I personally own a Nikon System with Olympus being my sub system. Back in 2014, my D3200 was mainly for high MP work while the OMD was for street and general shooting.
Nevertheless, this period in the early 2010s still remained the age of DSLRs, though the revolution of mirrorless cameras is currently under-way. There are times when I still favour a DSLR and here are some reasons I do bring my DSLR out.
1. Ergonomics, the bigger Nikon D3200 or the smaller OMD EM5
Somehow, I still feel that handling on the Nikon D3200 is better, despite the it being an entry level body.
Being able to tweak everything on an OMD is nice, but the small body with the strap lugs digging into my palm or fingers really don’t cut it.
A Nikon D3200 with a small prime like the 35mm or the 50mm is still a very compact package. Somehow, this set just sits in my hand really comfortably. Even if you do have large hands, the pinkie can be tucked under the camera for a 3 fingered right hand grip.
2. Pixel count, 16 in the EM5 vs 24 in the D3200
Say all you want about high megapixels being terrible in light, but when you can shoot in good light, having more MP is rarely a bad thing. If not, why do people bother with high MP medium format? That extra 8 MP meant that extra bit of cropping allowance. Also, i do have the lenses which allow me to resolve that extra bit of detail. This brings me to my next point.
3. Lenses, Nikon F Mount vs Olympus M4/3
I was already a serious Nikon shooter for some time before I dived into M4/3. As it stands, I own a small arsenal of FX lenses and quality primes for the F mount, compared to 2 small primes for the Olympus, the Panasonic 14mm 2.5 and the 45mm 1.8.
The AF on the OMD and the two primes are fast enough for most people, but nothing beats the feel of the lightning fast AF of the Nikon AF-S 24-70 f/2.8, even on the entry level D3200, and the images that pop out of the camera. However, I doubt if most people really need that extra burst of AF speed offered by the professional grade lens.
Finally, take note of the tremendous price difference between just the 24-70mm ($1800 second hand) and the two primes($450 for both). *Take note this was back in 2014, in 2025, based on checks on Carousell, Singapore’s second hand market.
Camera Recommendation
Personally, in 2025, I’d recommend the lighter combination especially for people doing this as a hobby. Given a choice, most people will like prefer something small and lightweight despite the minor image quality compromises.
PS. Prefer something bigger? I talk about the Nikon D700 vs the Canon 5D Mark II here.