The Move to Micro 4/3

Thought I would post a link to my new blog post on here in case anyone was looking at moving to Micro 4/3 and coming from a DSLR. It's a quick write up but I will keep updating this post with the new links to the updated content that I post. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://darktidephoto.c​om/blog//the-move-to-micro-43

I think the latest M4/3 bodies like the EM1 mk2 and GH5 will be the flagship bodies for economical long telephoto needs.

This is where there's a discussion of high iso performance (aps-c, full frame) allowing fast shutter speeds to stop action. For Nikon and Canon this is where image stabilization occurs in the $$$$ telephoto lenses.

M4/3 users strong debate is the excellent image stabilization found "in body" and lens. Panasonic's been double dipping in using both body and lens for incredible image stabilization.

In the case of some situations where shutter speed is required to stop action.....M4/3 can struggle due to the average performance in high iso. The EM1 mk1 dynamic range is almost lateral to the EM1 mk2 which is a major disappointment. In Canada both EM1mk2 and GH5 is $2700.

The beauty of a smaller sensor is the 2x crop factor and lenses are substantially cheaper than a long tele prime from Nikon or Canon. In good light the M43 is performing very well and it seems there's a trend of removing the AA filter to maximize sharpness and IQ.

Using M43 for many years I was never been able to comfortably use M43 for events photography. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to the M43 world but this is also personal preference. However if I was into wildlife I'd reconsider.....

I've seen some nice video work from the GH5 for video. I'll be anticipating more real life users once that body becomes mainstream.

I agree, Full Frame and the lens still pull in more light, but so far for me the weight and cost is huge for how little difference there is in real world usage so far. I will be putting up more updates soon

I will say there is economical benefits in telephoto gear in the m43 world.

High ISO performance seems like it will always plateau at its current level of performance. In good light it's fine but low light I still feel the raw file falls apart with little dynamic range in low light.

It would be interesting to use a 100 to 400 lens with the M43 as the light gets challenging. It's already hard enough with a full frame camera body to produce clean files as the sunsets. I still feel for M43 is a good light camera only in my experience.

Looking forward to seeing more photos.....

Some great samples for an hours shooting.

4 years ago I switched to M43. Photography took a back seat to other priorities and I switched an extensive setup, 40D 10-22, 17-55 2.8 IS, 70-200 F4, 430EX, for a tiny Pansonic GF3 and 20mm 1.7 lens. It wasn't a great body and it wasn't very satisfying to use but worked nicely for holidays.

I was until recently thinking seriously about going full frame with one of the 35mm 1.4 primes. Instead I acquired a Panasonic GX80 at a steal price which has finally unlocked the M43 benefits. This thing has seriously impressed me.

- In body stabalisation with a 1.7 prime is a joy to use
- Never expected to use the video but it's great (again with the stabalisation)
- In camera stop frame animation (a gimmick but the child in me who used to do this with a film camcorder is blown away)

It hasn't the form factor of a 40D to hold but then it's small, light, friends don't shy away and ultimately gets taken out more.

I used it for travel and streets....
I love the tiny lenses....

I switched to m4/3 about 5 years ago, and just picked up a G85 (same camera as the G80) which fixes the niggles I had with my G6.

At the time I made the switch m4/3 was the only mirrorless system with a decent selection of native lenses, where the overall system size and weight was significantly less than an aps-c DSLR. There were plenty of systems with smaller camera bodies, but once lenses were added that advantage was lost. I have been happy enough that I haven't seriously looked at another system since.

High ISO performance is definately not as good a a full frame camera, but I asked myself "what is good enough for me?" My logic was that in most respects my m4/3 gear exceeds the performance of my 5D (mk1), which was 'good enough' for my purposes, and the camera you have with you will always out perform the one you left at home.

scotttnz wrote in post #18271981
I switched to m4/3 about 5 years ago, and just picked up a G85 (same camera as the G80) which fixes the niggles I had with my G6.

At the time I made the switch m4/3 was the only mirrorless system with a decent selection of native lenses, where the overall system size and weight was significantly less than an aps-c DSLR. There were plenty of systems with smaller camera bodies, but once lenses were added that advantage was lost. I have been happy enough that I haven't seriously looked at another system since.

High ISO performance is definately not as good a a full frame camera, but I asked myself "what is good enough for me?" My logic was that in most respects my m4/3 gear exceeds the performance of my 5D (mk1), which was 'good enough' for my purposes, and the camera you have with you will always out perform the one you left at home.

I recall first buying my Olympus e-m5 and I felt it was marginally better at high iso than my 5D classic. The E-m5 did produce very nice IQ in good light. As Ive jumped into fuji gear the X-E2 and X-T10 actually had similar high iso performance to my Canon 5dmk2.

The use of gear with higher iso performance simply increases keepers. For what I shoot I appreciate the max high iso I can get in my chosen small form factor body. This is one reason why I wanted an X-T2.

Got to spend a few more days shooting with the OMD EM1 Mark II, and put together a blog post talking about the shoots. Lots of images and as always please let me know if any questions. The move from Canon to Olympus is a fun one so far.

http://darktidephoto.c​om/blog//weekend-em1ii

After carrying gear around for years I decided to give my body a break so 3 years ago I sold my 5D, 7D, 17-40, 24-105, 70-200 2.8, 28 1.8, 50 1.4 and 85 1.8 to jump to M4/3 and a E-M10 and 14-42, 40-150 lenses and really enjoyed the setup till early last year when I came back to a 5D and a couple of lenses.

In the past 2 weeks I have sold off all my DSLR gear to go back to M4/3 with a E-M5 mkII and 12-40 2.8 lens. These small bodies are great and with the pro series of lenses and small primes, 5 stop, 5 axis image stabilization they perform very well...

I had E-M5, E-M1 and E-M10, really amazing cameras.

E-M1 was my favorite camera of all time.

For what it's worth, I had been using m43 for over 4 years until I switched back to Canon, this time it was FF - 6d. It's been nearly two yeas and I never once looked back. The IQ, color response, tonality, noise, etc. have been a quantum leap from E-M10 and E-M1.

The most important discovery for me was that I shoot with 6d+24-70ii 99% of the time. The convinicence of a single lens combo and seeminngly endless battery life - well over 1000 shots, much improved ergonomics over Olympus system; for me, far outweighs the lighter weight/size of m43 and multiple lenses, constatly changing. I could never effectively use 12-40 lens for portraits, not nearly enough DoF control. Had to always switch to 45mm 1.8 or 25 f1.4, changing and charging multiple batteries, unreliable AF in low light, etc.
I think if DoF control, portraiture, speed (sports, running kids), postprocessing lattitude, large format prints, etc. are not important to you, then, yes m43 is lightweight stystem for the rest. For street and, perharbs, travel photography - m43 is more than adequate.

However, I was frequently stuck with just PL25 (back in m43 days) for its light gathering and rendering properties. Switching to 24-70ii made my photography so much more diverse, all kinds of prospectives in one session w/o changing lenses. And files can take a lot of abuse in LR. I am so looking forward to the 6dii with its DPAF. To be clear, I always have my RX100 (iii) with me which is used for video and casual restaurant shots with its bounceable flash.

These days I tend to think that Fuji has developed the most well rounded mirrorless system.

I love my Olympus OMD EM-5 mk2! The image quality and ibis are awesome! Some of the cool features like live time and live comp, are really cool features! Make night photography and light trails much more exciting being able to see your photo compose in real time! The truth is all digitals cameras are getting to such a high level its hard to go wrong with any brand when comparing comparable models... Happy Shooting!