Rumours of M4/3s Demise...

[Turbofrog]

...Have been greatly exaggerated!

If there is one thing that this Photokina has shown, it's the vitality that's still pumping through this system. At many price points and quality levels, I'm actually a little bit blown away.

While a lot of the announced products aren't available yet, we've got:

G80 + 12-60mm lens, weather-sealed, 4K, 5-axis IBIS, huge EVF kit for only $999!

25mm/1.2 image quality looks to be ludicrously good.

12-100/f4 also seems to live up the PRO branding.

3 (!) new Panasonic-Leica f2.8-4 zooms which look like they will be a superb combination of size, weight, aperture, and quality (if not price....)

GH5 bringing literally unprecedented video specifications with it. The kind of quality you'd need to spend well over $5000 to get at this point.

E-M1 II looking like it will have burst speeds, focus specs, and even sensor quality to compete with the very best of the big boys. Maybe @Speedliner won't need to switch after all...

Really, Panasonic and Olympus look like they are firing on all cylinders here. If anyone thought that M4/3 had lost its way or was falling behind, this seems like as firm a rebuttal as they could have given.

And yeah, the products aren't cheap, but neither are the M4/3 and FF offerings that they're squaring up against. And the reason I mentioned the G80 first is because it appears to be the best deal in cameras right now, besides the exception of the Pentax K70 (if you can get down with DSLRs still).

 

[TNcasual]

Don't forget a new manufacturer in the fold, whatever that's worth.

 

[Brian Beezley]

25mm/1.2 image quality looks to be ludicrously good.

Samples below, many quite beautiful but a number with pronounced, multicolored lens flare:

Pinnacle Prime: Olympus ED 25mm F1.2 Pro sample gallery

Brian

 

[PeHa]

Samples below

I prefer these, just lovely... An Optical Epiphany in Havana with the new Olympus 25 1.2 Pro Lens

 

[DanS]

I've learned to not trust DPR samples.

 

[Turbofrog]

I've learned to not trust DPR samples.

I was blown away by the quality of the DPR samples. Actually preferred them to the Havana shots in many cases.

 

[DanS]

The have gotten blasted several times for taking bad images. The last MFT one I remember was the 100-400, they actually took some of the shots down because of how bad they were. it ended up being an issue with the person using the lens and not the lens.

 

[ijm5012]

...but a number with pronounced, multicolored lens flare

That's what you get when you use 19 elements in the optical formula...

 

[RichardB]

Samples below, many quite beautiful but a number with pronounced, multicolored lens flare:

Pinnacle Prime: Olympus ED 25mm F1.2 Pro sample gallery

The flare only appears when the lens is stopped down to f/8 or smaller, and I don't mind the 18-spoke starbursts. The shots with f/4 and larger aperture show no flare even when aimed straight at the sun.

 

[Brian Beezley]

The flare only appears when the lens is stopped down to f/8 or smaller, and I don't mind the 18-spoke starbursts. The shots with f/4 and larger aperture show no flare even when aimed straight at the sun.

Mild purple flare for one shot at f/4 and two at f/1.2, more serious green flare and overall haze at f/1.2. More flared images at higher f-stops. The images are gorgeous when not pointed anywhere near the sun, but ...

Brian

 

[Speedliner]

"Maybe @Speedliner won't need to switch after all..."

Lol...sorry Turbo. I really don't want to. Can't wait for the first reviews.

 

[pdk42]

That's what you get when you use 19 elements in the optical formula...

Oh dear - Yannick Khong will have to eat his words (again - how wrong can one person be?!).

(The flattening of modern lenses or the death of 3d pop if you have to know...)

 

[barry]

Oh dear - Yannick Khong will have to eat his words (again - how wrong can one person be?!).

You realize you're giving him money by linking to his site?

 

[RichardB]

Mild purple flare for one shot at f/4 and two at f/1.2, more serious green flare and overall haze at f/1.2. More flared images at higher f-stops. The images are gorgeous when not pointed anywhere near the sun, but ...

At least Olympus is throwing in a hood for $1200, but I don't think the DPReview photographers used it.

I understand that lens flare is a technical flaw, but for me it adds beauty to a photograph. I need to come up with a word to describe the quality of flare, the way bokeh describes the quality of blur, and soon photographers will demand more flare and lens designers will add reflective coatings to internal surfaces.

 

[GBarrington]

No, it's dead, dead, dead.

Send me your gear and I'll get rid of it for you.

 

[kwalsh]

With Samsung NX and Nikon 1 both dead we are starting to see who the mirrorless survivors are. M43 has done well to make use of its long head start and is now a very impressive system. Fuji has made a very impressive late entry and through carefully thought out products targeted at prosumer I think is here to stay. Sony A7 is of course successfully attacking the FF DLSR market. I guess Sony NEX will stay through inertia and brand recognition?

Canon is extremely late and still rather half hearted. Nikon looks to have given up and gone with the fixed lens DL series instead for now. So eight years later we still wait to see if the largest players of the past will even attempt to seriously compete in this market. Nikon failed its first attempt and it is hard to claim Canon has even tried yet.

But it sure seems m43 is going to be here for a long time to come and all the recent announcements show it is still one of the most vibrant and innovative mirrorless systems.

 

[Schwingi]

I'm rather new to the M43 world, "demise" is a little harsh, but the future is somewhat limited because of the sensor size. 16mp since years, 20mp in the new oly and the pana gx8 - but then?!

 

[Danny_SWE]

But it sure seems m43 is going to be here for a long time to come

it sure looks like that, with zillions of lenses. Old 4/3 was a little ahead of it's time and I think Oly learned alot from that, knowledge they developed further when creating m4/3.

 

[TNcasual]

I'm rather new to the M43 world, "demise" is a little harsh, but the future is somewhat limited because of the sensor size. 16mp since years, 20mp in the new oly and the pana gx8 - but then?!

I can only speak for myself, but the limiting factor on my squarely amateur photography has nothing to do with the tech in the hands, and everything to do with the meatbag with the hands.

 

[DanS]

I'm rather new to the M43 world, "demise" is a little harsh, but the future is somewhat limited because of the sensor size. 16mp since years, 20mp in the new oly and the pana gx8 - but then?!

Their are better ways of improving a camera than just increasing the MP count. Dynamic range, noise reduction, FPS increase, shutter shock reduction, image stabilization improvements, focus stacking, video features to name but a few.