Zuiko 7-14mm | Olympus or Panasonic?

[Allegretto]

Hi,
im looking for a new digital camera.
For the most I would shot photos of landscape, mountains, fjords, winterlandscape etc.
Im also doing some kayaking, skiing and mountain biking.. but mostly I would shot "scenic photos"
I would display my photos on web, not printing.

I have a Olympus Zuiko 7-14mm, but no camera yet. Im not sure if I need the possibility to record video, but ofcourse it would have been nice to record some videos.

I have some questions:
1: If I use the Zuiko 7-14mm+adapter together with Panasonic System camera, will autofocus work ?
2: How is Olympus e-3 compared to Panasonic G-/GHseries ?

3: The photos below is shot with Olympus E-3+ Zuiko 7-14mm:
http://fjellforum.net/download.php?id=11638
http://fjellforum.net/download.php?id=11630
Is it possible to get the same photo-quality with G1 or GH1?

4: In the thread below there are some great photos shot with G1+Zuiko 7-14mm
http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7089
Would it be possible to get the same photoquality with GH1?

5: Last question..pjuh.... What camera would yóu have choosen together with the Zuiko UW? Panasonic or Olympus?

Thanks a lot!
/Kjartan

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Your Zuiko 7-14mm will AF with most or all current m4/3 cameras, but there are some limitations. If you go the m4/3 route, you will probably be best off with the GH2 which has the best AF as well as image quality and video.

However, your lens will feel most at home on a traditional 4/3 camera. This is partly a practical question; it's a big lens and will feel and look large on the smaller GH2, not to speak about cameras like the GF2 or E-PL2, and partly because the lens is designed for the phase detect AF system of traditional 4/3 cameras.

If you buy a 4/3 camera today, the E-5 is clearly the best option, although much more expensive than a second-hand E-3. If it's worth it is up to you, but we have an extensive discussion regarding the E-5 going on here:

http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23400

As for the photo samples:
Question 3
You can probably get the same image results from the G1 or GH1 as with the E-3, using the same lens. I believe that the GH1 is the best of those three.

Question 4
The GH1 is superior to the G1 in every way, including image quality. The GH2 is mostly superior to the GH1. As for the E-5... well, read the thread. For low ISO photography, it's really, really good. Members of this forum tend to disagree slightly about the high ISO side :ROTFL:

Whatever choice you make, both 4/3 and m4/3 are great systems and with the compatibilities between the systems and also with older lenses, both are very flexible options.

PS. Oh, and welcome to the forum. Always nice to see other Norwegians here
PS2: I'm taking a chance assuming that you're Norwegian, I guess, but the name combined with the mountain landscapes all look rather typical for the snowy, cold, little outpost up there in the north