Upgrade path - From Oly E-PL5 to ?

[astralmind]

Well, I've been sporting my EPL5 for 3 years now and I am feeling the upgrade itch but surprisingly, can't seem to find a worthy investment.

With a limited budget, almost exclusive underwater use and a desire to keep things compact it almost feels like there is nothing out there that could fit the bill ? I would have rather stayed with the Oly M43 eco system but would be willing to part entirely with something else if it would be worthwhile.

I mainly shoot macros with the 60, once again budget with with my trusty Sea & Sea YS 01 (single).

I briefly considered the RX100 Mk5 but the price is out there and it seems the small sensor would be a downgrade in some ways, esp macro wise.

Besides the EM Mk2 which is way above my budget, is there anything that would be a decent upgrade, in any brand ? Just curious as I find it surprising that there has been so little improvement over such a 'long' time.

Thanks!

 

[KeithG]

Upgrade why? Before you can figure out "what", I claim you need to decide "why"!

I have seen some very common reasons for upgrading:
a) i have a pile of cash burning a hole in my pocket
b) i have a very specific photographic goal that my current camera is incapable of achieving
c) i like shinny pebbles
Most upgrade seekers seem to fall under a combo of c) & a).

If you provide some concrete information about what is "broken" with your current rig, then you are more likely to get useful feedback. This assumes you fall in b).

As an example: My last upgrade was all about getting better super macro AND staying with a compact rig to keep things small and less complex. I went from a S&S DX-1G with a 70mm lens to a Canon G16 with a 140mm lens. This made a huge difference in the usefulness of a Subsee +10 wet diopter.

 

[KeithG]

Upgrade why? Before you can figure out "what", I claim you need to decide "why"!

I have seen some very common reasons for upgrading:
a) i have a pile of cash burning a hole in my pocket
b) i have a very specific photographic goal that my current camera is incapable of achieving
c) i like shinny pebbles
Most upgrade seekers seem to fall under a combo of c) & a).

If you provide some concrete information about what is "broken" with your current rig, then you are more likely to get useful feedback. This assumes you fall in b).

As an example: My last upgrade was all about getting better super macro AND staying with a compact rig to keep things small and less complex. I went from a S&S DX-1G with a 70mm lens to a Canon G16 with a 140mm lens. This made a huge difference in the usefulness of a Subsee +10 wet diopter.

P.S. Often the best "upgrade" is some operator training....

 

[astralmind]

P.S. Often the best "upgrade" is some operator training....

Legitimate observations in both posts and I would say and equal mix of b) and c) (wish it was a) though..). I do not have the skills, money and.. well that's good enough to invest in proper wide angle photography and as such would like to improve my marco abilities. For sure, my skills represent 95% of my limitations but I was wondering if there was anything I could improve at a reasonable cost.

I want to stick to a compact format that's a definitive. Lens wise I doubt I can do much better than the Oly 60mm. I would have hoped for a better sensor, faster AF and that's about it I guess.

 

[jmartel]

Why not upgrade your strobe? Get a second strobe, pick up a snoot for your macro stuff, get wide angle stuff, etc. Plenty of ways to upgrade your stuff without switching cameras. The sensor you have is current, the biggest thing you'd gain would be better autofocus. If you are struggling with focus, you can a) get a better focus light and/or b) switch to a E-M1 (first version) which has phase detect autofocus points. You could also pickup a SMC and do super-macro.

Or you could take all of the money you would sink into an upgrade and go on a dive trip.

 

[KeithG]

Legitimate observations in both posts and I would say and equal mix of b) and c) (wish it was a) though..). I do not have the skills, money and.. well that's good enough to invest in proper wide angle photography and as such would like to improve my marco abilities. For sure, my skills represent 95% of my limitations but I was wondering if there was anything I could improve at a reasonable cost.

I want to stick to a compact format that's a definitive. Lens wise I doubt I can do much better than the Oly 60mm. I would have hoped for a better sensor, faster AF and that's about it I guess.

Some more probing...

a) what problems would a "better sensor" solve? Do you have any of those problems?
b) faster AF! Under what conditions is your current AF inadequate? Maybe a focus light or use of fixed focus would solve your problems?
...

I suggest you should build out a list of "photo problems" before you fixate on solutions. In my prior example my primary problem was that the subjects in my macro shots where not big enough. Having a single problem makes the upgrade path much easier. Having multiple problems makes things cloudy.

 

[KeithG]

Why not upgrade your strobe? Get a second strobe, pick up a snoot for your macro stuff, get wide angle stuff, etc. Plenty of ways to upgrade your stuff without switching cameras. The sensor you have is current, the biggest thing you'd gain would be better autofocus. If you are struggling with focus, you can a) get a better focus light and/or b) switch to a E-M1 (first version) which has phase detect autofocus points. You could also pickup a SMC and do super-macro.

Or you could take all of the money you would sink into an upgrade and go on a dive trip.

Some great generic suggestions. All are valid if you are suffering from a) above.

But we have no clue which suggestion may solve a problem the OP has (other than too much cash).

 

[KeithG]

Some great generic suggestions. All are valid if you are suffering from a) above.

But we have no clue which suggestion may solve a problem the OP has (other than too much cash).

P.S. If a) is the problem, I have lots of used camera gear that I am willing to part with...

 

[Ardy]

Guys give him a break. Many of us (Giffenk excluded) suffer from this. I went from an E520 with a 50mm macro (plus standard lens) to a EM5 Mk1 and a 60mm macro and 12-50 lens and have often wondered why? Not only can't I see any improvements in my shots but the E520 with a glass viewfinder was great and it had a 1.4x? that was very useful. The EM5 is a good camera but I am not convinced the 60 is better than the 50 and I miss the 1.4x as it gave me flexibility that was great for my bird photography with the 300mm. Now the current 1.4x only works on the 'professional' lenses.

I remember reading in the 70's about a photographer who met one of the greats of early French photographers (Henri Cartier-Bresson) and he handed him his point and shoot and the old Frenchman ran off a roll of film in 5 mins and he said they were the best shots he ever got out of that camera. So Giffenk is right, as is the OP, we are trapped in our lack of artistic/skills ability and focus on our gear more than we should - but we love it anyway.

 

[Ardy]

Giffenk - if you are so anti upgraditis, how come you have a load of second-hand gear to sell! I tend to talk in terms of being careful in my use of money (working class background) and have suggested new UW photographers buy a cheap set up to start off with but I still have breakout moments of excess card use.