I've been an Olympus shooter, but I really like the video capabilities of the Panny gear.
For me it's the lenses. I got the E-P2 black edition kit because the local distro dropped the price by 60%++ before the E-P3 came out (although it was a bit higher than MSRP online), plus the local Lumix distro is the same one that is still into HDTVs, refrigerators and A/C's - they don't even bring in the lenses! For a time many with Lumix lens users here have no local warranty (I haven't heard of anyone who needed to claim it, but still). It didn't take me long using my 17/2.8, and borrowing the 14/2.5, 20/1.7 (too narrow for me though) and 7-14/4 to see how much I'm missing in sharpness (9-18 looks good and smaller when collapsed, but the lens barrel is longer in use and it wobbles). I was so excited about the 17/1.8 getting the snap-focus mechanism (12/2 is too wide for general use for me already), then I saw some comparison samples online showing 100% crops of both and it was just disappointing how a pancake with less elements (and ergo more compromises, supposedly) is still noticeably sharper, albeit much slower to focus.
Then I chanced on a used 14/2.5 for about $80, and I haven't put the 17/2.8 back on since I got it. Not only is 28mm on micro4/3 perfect for me (I normally prefer 35mm as a compromise, but I crop 3:2 out of the 4:3 aspect ratio sensor, so that comes to around 37mm already) but it's a heck of a lot sharper, and much faster to focus on the street too that I'm not egging for zone-focusing with the snap focus mechanism as much as I used to. Thinking of getting the 7-14 next year, just in time for another vacation, but the GX7 came out and I'd like to see how its sensor is with the 14/2.5 (not to mention that for more practical photography, like indoor parties at night, it won't make me choose between having an EVF or a speedlight/pop-up flash as remote trigger on it).
I've been considering switching to the X100S now that it doesn't have a lot of the things people complained about the X100, especially since I can offset the direct flash by using it as an optical trigger indoors given its fast sync, but buying the 28mm wide converter costs as much as a brand new 14/2.5! Plus when the converter is on it's not compact anymore (then again, I can just get used to 35mm on a 3:2 sensor again).
I have about $4,000 tied up in Micro 4/3 gear that I haven't used at all since I got the X100S. It's the most fun I've had shooting in a very long time.
Would you happen to have the 7-14? (Just kidding, I don't have enough cash yet)
Wow. I have the Leica Summilux 25mm f/1.4 and the Voigtlander seems to be just on another level! Really interested in the Voigtlander Nokton 25mm. I've seen a lot of samples and the aperture and colors on that is like no other. I got the panny while negotiating between stills and videos along with my budget a couple years back. Quite satisfied with the video capabilities but not so much with the stills unless I shoot in RAW and do a bit of editing.
