IS on a certain camera shouldn’t be the main selling point. Image quality should, and most of today’s mirrorless cameras are all very, very good. In my opinion.
I worked for years with no IS and used 300-600mm lenses every week. A good monopod and the right shutter speed (1/focal length, minimum) usually did the trick for still photos.
Video is another ballgame.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I'm curious how well the Panasonic version of micro 4/3 works with image stabilization for long telephoto lenses?

Originally, Panasonic had image stabilization built into lenses, Olympus into the body. But is that still true?

Despite all my mirrorless cameras, I use them less and less; partly because of not traveling, not hiking as much; but also, as noted because of the really astonishing and rapid improvement of my iPhones' cameras. With the iPhone 17, I have optical 4X zoom, equivalent to a 200 mm 35 mm lens. That is astonishing.

The IS on the professional products are great. GF3 was 3rd gen on the small camera format. I have a G9 that's fantastic. The G9 II is even better.

Camera finally made it here today after spending 6 days stuck in the Indianapolis USPS distribution center. That place sucks.

I haven't had a ton of time to play wit it yet, but initial impressions are good.

It's amazingly small and light. While it doesn't feel as robust as my Pentax gear, it also doesn't incur the same weight penalty, and it does have a nice feeling of quality to it.

It took me a bit to get used to switching between the screen and the viewfinder, and the quality of the electronic viewfinder image definitely pales in comparison to an optical one, but it is usable. Replacing some of the buttons I'm used to with onscreen controls is also kinda annoying, but I knew that going in and it's the price I have to pay for minimalism.

EDIT: Just realized the on-screen menus are more accessible and intuitive than I thought. Apparently the previous owner had customized them. I factory reset it and now everything makes so much more sense!

Autofocus is actually better than my k5. A lot better. It's faster, much less hunting, and almost completely silent. It's amazing.

I only had time to take it out on one quick dog walk, and it was cold so I kept having to run to catch up with my wife and the dog and didn't have as much time to focus on the camera as I wanted, but overall I'm pretty pleased.

Here's a few quick shots just from the walk and around the house tonight:







My kid was wrestling with the dog, so there was a lot of motion going on with this one...indoor, and in low light. 14mm F2.5 1/30 sec @ 1600 ISO:

^^ Nice shots. Bold prediction time: I think you're going to like it!

Nikon shooter here with both full frame and ASP-C cameras. The ASP-C Z50II is my favorite for it's more compact size and the Kit lenses that feature incredibly GOOD Image Quality. The freaking 16-50mm zoom is light as a feather and produces image quality that matches my 24-120mm f4 S Line lens.

That said Olympus no longer exists. Primarily due to a CEO that had been using his position to embezzle many millions of dollars over many years. The stock crashed so hard there wasn't any chance of a recovery. Today what people call is not even a remnant of Olympus, it's now OM Systems that chose to use the styling of an Olympus and a name that implied Olympus.

I will also note that OM Systems may be the most innovative camera maker out there. They have a "pixel shift" image enhancement feature that doesn't require the use of a tripod to do this, they use AI Algorithms to compensate for movement in a hand held Pixel Shift shot. They also feature the ability to produce hand held Focus Shifts in camera rather than doing the blend on a computer. Basically OM systems has overcome the limitations of a small sensor by employing AI and more computing power within the camera. The benefit of this is that Micor 3/4 lenses are much smaller than 35mm Full Frame lenses. A 150mm lens will produce the Field of View of a 300mm lens. Basically the lenses are 1/2 the size of full frame lenses and OM systems makes very good lenses.

Makes me sort regret not getting the original Olympus OM-1 way back in 1972. I didn't because at that time I just could not afford to purchase a set of all new lenses and already had 3 Nikkor lenses that I picked up used. End result is I have a commitment to Nikon of over 50 years and my Z50II kit is pretty sweet. Bad news I look at some of the mouth watering features that OM Systems has and can't help but hope that Nikon will follow some of OM Systems features someday.

As you are coming at this from an unbiased direction I would advise that you go with the OM system cameras, because they are quite good and wonderfully compact. I will also note that using AI enhancement to increase the resolution of an image is currently quite good if you have 10mp or more and it keeps improving every year. I expect that in 4 or 5 years you will be able to quadrupedal image sizes and even experts won't be able to spot that blanks have been "filled in" by AI.

I've been carrying it on dog walks for the last couple of days and trying to find things to shoot. Naturally, it's winter so the weather hasn't been totally cooperative, but we finally got some sun this evening.

I am really liking this camera. It's so much lighter and easier to carry around than my Pentax, and I'm getting used to the interface. It really doesn't give up much to the bigger camera, especially how I'm using it. Digging through menus instead of having dedicated knobs and buttons is a pain, but since 95% of the time I can just set the thing up for the current conditions and leave it, it's not that big of a deal. I feel like what I lost in convenience is more than made up for by the portability.

Here's a few more photos, just for fun.

Some nice composition in there.
Keep shooting!

Had to work all week last week so there wasn’t a lot of time to play with the camera, but I did order and acquire some stuff. I got a Pgytech “beetle” clip for my backpack, a Pentax K Mount to Micro Four-Thirds adapter, and a used 12-32 lens off of MPB.

The lens got here today and I did get a chance to play with it some around the house and on a trip to Ft. Wayne. I’m loving the size and weight of this system, especially with the low-profile pancake lenses. It easily fits in a coat pocket, and it’s as light as a point and shoot. It’s only 1.03lbs with the 12-32 (24-64mm equivalent) lens on it, compared to 2.8lbs for my K5 with my “walkaround” 28-135. With the 45-200 (90-400mm equivalent) it’s 1.7lbs compared to 2.9lbs for my K5 with the 55-300mm on it. It’s horrible cold outside so a real test hike is out for a while, but I don’t foresee any issues carrying it clipped to my pack strap…it’ll definitely be more comfortable than the K5 flopping around my neck.





The lens adapter works well. You lose autofocus, but it does have an aperture ring with detents (although they don’t necessarily coincide with the usual stops). I don’t see it getting any use on backpacking trips where weight is a priority, but it’s nice to have the available versatility for special circumstances. Combined with my 55-300 it gives me a 600mm zoom, without the optical degradation that you’d get with a teleconverter. And my old manual 28mm and 50mm primes will take some fun pictures, and even with the adapter are still small enough to not be too unwieldy.

Here’s a few shots from today:

Mastodon outside Science Central in Ft. Wayne:



Dog walks have been cold and dreary lately:



Lenni, my son’s bearded dragon, with the 12-32mm