All these camera practically good, i would suggest you choose the one that feels right in your hand, my chose would be the one that give interface that allow me to work faster ie change the setting faster. Another thing a hot shoe wouls added advantage later on in case you need external flash which is very useful in many conditions. As macro goes, raynox with kitlens would do.

I personally have never used the filters on my Olympus EP-3 
Photoshop and Lightroom has wayyyyy better filters. hahaha

I obviously cant contribute anything since I'd be biased anyway, so good luck! go try the cameras out at the shop side by side if you need to. And bring a friend who knows a thing or two about camera, so at least you dont get cheated by the sales person. haha 

I personally think that you should go for GF5 since what you want is compact. Unless you really need the hot shoe then you might need to reconsider. I personally perfer GF5 cos its newer by few models compared to EPL2, AF is faster, a a bit more "enhancement" over EPL2. Unless you eyeing for EPL5, then i'll suggest EPL5. Personally I own a GF2 and now OM-D Still no regrets having my GF2 those years hehe

erm lately i`m not so updated about the prices bro sorry for that hehe, how about EP3? As i know its quite a leap in from the previous machine. GF5 with twin lens is quite a deal if u dont mind working without hotshoe? GX1 is slightly over ur budget else that would be a perfect one! serious model b4 GX1 was GF1 and 2 but their ISO limitation is quite low, for me acceptable up to 800 only which is quite ok la. I`m a Panny guy previously, just jumped into Olympus so I`m not so sure about its deal too much GF2 is also quite cheap nowadays within your budget.

About DXOMark, I personally did not rely these figures to make decision, usually I read user reviews, look at unedited pic quality and try it for myself hehe.

Maybe Sifus around here can help him about DXO?

Oops honestly i did not research on EPL3, so cant advise bro of cos i would prefer EPL5 most since its same sensor as OM-D but since it exceed your budget, I guess the latest tech vs buck = GF5? hmmmmm or maybe get a 2nd unit if you dont mind?

Go for gf5 and start enjoy shooting hehe..what body doesnt matter actually..what matter most the lens

Initially I was aiming for Olympus, but when I compare its price wif gf5 I got GF5 due to its price, comes wif twin lens. Ody start shoting and enjoying it. for gf5 u save on buying star filter and soft filter, coz its got built in prog. I bought CPL n  +10Macro only.

I'll choose Oly E-PL3 over GF-5..

E-PL3 pros -

1. In body stabilizer (All lens without optical image stabilizer will benefit from it including the legacy manual ones)
2. Tiltable lcd (For extreme angle shoot)
3. Hot shoe (U will need it sooner or later esp for better macro shoot with external flash) and for mounting EVF..
4. Dedicated manual control button for fast control setting
5. More focus point and faster focus speed
6. Olympus punchy OOC jpeg.. (If dont like to shoot in raw and post processing)

GF5 pros -

1. Touch screen with touch to focus and shoot.. Very handy for point focus
2. A little bit better sensor
3. Built in flash

I even recommended my sis to get the E-PL3.. 

hope this will help.. 

latest E-PL3 price - Olympus EPL3 ( 14-42MM F3.5-5.6 LENS ) RM 1259 CASH FOC SD 8G @ digitalfm14 (lyn seller.. Shop located next to DigitallMall PJ

My sister in action taking macro with he new Olympus E-PL3.. Just drop by her flickr page.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/94742744@N07/


My sis in action by RenoVal, on Flickr

I lend her my OMD kitlens cause it has macro mode. But now she has the raynox macro converter already. Just attached to her E-PL3 kitlens..

Or just buy the GF-5 twin lens kit for the time being and when time and money comes simply upgrade the body later but still keep the good lens from panasonic like the 14mmf2.5..

yeah agreed with u bro, thats what i do with my GF2 now hahaha, its also a good learning curve

How's Olympus E-PM1 or EPL3 for video?  Can it control exposure, aperture, iso and focus during video?  And does it overheat?

I hear Panasonic GF5 cant control much.

Congratulations..    Finally u bought the E-PL3.. 
Put Raynox 250 on ur second lens the 40-150mm and u are good to go on macro shooting.. 

Telephoto zoom lens are usually an outdoor lens. 

Can be used for outdoor portraits also.  The higher the focal length the nicer and flatter the face. 

As for low light there are 3 options to deal with it:  Flash (External flash with diffuser), low aperture like F1.8-F2.8, high ISO.  Or you can just bring your own light box/lamp and light the place up!

ISO as low as possible is true for all situations, night or day, as you'd want to keep the noise to a minimal. But it has to be bumped up if there is low light available.

Hypothetical situation :: In this case lets say your kitlens with the widest (lowest F-value) aperture is f/3.5, and your shutter at that point in time is 1/15sec with ISO at 100. If your subject is moving, 1/15sec wont get you much of a decent shot, cause of the long shutter and movement. So you bump ISO up to say 800 and maybe get a 1/64sec, which of course would be better than before. Of course it will always help if you have a wider aperture like f/1.4. But!....

....If you need depth of field, so small (large f-value) apertures like f/14 may require a shutter speed too long for you to hold with your hands, or moving object. So you'd have to compensate with bumping ISOs. At least from the way I see it, you can never run away from bumping up the ISO unless its a planned shot, like night landscapes with tripods. 

Hope this helps!   
any sifus can correct me if i put down anything wrong. 

Sunset at wharf by RenoVal, on Flickr

Labour Day spam..


Sunset & reflection by m.s.@.n., on Flickr


Digiscoping ~ Stork by m.s.@.n., on Flickr

Easiest way is using Lightroom and adjust it manually there..

After the Olympus PEN EP-5 Touch & Try Event, especially after the Image stabilization demo comparison between EP-3 and OM-D.... I am now so sad for my EP-3.

Go to an EP-5 event, end up wanting an OM-D.
I want an OM-D.