Micro 4/3 GM1 is SMALL (and impressive)!

Geez, it looks like those old shots of the E-P1 next to a 1DS.

Just got a used GM-1 today. I know many others have pointed this out already, but it is amazingly small, looks like my old Canon S100. It makes my E-M5 with the grip look like a giant DSLR, and the E-PL3, which was my former "Compact" m43, look oversized. Having the GX-7 sensor in it makes it a truly serious compact.

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Oly needs to get off their butts and make an answer to the GM1. And top it with phase detection and good tracking. I'll empty my wallet for that!!! Maybe even sacrifice my J1 too.
 
It's really not that much smaller than the E-PM2. They are both jacket-pocketable with a small lens:

Compare camera dimensions side by side

Of course, Oly is apparently replacing the PM2, so we'll see what's coming.

Exactly right. The GM1 body is really small. But with any lens on it (barring lens-caps) it really isn't shirt or pants pocketable. Even with the Panny 14mm f/2.5. That's one reason why I went for the Ricoh GR instead of the GM1. But we'll see if I reconsider when they are discounted on closeout. ;)
 
I liked the gm1 basically but in the end decided I did not want to be limited to electronic shutter after 1/500th second and not being able to put an optional ovf via hot shoe on the camera.. I ended up w/ a gx7 recently.. I liked the looks of the shots I have seen from that 12-32 kit zoom from the gm1 so I am currently waiting for an all black version to get here from Japan.

One other aspect I was originally worried about w/ the gm1 was the size of the camera versus what seemed to be too much dependency on the touch screen (never liked the touch screen on the em5 - disabled). But after using the gx7 for about a month now, I actually like the Panasonic implementation.

The Olympus ibis is far superior to the Panasonic implementation..but overall I like the handling of the Panasonic better. Using the pany 20, electronic shutter and pany ibis (gx7) versus the 20 on the Olympus, in real life, I don't see the difference, but put a long tele lens on the cameras and the omd wins hands down.

The gm1 w/ either the new 15 pancake or the 12-32 kit zoom should be a fun camera to have.

Gary
 
So nearly bought the GM1 as it was almost the perfect second body to back up my X Pro 1 - I wasn't bothered about having 2 bodies for the same system and the compactness of the zooms on m43 was enough to sway me toward that as a solution.

The killer for me (and I know on a body that small something has to give) was the lack of a flash hotshoe or even a PC port as I have started doing a lot of off camera flash work and using the GM1's built in unit to drive a slave may not have worked in every situation.

That said it is hugely impressive how Panasonic have managed to make such a small camera handle so well. Sure it not an OM-D or X system so some manual controls are missing but I was surprised how much I liked it.

I am almost finding myself looking for a scenario to justify buying one but with the X Pro, E-M10, GRD IV and DP2M I am struggling. Sure I can think of a reason soon enough - I just have to then convince the wife!!
 
I originally thought of the gm1 w/ the 12-32 plus the 20f1.7 as the perfect kit for times when u did not want to lug around bunch if gear like on vacation w/ family or any type of family outing for that matter. As it turns out, though the gx7 is bigger (about Fuji xe1 size), the small m43 lenses, especially the 12-32 black I picked still fits this solution quite nicely. I can put this combo w/ the pany 20 and sigma 60 into a small-mid size fanny pack w/o problem.

The gx7 is also turning out to be as good as my Ricoh gr for candid/street type camera..it is getting more use right now then my gr (probably a newest thing).

The 12-32 is pretty fast in terms of af. My older 20 is slightly slower. The zoom may not be as sharp as a prime lens, but compared to my sample of the 12-50 Olympus which I acquired w/ the em5, it is way better.

I have also thought of paring it w/ my dp Merrill cameras. Where the foveon is used for detail type shots and the pany for the tele and high iso work.

Gary
 
I'm still mulling over the possibility of getting a GM1 to supplement or as an alternative to some parts of my gear collection.

Last night, I went out for dinner with some friends, and shot a fair bit of video with my GH3 and Voigtlander 25/0.95. While it produced superb imagery as always, I found myself wanting something smaller and lighter with equivalent image quality for personal work. I love the GH3, but sometimes I leave it at home in favour of the Ricoh GR and Panasonic LX7 as they are much smaller and lighter. A camera with GH3-like video quality that is as small as a pocket camera (without lens) appeals to me, especially as I could use it as a backup or complementary cam for GH3 work.

The GX7 is a decent alternative, but it's about the same size as an ungripped Olympus EM-5. It's not something I could slip into a bag and almost forget until I need it; the GX7 is still more of a dedicated photo/video camera than 'pocket and forget'.
 
One thing that surprised me about the gx7 is that I am using the electronic shutter more and more.. It is dead quiet.. Even more so then the leaf shutter on my Fuji x100. I have setup fn3 to switch from normal shutter to electronic.. Best electronic shutter implementation that I have used so far.

One of my main concerns w/ the gm1 was mechanical shutter was not supported after 1/500th. I did not want to get the jello effect due to moving object and I forgot to crank up my f stop to account for needing the limitation on a really bright sunny day.

By the looks of some comparisons I have seen on the web, the gm1 is about the size of the lx7 (maybe slightly bigger). It is definitely larger than my gr. The zoom lens range of the 12-32 is fine for me since it is the pretty close to same as my lx3. In certain situations (close up or < 3 feet), the lx3 zoom is slightly sharper if u compare near base iso shots.

Gary
 
That is how I ended up w/ gm1 after using the gx7 w/ e-shutter & Oly primes and looking for sth small. I prefer the epl5 size, the grip & evf but I like the silent shutter & smallness of gm1 also... When I was out w/ A7R, it felt like dslr as everybody was looking at me vs gm1 looks like P&S and 100% on e-shutter.

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I guess I am still too paranoid with the GR being a fixed lens camera to put it in my jeans pocket (well, and I would have to get skinnier and/or buyer larger jeans). :)
 
End of financial year spending, and I decided to pick up a silver GM1 this morning. Wow. It's smaller than the pictures and descriptions convey, and I'm really digging the image quality and 'look' compared with Oly EM-5 raws processed in Lightroom. Since I'm still on LR4, I have to convert the Panasonic raws to dng using the converter, but that is a small price to pay until LR6 is released. As I already have the GH3 and LX7 and am very familiar with them, setting up the GM1 was a doddle. Fn1 button for AE Lock, electronic shutter, and all beeps turned off. That's how I like it!

I'm surprised at how the converted raws work with Lightroom. Some of my own presets play very nicely with the files and render more pleasantly to me than the EM-5. Depends on the scene, though. I have yet to test the GM1 with skin tones but I am quite hopeful.

I'm using the neck strap, and thus it has its own 'manual stabilization' by pulling the strap taut from the neck. It's a good way to add stability to almost any camera. Instead of wearing it long and low, like most of my cameras, I've made the strap shorter, like the way I wear the Sigma DP1 and DP2, so it rests at sternum level. It's light enough to do this and still accessible for quick shooting. As much as I like black cameras, I decided to get a silver version for fun. It's still small enough to be discreet, I think.

The controls are a little fiddly, even for me! The screen is large enough compared with the body to accidentally activate, too. The mechanical shutter is quiet, but I prefer a totally silent electronic shutter where possible. Fun times ahead!
 
I like the gx7 raws better than what I have been seeing in my omd-em5 ones (enough to retire the em5).. I suspect the gm1 should be just as good.

I am using the 12-32 zoom from the gm1 on my gx7, when collapsed, makes for am my very nice compact package. My gx7 kit is made up of pany 12-32, 20 and sigma 60f2.8. I am pretty happy w/ this setup.

Gary


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It's less than a week ago, when I bought my GM1. I also bought the second version of the legendary 20mm and I consider this combination as one of the best ones I have ever used (the other one of the best ones is the Olympus E-M5 paired with the 1.8/45mm). The camera is tiny and its size is about the same as the size of the Canon S90 (it is thicker because of the lens, though). In my opinion the camera is not fiddly, for its size it is just fine, at least its controls are less fiddly than the play and fn1 buttons of the Olympus E-M5, which are really awful.

I love taking pictures with that little camera, it is the right camera for my needs. At the moment I don't even feel any urge to take my E-M5. I love the implementation of the touch screen of the GM1 so much and that it is so easy to change the size of the AF field so easily. I have used that so excessively these days that I do not want to miss it anymore. I love the focus peaking, a feature the E-M5 is missing. I love the automatic white balance of the GM1, because it is right most of the time.

The 20mm is one of the greatest lenses I have ever shot with. The minimal focus distance is 20cm. I have been able to shoot photographs which I have never been able to shoot before just because of that and the f/1.7. I have always found my 17mm a little too short and thought that 25mm was just perfect for me. Now the 20mm hit me in my heart. This is exactly my focal length.

I have already shown the following picture in this forum. But please let me finish this message with my favorite picture I have shot with the GM1 and the 20mm until now:

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Untitled by pictor / strolling shooter, on Flickr
 
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