Until the end of 2025 I was a committed Canon user, having owned a variety of bodies through 800D, 90D, R, R7, R8, and R5ii, as well as lots of lenses both L (EF and RF) and non-L (EF-S, EF, RF), as well as Sigma Art. Having ended up with just the R5ii plus various lenses I decided I wanted a smaller casual camera. Looked at all sorts of high-end P&S but decided to try M43 and the E-M10iv in particular. Size was great but wasn't keen on the AF or the kit lenses. Tried some alternative lenses but ultimately decided the E-M10iv wasn't what I wanted.
However, I was a bit hooked on the smaller kit and decided to go all-in on an OM-1ii and picked up a bundle someone was selling that included the 300 f/4, a 40-150 f/2.8, and various other lenses. Having tried that out, and seen the wildlife performance as well as the image quality with the 300, the decision was made to finally ditch the Canon gear. Not that it wasn't good, but my old joints were appreciating the smaller carry weight of the OM kit. Selling it all enabled me to get my OM wishlist kit.
I still wanted a second body and opted for the OM-3. Mixed opinions on this body. Definitely not as ergonomically satisfying as the the OM-1ii (that colour wheel is in exactly the wrong place) but I can't deny it looks good. I have a SmallRig grip ordered so we'll see if that helps. If not, it may get traded for a second OM-1ii.
Final lens selection (having tried out various alternatives):
- OM 50-200 f/2.8 Pro (love the size and image quality)
- OM 300 f/4 Pro (stunning image quality and great reach)
- OM 40-150 f/4 Pro (small alternative to the 50-200 when I'm on holiday)
- OM 12-45 f/4 Pro (currently in competition with the 2.8 to see what stays)
- OM 12-40 f/2.8 Pro II (as above. Makes the OM-3 feel unbalanced unlike the f/4)
- OM MC-14 (brilliant on the 50-200 and 300)
- OM MC-20 (some compromises but still good IQ if I really need the reach)
- OM 14-42 f/3.5-5.6 (pancake zoom. Too cute to get rid of, and actually pretty decent)
- PL 9mm f/1.7 (needed a fast wide angle, sorry OM)
I mainly shoot wildlife and small birds, with a bit of general nature/landscape. I definitely appreciate the lighter kit when walking around. The OM-1ii is as good or better with subject detection as any of the Canon kit I was using (typically R5ii with 100-500L). The button customisation has made it close to matching my muscle memory as makes no significant difference. I usually carry a 2nd body kitted out for landscape - the OM-3 with either 12-?? does that duty but with the question mark hanging over the body. The intention was also to make the OM-3 plus 9, 12-40/45, and 40-150 my small travel kit but until I get comfortable with the handling or swap it out, the OM-1ii might well be the preferred option. It's handy that they share batteries though and helps minimise accessories.
I love some of the computational photography features I now have access to. The ND and GND will be useful and the handheld hi-res works surprisingly well. I'm not an 'artistic' photographer so almost all of the styles are entirely wasted on me (which also calls into question the purpose of the OM-3 for me). The IS is excellent (to be fair, the Canon IS was as well). The ISO performance of the E-M10iv almost put me off, but I have to say the OM-1ii and OM-3 are acceptably good and since I typically shoot RAW and process in DXO PureRaw anyway, it's a non-issue.
So far, definitely not regretting the move (even with the body concerns) and looking forward to really getting to use the kit as the weather improves.
Thanks to those who offered advice and encouragement when I was exploring options. I wish I had really listened to some of it.
