.
I did like the 20/1.7 that came with it though, and I bought a GH1 when they were discounted prior to the introduction of the GH2. The GH1 had an acceptable EVF and I used it up until recently when I traded it in for a disproportionate discount when I bought my Nikon Z6ii.
I still have the 20/1.7 and I am looking for a body to use with it, but it is not going to be one of the old ergonomic nightmares from the early M43 days.
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I did not have the GF1, but had the GX1, which was quite similar in ergonomics. At the time, the soap bar shape was convenient because no other high-quality cameras with decent sensor size and interchangeable lenses came in that small of a package - but obviously it was ergonomically poor. The GX1 did allow for the better LVF (live view-finder), the LVF2, which was worth the upgrade over the LVF1 by all accounts. The LVF1 was a very early EVF for the system.

The GX85 or GX9 are fine options for the 20/1.7, or if you want to stray into the Olympus fold, the EM5 or EM10 series. Ergonomics don't get truly good until you opt to go up in size for something like the EM1 or Panasonic's G85/G95/G9. They drop the compactness, however. I was quite happy with the GX85 and a Gariz leather half case, that was a nice looking and performing camera.
 
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