Pondering on the M4/3 System

▲The E-P1 is small, but not as I’ve thought it to be

Nevin’s E-P1 day was very well done. Hat tipped.

Now that the E-P1 is ready for sale, photographers are tempted by it in large number. This blog may have served as one of the rumour mills to push this up; or has it? Anyway, if it is just for the sake of size which makes you comtemplating a switch, there should be stronger reasons for the voting by foot so, not least because the E-P1 is not really small. The investment to be poured on the lenses and the body(ies) will be no less that on a proper DSLR system.

What is so special about the M4/3 system (I sort of hate the codename of it, which is not great for typing it)? Does it worth the admission?

The birth of M4/3 for whom?

The story starts with the 4/3 format, which gave birth to the M4/3 format. As early as in June 2003, the first 4/3 camera Olympus E-1 saw the light of the market, giving photographers a choice in addition to the APS and full frame formats. It is called the 4/3 format because the imaging sensor is 4/3 inches in 4:3 proportion, which combines to give the sensor a dimension of 17.3 x 13 mm. This dimension is rought 1/4 the size of a full frame sensor as shown below.

The 4/3 cameras on the market today include the Olympus E-system (E-420, E-520, E-620, E-30, E3), Panasonic DMC-L series (L1 and L10) and Leica Digilux 3. Although the 4/3 cameras boast relative lightness in size and weight, they are a far cry in these aspects to many. Despite the fact that a lightweight E-420 mounted with a 25mm f2.8 Pancake lens is just 475g (380g + 95g), it outweights the digital compact cameras which do not exceed 200g. Size-wise, the two are not even comparable.

▲ 4/3 cameras

Market researches show that these dissatisfied customers include particularly family and female users. For family users, the requirements are simple operation and image quality which outperformed the digital compacts. For female users, the need is good image quality with a body much lighter than a DSLR. Understandably, the M4/3 system is targeted at these two groups of users.

▲ M4/3 cameras will accept 4/3 lenses via step-ups

The Strengths of M4/3

So the micro 4/3 system is modelled and improved on the full 4/3. The mirco version boasts the following special features

1. Smaller size – The mirco system sheds the reflex mirro and the pentaprism all together, which are replace by the LiveView function. This brings the camera a smaller size (but well not small in the strictest sense; just smaller).

▲M4/3 does away with the reflex mirror and the pentaprism

The LiveView function is made possible by the LCD screen, which is exactly the way how the DCs are doing. Judging from the performance of the G2 and GH1, we can expect that the LiveView focusing speed of the E-P1 will see some improvement (or proven by now?). This is an important point to note if you are thinking of a switch to the system.

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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