This subject is the director of a small theatre company “Dare”, working out of the back of another businesses converted store house.

Possibly full of character under different circumstances, it was not an automatic win today.

My usual style of shooting over the reporters shoulder was the way to go as there were no rehearsals, no props and now one else there.

My kit has change a little recently. The push to do video has come on hard and strong, meaning I have gone back to a shared Olympus and Panasonic kit.

It is not that the Oly cameras cannot do good video. Indeed they have some benefits over even the Panasonic G9’s, but they are a pain to work with in a hybrid space.

Unlike the Panasonic cameras, you cannot set up a custom work space, really needing to dedicate a camera to purpose, bacuse “just switching” is not easy.

Want video with the G9? Turn to C1 through C3-3 (1080p/25 Natural, 1080 33% slo-mo, 1080p/50, 4k/24 Cine-D, 4k/50 Cine-D, with all buttons and dials dedicated to video). Video is also the same, with Aperture priority my standard for stills. I use ISO for exposure, the main dial on the back controls of that.

With the EM1 Mk2, you need to switch to video, then remember to set the mics, ISO, ect to the right settings from scratch.

Basically one second compared to one minute.

For stills it is literally a mixed bag.

The two brands have some areas they are each better some times than the other like high ISO electronic shutter banding. Usually the Oly is fine, but occasionally the Pana likes a space better.

Handling is the big win for the Pana. I just love the extra real estate and more flexible custom settings. Anything anywhere basically and more switches etc to do it. I have ISO on the back main dial, there is a switch on the front for silent shutter on/off, the nubbin is better for AF point selection and the quick menu is a little more direct. The menus do my head in and try as I might, I have never been able to get both my G9’s functioning exactly the same, but once they settle, they are very nice to use (there is actually a save to card and transfer menu option that I have not used, but that is not the point).

All of these feature on the Oly take another step or two movements to complete. The EM1x/Mk3/OM-1’s fix some of these to an extent, but right now in my day kit, the G9 wins. The Oly cameras are smaller though and turn on quicker.

AF is the Oly strength. The G9 has excellent AF, better even when you just let the camera decide (human/animal detect is quite clever but not infallible), but requires Panasonic lenses to support it and my most powerful long lenses are all Olympus.

I knew this going in and have even found the G9 workable with some Oly telephoto lenses, the newer 40-150 F4 in particular, but the reality is, if you want to shoot sport regularly, a G9 with Oly glass is not a perfect match.

In balance, the G9 is better suited to close work, the lenses I have fitting that space perfectly, the Oly’s for me do the long lens work and again, my lenses are ideal**.

Oddly, some lenses work better on their opponents bodies. The 15mm has an annoyingly loose aperture ring that I cannot disable, unless it goes on an Oly camera. It also has a delicate and light colour palette, which brightens the more grounded Oly look.

Conversely, the 12-40 and 17mm Olympus are great video lenses on the G9 with good ergonomics and very organic looking colours, reducing some of the over-sharp Panasonic footage. The G9 has very contrasty video, so many users set contrast and sharpness to -5 in Natural mode, but even then it can look a little hard.

Also added back to the kit is the 25mm, because I miss that filler focal length after deciding not to use a zoom standard lens, a mic (the Sennheisser MKE-400) and some filters in 46mm (2-400 ND and BPM 1/8th).

The Sigma 30mm could replace both the 45 and 25mm lenses, but its focussing is a little less sure footed and it is quite large on its own. The 45mm can be shoved into the smallest space in my bag, the 30 with hood takes up similar space to my 75mm.

I know that the Pana cameras and lenses can brighten up gloomy images, but the Olympus can better control overly bright surrounds and looks more organic. Mixing lenses and bodies can reveal some perfect synergies.

I also prefer the Oly cameras for flash. I rarely get a lost file to poor decision making from an Oly.

*9, 15, 12-60 kit, 12-60 Leica, 8-18 Leica.

**45, 75, 40-150 kit, 40-150 f4, 40-150 f2.8 75-300, 300 f4. There are also 12-40, 17 and 25mm options, but for the G9 I stick to Pana.