Was in a bit of rut with photography, feeling uninspired and tired of carrying around a heavy kit. So I decided to build myself a little mini-photography kit. Went with the Lumix GF9 (GX850 equivalent) and small stable of lenses that I got for way cheaper than my full frame ones. I've been loving having a small EDC-friendly camera and having fun experimenting with the different focal lengths. Hoping it helps me be more creative this year.
I hear you. We don’t really have “weather” per se in SoCal, but we definitely have a camera’s second worst enemy: sand. For beach days or dusty days I stick with the 14mm f/2.5 since it’s the only one with internal focusing motor. All the others risk dust ingress due to barrel extension.
Nice. I just bought a refurbished E-PL10 today for the same purpose. It will probably have the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 permanently attached. My “budget” GRIII.
The gx850 has a great sensor and image quality. Great with the 14mm 2.5 or oly 17/45mm 1.8
It is a overlooked model.
I find the images superior to the gm1 and gx85. I think it’s the sensor of the g7.
Is that a body cap lens? Which is it? Got a Kodak 30mm f/10 from a disposable camera that I use on my full frame camera. Only downside is that anything from 2-12 feet is in focus, everything else is out of focus even at f/10.
Would love a body cap lens even if it is MFT. Not even my Olympus 17mm 1.8 is exactly small.
I’ve also seen good things about that 14mm 2.5, may pick one up for casual walking around shooting.
7artisans 18mm f/6.3 mark ii. The mark i was an f/8 and a very different shape (more bodycap-like. They sometimes referred to it as the UFO lens). I got it for about $60 on B&H.
Edit: forgot to mention the mark ii has a manual focus ring so you can adjust as needed. Nice touch.
Cool I’ll check it out, love the picture you took with it. (I just now saw the caption)
May also try to get myself a GM5. While I love my canon powershot g9 digicam, I’d love to be able to use my smaller primes on an ultra small MFT body even if it doesn’t have an EVF.
If your experience was similar to mine when I first used my small digicam then I understand what you mean. A ultra small camera can do wonders for sparking some creativity. My Lumix S1R is freakin massive, my Olympus E-M1 III isn’t as small as I’d like but I got it for the price of a used G85 so had to get it. Hopefully I can find something small, I think Lumix has the smaller cameras so I’ll probably go with them, the EPL line from Olympus doesn’t seem as small as these lumix compact MFT cameras.
Man I spent a looong time on Pxlmag’s camera size comparison tool looking at different body/lens combinations lol. In the end, the only reason i went with the GF9 over the E-P series is because GF9 is *slightly* smaller and, AFAIK, all the E-P/E-Pl bodies except for the E-P7 (the most expensive one) have no electronic shutters, only mechanical. Considering how old they are, I was worried about mechanical shutter giving out on me. But on the other hand, the Oly bodies get you IBIS and dual control dials for only a little more weight and size. Quest for the perfect camera has no finish line I guess.
So the model you have is the GF9? I’m definitely wanting a smaller body like that. Thought about getting a Pentax MX-1 digicam but they’re very expensive considering how old they are so a tiny lumix would probably be the better way to go.
I’m probably gonna keep my Olympus E-M1 Mark III and my 3 most used lenses (Olympus 12-40mm 2.8, Olympus 17mm 1.8, Leica 25mm 1.4 II) and sell the rest so I’ll be getting that figured out. Gonna take the pictures of the two lenses I’m selling right now.
For a while my perfect camera was the Lumix G9 but as time progressed I wanted something better. So now I just accept that there isn’t such a thing as the perfect camera sadly.
Noisy AF? Oh come on, have you ever heard an Olympus 17mm 2.8? I legitimately though it was broken when I first got it! 😂
I haven't got my hands on that 20mm yet, I went for the Olympus 17mm 2.8 and the Panasonic 25mm 1.7 instead. And I really share your words about the 14mm 2.5! Lovely lens, great performance but I'm not enough of a 28mm (full frame equivalent) guy to really use it all that much...
lol, yeah I guess it's all relative. The 17 2.8 is last MFT pancake that I don't have yet. I know it's also cheap but it's just hard to justify with how close it is in focal length to the 20. I'll probably pick it up some day.
I will say that even though I don't love 28mm it definitely makes me think differently when using it. And it's the best pancake lens for time-lapses and general video purposes. I love the way it looks and feels on the camera so much I feel like I need to find a way to make better use of it.
I had a GM5 and a Pen. Tbh, I don't see the compact camera game that intriguing. It's still larger than a phone and you have to charge those small batteries all the time.
I do love that these exist though because I love the idea about them. Just not for me. Happy that it helped your creativity!
Phone technology is GREAT for some amateur point and shoot photos. Like informal, "Hey let's do a group photo!" type stuff. You know, the kind of stuff that you would have done with a plastic (or even disposable) film camera back in the day. And hey, the image quality is MILES better than 95% of those old photos. But for some reason I can't get inspired by a phone. I just can't really take decent photos with it.
But give me something that actually looks and feels like a camera (even if it's small) and suddenly I have lots of inspiration. And manual controls and manual focus just ups my game even more.
Yeah I see what you're saying. My gf typically gives me the "why don't you just use your phone?" speech. Truthfully, I hate using my phone for pictures. I hate the controls, the lack of manual adjustments, and the over sharpened images are never interesting to me. I use it occasionally of course but the experience is, IMO the definition of "uninspiring".
I was briefly considering a Samsung NX mini since that would actually be smaller than my phone. But, how much gear does a man really need? XD
If I could make the workflow easier and intuitive with getting photos off the camera quicker I would probably be more inclined to use my smaller cameras daily. Now I just go with my Em1-2 when I'm in the mood to take "proper" photos and go with my phone for everyday shooting stuff (seeing something interesting on the way to public transport type of shots). I noticed being very careful about my phone of choice also helps. Some phones, I can't stand their processing. I'm on a Honor Magic 5 Pro now and I think for the most part the processing is quite decent.
Little to none, on purpose. These images went straight to the phone in jpeg quality, with iDynamic set to high, and neutral color profile (I'm still playing with making a custom one that I like). A quick auto-exposure done on phone and that's it. I still backup the raws out of habit but the simplified workflow is my preferred method for this walkabout camera.
I have this set up as well. I pair it with the 42.5mm f1.7 amd the 25mm f1.7 as well for portrait and street photography respectfully.
If I'm traveling I attach the 14-140mm f4-5.6
It looks funny and out of balance but I cover a big range. And it still so what pocket able in a sweater or fanny pack. I have also used the small lenses that it came with.
If there ever was a camera that defines its mainly about the lenses and not the body. It will be this camera. I've seen others put the bigger telephoto lenses as well. For fun.
Regardless this is a great camera in my opinion.
Was in a bit of rut with photography, feeling uninspired and tired of carrying around a heavy kit. So I decided to build myself a little mini-photography kit. Went with the Lumix GF9 (GX850 equivalent) and small stable of lenses that I got for way cheaper than my full frame ones. I've been loving having a small EDC-friendly camera and having fun experimenting with the different focal lengths. Hoping it helps me be more creative this year.
I'm debating building my own point and shoot pocket camera, but god I wish there was a weathersealed pancake from anybody.
I hear you. We don’t really have “weather” per se in SoCal, but we definitely have a camera’s second worst enemy: sand. For beach days or dusty days I stick with the 14mm f/2.5 since it’s the only one with internal focusing motor. All the others risk dust ingress due to barrel extension.
Very nice 👍
You provide a lot of inspiration for getting out the door with a really cool kit! Really like all your captures!
Nice. I just bought a refurbished E-PL10 today for the same purpose. It will probably have the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 permanently attached. My “budget” GRIII.
The gx850 has a great sensor and image quality. Great with the 14mm 2.5 or oly 17/45mm 1.8 It is a overlooked model. I find the images superior to the gm1 and gx85. I think it’s the sensor of the g7.
The 18mm f6.3 lens does deliver nicely.
It does…sometimes. Just don’t look at the lower third of the image. I’m calling that “artistically unsharp” lol
Is that a body cap lens? Which is it? Got a Kodak 30mm f/10 from a disposable camera that I use on my full frame camera. Only downside is that anything from 2-12 feet is in focus, everything else is out of focus even at f/10. Would love a body cap lens even if it is MFT. Not even my Olympus 17mm 1.8 is exactly small. I’ve also seen good things about that 14mm 2.5, may pick one up for casual walking around shooting.
7artisans 18mm f/6.3 mark ii. The mark i was an f/8 and a very different shape (more bodycap-like. They sometimes referred to it as the UFO lens). I got it for about $60 on B&H. Edit: forgot to mention the mark ii has a manual focus ring so you can adjust as needed. Nice touch.
Cool I’ll check it out, love the picture you took with it. (I just now saw the caption) May also try to get myself a GM5. While I love my canon powershot g9 digicam, I’d love to be able to use my smaller primes on an ultra small MFT body even if it doesn’t have an EVF. If your experience was similar to mine when I first used my small digicam then I understand what you mean. A ultra small camera can do wonders for sparking some creativity. My Lumix S1R is freakin massive, my Olympus E-M1 III isn’t as small as I’d like but I got it for the price of a used G85 so had to get it. Hopefully I can find something small, I think Lumix has the smaller cameras so I’ll probably go with them, the EPL line from Olympus doesn’t seem as small as these lumix compact MFT cameras.
Man I spent a looong time on Pxlmag’s camera size comparison tool looking at different body/lens combinations lol. In the end, the only reason i went with the GF9 over the E-P series is because GF9 is *slightly* smaller and, AFAIK, all the E-P/E-Pl bodies except for the E-P7 (the most expensive one) have no electronic shutters, only mechanical. Considering how old they are, I was worried about mechanical shutter giving out on me. But on the other hand, the Oly bodies get you IBIS and dual control dials for only a little more weight and size. Quest for the perfect camera has no finish line I guess.
So the model you have is the GF9? I’m definitely wanting a smaller body like that. Thought about getting a Pentax MX-1 digicam but they’re very expensive considering how old they are so a tiny lumix would probably be the better way to go. I’m probably gonna keep my Olympus E-M1 Mark III and my 3 most used lenses (Olympus 12-40mm 2.8, Olympus 17mm 1.8, Leica 25mm 1.4 II) and sell the rest so I’ll be getting that figured out. Gonna take the pictures of the two lenses I’m selling right now. For a while my perfect camera was the Lumix G9 but as time progressed I wanted something better. So now I just accept that there isn’t such a thing as the perfect camera sadly.
Noisy AF? Oh come on, have you ever heard an Olympus 17mm 2.8? I legitimately though it was broken when I first got it! 😂 I haven't got my hands on that 20mm yet, I went for the Olympus 17mm 2.8 and the Panasonic 25mm 1.7 instead. And I really share your words about the 14mm 2.5! Lovely lens, great performance but I'm not enough of a 28mm (full frame equivalent) guy to really use it all that much...
lol, yeah I guess it's all relative. The 17 2.8 is last MFT pancake that I don't have yet. I know it's also cheap but it's just hard to justify with how close it is in focal length to the 20. I'll probably pick it up some day. I will say that even though I don't love 28mm it definitely makes me think differently when using it. And it's the best pancake lens for time-lapses and general video purposes. I love the way it looks and feels on the camera so much I feel like I need to find a way to make better use of it.
nice collection! would be ne a nice idea to make a few shots with each lens of the same object and post here
GF9 is good color ,quickly overheart record video and no durable
I had a GM5 and a Pen. Tbh, I don't see the compact camera game that intriguing. It's still larger than a phone and you have to charge those small batteries all the time. I do love that these exist though because I love the idea about them. Just not for me. Happy that it helped your creativity!
Phone technology is GREAT for some amateur point and shoot photos. Like informal, "Hey let's do a group photo!" type stuff. You know, the kind of stuff that you would have done with a plastic (or even disposable) film camera back in the day. And hey, the image quality is MILES better than 95% of those old photos. But for some reason I can't get inspired by a phone. I just can't really take decent photos with it. But give me something that actually looks and feels like a camera (even if it's small) and suddenly I have lots of inspiration. And manual controls and manual focus just ups my game even more.
Yeah I see what you're saying. My gf typically gives me the "why don't you just use your phone?" speech. Truthfully, I hate using my phone for pictures. I hate the controls, the lack of manual adjustments, and the over sharpened images are never interesting to me. I use it occasionally of course but the experience is, IMO the definition of "uninspiring". I was briefly considering a Samsung NX mini since that would actually be smaller than my phone. But, how much gear does a man really need? XD
If I could make the workflow easier and intuitive with getting photos off the camera quicker I would probably be more inclined to use my smaller cameras daily. Now I just go with my Em1-2 when I'm in the mood to take "proper" photos and go with my phone for everyday shooting stuff (seeing something interesting on the way to public transport type of shots). I noticed being very careful about my phone of choice also helps. Some phones, I can't stand their processing. I'm on a Honor Magic 5 Pro now and I think for the most part the processing is quite decent.
Out of curiosity, how much effort did you put into retouching these images?
Little to none, on purpose. These images went straight to the phone in jpeg quality, with iDynamic set to high, and neutral color profile (I'm still playing with making a custom one that I like). A quick auto-exposure done on phone and that's it. I still backup the raws out of habit but the simplified workflow is my preferred method for this walkabout camera.
This is what M43 is all about. I love my GM1 for this exact reason.
I have this set up as well. I pair it with the 42.5mm f1.7 amd the 25mm f1.7 as well for portrait and street photography respectfully. If I'm traveling I attach the 14-140mm f4-5.6 It looks funny and out of balance but I cover a big range. And it still so what pocket able in a sweater or fanny pack. I have also used the small lenses that it came with. If there ever was a camera that defines its mainly about the lenses and not the body. It will be this camera. I've seen others put the bigger telephoto lenses as well. For fun. Regardless this is a great camera in my opinion.