I sold (actually exchanged for the S5II) my main camera, the G9, along with a few lenses. I kept my GM5 and GF7, but I haven’t touched them in a long time. I bought (exchanged for the G9) a Panasonic S5II with the 20–60mm and 50mm lenses as a kit at a good price. A week later, I came across a Leica Q2 in excellent condition and at the right price—so I bought that too. I ended up with too many cameras!
For almost the last two years, I’ve mostly used the Q2. I rarely used the S5II, though it’s a fantastic camera. During that time, I also bought and sold several Fuji fixed-lens cameras: the X100V, X100VI, and GFX100RF. I sold the X100V/VI because I couldn’t quite connect with the focal length, and the GFX100RF due to its size and lack of stabilisation. No matter what I tried, I always returned to the Q2—it has remained my go-to camera.
A few months ago, I bought another GM5 because it was very reasonably priced. I had a small Sony grip, and I couldn’t believe how much of a difference it made—I really enjoyed using it. And now, just last week, I picked up another mFT camera: the Panasonic G100, again at a great price. I went out and took some photos, and it was a joy to use. Now, I’ve decided to sell the Q2.
So you can see that I’ve used very different cameras with various sensor sizes. My only real regret is buying the S5II, simply because I’ve used it so little. I’ve realised I much prefer smaller camera-and-lens combinations over larger setups.
I genuinely believe that mFT is a near-perfect system—it meets almost all of my needs. Of course, it has its downsides: lower megapixel counts, poorer low-light performance, and less depth-of-field control compared to larger sensors (which is just physics, isn’t it?). But there’s something truly enjoyable about using a compact camera with a small lens.
I intend to keep at least one of the GM5s and the G100. I gave my G7 with the 12–32mm Panasonic lens to my son, and he’s really enjoying it. I’ll hold on to the S5II until I can possibly swap it for an S9 or S9II, if and when it comes out. Maybe if I find another Leica but they are too expensive!
I know this isn’t a proper hardware review, but I still wanted to share my thoughts.
