Choices in 4/3

[Godfrey]

don't u get that feeling sometimes that it was such a good shot, i wish i took that shot with a better camera? to me that's the true basis of gear lust

If what I was shooting with didn't take good photos, I'd toss it. But it does.

There's a limit to how much better than I am a camera needs to be. Nearly all my cameras, even the junkiest ones, are well past that limit.

G

 

[Godfrey]

So am I, so I see where you're coming from. However, when buying in to a new (to you) camera system it doesn't seem unreasonable to ask whether it's likely there will be new cameras, lenses etc. developed for that system. My Canon FD mount stuff can still take photos I like, but I wouldn't recommend it as having great prospects for future development.

...Mike

Put those nice FD lenses on a Canon F1 or T90, or adapt them to a half dozen digital bodies (including the new Leica M) and you'll find they work well.

If you crave new features, sure: buy systems where every 9 months there's a new feature laden thing to buy. We're long past the point in modern digital cameras where the need for the latest and greatest is actually a need.

G

 

[mfunnell]

Put those nice FD lenses on a Canon F1 or T90, or adapt them to a half dozen digital bodies (including the new Leica M) and you'll find they work well.

If you crave new features, sure: buy systems where every 9 months there's a new feature laden thing to buy. We're long past the point in modern digital cameras where the need for the latest and greatest is actually a need.

G

Sorry, no T-90 (out, damned GAS!) However, my New F-1, A-1 and AE-1Program do just fine with my FD lenses. That wasn't my point. The OP is looking at buying into a camera system. Advice like:

The "4/3 world" is pretty much dead of new camera development. Micro-4/3, on the other hand, is alive and well.

Seems as if it might actually be useful to the OP. Telling the OP "it doesn't matter" seems unlelpful: it matters to him because he want's to buy into some system or other and he'd like to make an informed decision. As I said before, it seems to me that is pretty reasonable.

...Mike

 

[Godfrey]

Sorry, no T-90 (out, damned GAS!) However, my New F-1, A-1 and AE-1Program do just fine with my FD lenses. That wasn't my point. The OP is looking at buying into a camera system. Advice like:

Originally Posted by JoeV
The "4/3 world" is pretty much dead of new camera development. Micro-4/3, on the other hand, is alive and well.

Seems as if it might actually be useful to the OP. Telling the OP "it doesn't matter" seems unlelpful: it matters to him because he want's to buy into some system or other and he'd like to make an informed decision. As I said before, it seems to me that is pretty reasonable.

...Mike

The OP didn't mention any FourThirds SLRs. He asked about Micro-FourThirds cameras. For which there is now a large and still expanding range of excellent lenses available. And new bodies coming up regularly too.

Of course, Olympus still has an pro-grade FourThirds SLR (the E-5) in production, and a mature lineup of the best lenses in DSLRs available for the SLR line. All of which lenses can be used very nicely with the Micro-FourThirds cameras that the OP was asking about by means of an adapter. The E-P5 in particular has boosted focusing speed and compatibility with the FourThirds SLR lenses nicely. And it is a reasonable expectation that Olympus will release in the semi-near future another pro-grade body that is either a further advancement of their SLR or a bridge EVF-SLR model to replace the SLR.

And then there's the OP's statement:

" ... I'm photo hobbyist and enjoy taking pictures.
I shoot a great deal of nature and other subjects such as buildings."

Any of the cameras he mentioned will do a fantastic job for what he's articulated.

So "it really doesn't matter" is quite apropos IMO. Pick one, any one, of the systems currently available today and he'll have a tremendous lot of capabilities at his disposal. ;-)

G

 

[raid]

I am using the (now old) EP-2, and I (still) love the images from it. I have a Zeiss 85.1,4 (in Rollei mount) almost always mounted on the EP-2. The images look ultra cool.

 

[Matus]

I am probably going to get stoned, but even though that there are some great m43 cameras, I would probably go with APS-C for landscape (if full frame was too large heavy or expensive). But truth is that getting OMD or similar would not be a mistake either.

If I were you I would think about what is going to be the output - large prints, smaller prints, web only?

 

[JoeV]

The OP didn't mention any FourThirds SLRs. He asked about Micro-FourThirds cameras. For which there is now a large and still expanding range of excellent lenses available. And new bodies coming up regularly too.

Of course, Olympus still has an pro-grade FourThirds SLR (the E-5) in production, and a mature lineup of the best lenses in DSLRs available for the SLR line. All of which lenses can be used very nicely with the Micro-FourThirds cameras that the OP was asking about by means of an adapter. The E-P5 in particular has boosted focusing speed and compatibility with the FourThirds SLR lenses nicely. And it is a reasonable expectation that Olympus will release in the semi-near future another pro-grade body that is either a further advancement of their SLR or a bridge EVF-SLR model to replace the SLR.

And then there's the OP's statement:


Any of the cameras he mentioned will do a fantastic job for what he's articulated.

So "it really doesn't matter" is quite apropos IMO. Pick one, any one, of the systems currently available today and he'll have a tremendous lot of capabilities at his disposal. ;-)

G

I agree, it's a good time to be alive in terms of system choices. A good problem to have.

Now, about terminology. If the OP is asking for specifics, there's the matter of precision, as it relates to what kind of answer he gets and how useful it is to him. If he's new to mirrorless, he needs to know that there's a difference between asking about "4/3rds" and asking about micro-four-thirds, because there are threads here on RFF that do just that (ask about the four thirds DSLR format).

And yes, he did reference "4/3rds", just look up at the title of this thread. 😉

~Joe

PS- The reason why it matters is that the OP deserves to be better informed than the typical camera store employee. That's a big reason why forums like RFF are useful.

 

[mh2000]

Again, whether the 'format has some longevity' is mostly irrelevant. Whether the camera that you buy has sufficient quality and durability to last you for its intended use is all that matters.

Most people (including myself) buy way too much gear and are too quick to want the next upgrade for the actual uses the gear is put to. Any of the excellent mFT camera bodies made today will last a very long time in use if the photographer concentrates on making photos without being distracted by the "new and improved!" marketing nonsense that is hammered at us on a daily basis.

Beyond that, Olympus and Panasonic are well entrenched in Micro-FourThirds production and development. They'll keep at it for a good while to come. When they stop, well, people on this forum have a habit of enjoying lots of obsolete cameras that have been discarded by industry for decades, eh? 🙂

G

This is all true enough for people buying bodies, but lenses are a different story. I'm guessing that before the last m43 body is released, it will either be good enough for me to buy used replacements into the future or I'll have gotten all the value out of the lenses I've purchased for the system, but it was sure reassuring buying any Canon or Leica lens I wanted to knowing that they would hold a good bit of their value for near eternity (at least on my life's schedule).

 

[mh2000]

Still shooting my E-P1... so I agree with "pick any one" of the available cameras and be happy!

🙂