Nex-7 vs Olympus OM-D vs Canon EOS-M vs Fuji X_pro1 : or wait for photokina?

[David Pino]

Hi Guys,

First some background: I currently own a 5D Mark ii but find that on many occassions I do not use it due to it's size/heft/bulk. I still use it to do stock footage/stills because its the only camera I have, but on travel's and vacations, a lot of the time I cant lug it around all day without it annoying me eventually (but if I leave it in the hotel room, I usually regret missing that "one shot" I could have had if I had dragged it with me all day...).

It's a hobby so this isnt my source of income, but my Stock photography has amounted to about $2000 dollars in profits.

Now I wanted to purchased a "pocketable" camera that could still produce the quality I need to sell stock footage and stock images while on vacation, without having to lug the largest camera I have with me.

I've l looked at the Nex-7 and the Olympus OM-D EM 5? but neither seems to really have that "wow" factor I guess... or rather, neither really jumps at me as a clear winner. I thought about the sony rx100 but the small sensor turns me off a bit ( I enjoy shallow depth of field in my shots, helps with logos in the background for stock footage and stills). The Canon EOS-M seems sorta of good, but I really don't want to pay for a 3 year old sensor that still produces a lot of moire and is sorta muddy in the footage department (much like my 5d mark 2 after seeing the hacked GH2's footage...).

I did think about a GH2, used to hack, but that seems more a solution for a big time or prominent footage/cinema style shooter... versus a stock footage producer (plus it isn't THAT much smaller... it's not Nex7 or Canon EOS-M range, imo in size).

The one that has caught my attention the most was the Fuji X-Pro1, but the video it produces seems VERY poor, IMO... I did not like it's footage at all (maybe it was a bad sample of footage? but seemed pretty horrible...) It also seems to have a difficult time with focus (slow "by wire" motors in the lenses).

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, having said all that... Am I missing something? is there a clear winner here that I overlooked or have just not realized it's potential? Or should I wait for photokina to pass, and see if something new shows up?

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,

David :)

[Chris Newhall]

I think, thanks to the AMAZING image stabilization that can be used during video (it literally looks like I'm using a steadicam just walking around hand holding the camera, non-moving shots really benefit from it also) the OM-D E-M5 is the best choice. Right now it doesn't have very many video options (30fps only, I'm sure that will change with an upcoming firmware update though because of how much of the world runs on 50hz electricity and how bad that looks filmed at 30p, there are A LOT of people complaining). But unless you are using tripods, dolleys and a steadicam, the extremely stable footage makes it my top choice.

Just to illustrate how amazing the 5-axis stabilization really is, I've taken quite a few handheld, sharp, 1/4 and 1/2 second photos.

The only thing I would like to see in a firmware update or a hack, other than more fps options would be the ability to use image stabilization with ANY lens during video, not just Micro 4/3 and 4/3 lenses (it works with any lens for taking photos, even with live view on so I don't see why it couldn't work during video).

[dreams2movies]

Great comparison, you really do your research and testing before buying! I own the GH2 and do a little bit of photography and whole lot of cinematography and filming as Hobby not pay. The footage on unhack and hack GH2 is a 10 for me.. The photo quality for me with GH2 is about a 8... I have to play with it more as I upgraded to the GH2 from an Olympus E-420 10mp DSLR (beginner). At about 1:1 crop the compression of the photo, at 16mp, Fine Compression, looks a little muddy than crispy as my olympus did which had fewer pixels....

I hoping with some purchases of the higher grade Panasonic lenses, the picture quality will be much better.

[David Pino]

hmmm, would you say the footage on the olympus is better then the fuji? or rather, would you say the olympus pics are better than the fuji?

[XXX]

You should definitely wait for Photokina.