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Micro 4/3 Some thoughts on m43

Ranger Rick

Regular
Location
Tempe, AZ
Name
Rick
Dennis Mook's blog has some great thoughts on the virtues of m43. To look at YouTube, blogs, etc, you'd get the impression m43 is dead or soon will be, "Full Frame is the only way to go". Dennis uses m43, Fuji X-T5 and Nikon Z8 for various purposes, so he has a somewhat unique perspective. The m43 consortium should license his essay.

 
I've had 9 M43 cameras, and my Gh6/G9II/Gx85 are going to be my tools for a long time. I do a lot more video now and the Gh6/G9II PL 8-18, 12-60, 100-400 do all I need in a small size that cover stills and video very well. Gx85 is my "non-photo video" travel body. In today's world where I'd say over 90% of images taken end up on the net or phones, full frame seems to be a vast over kill. The size of and weight of the M43 lenses for an old buy like me are the key factor. I've been using the 100-400 for a long time and anything heavier than that is too heavy. The 12-60 is also a great "normal" lens, again compare its weight to a FF 24-120mm. Been done looking at reviewers and places like DPR/YouTube a while ago, rent before you buy - don't rely on someone else to choose your tools imho. Mook's feelings are very similar to mine. I've worked with everything from 8 x 10 to the old Kodak 110 cameras. My Mamiya Press 23 produces incredible images but was just a pain to use. Wildlife lenses for Nikon just too expensive and too large. Used Video cameras from Arri to large, mounted TV cameras; unless you want to spend $100K or more a Gh series camera with good lenses shooting 5.7K will make your blockbuster for the web, cable, broadcast TV, or even the cinema. The performance and cost of M43 stills/video cameras in the rising cost of today's markets is a key benefit. Give me ability and creativity anytime over gear that doesn't fit my needs in costs or is just equal in performance with what I have/can afford.
 
No brand or gear shaming. Comments that serve no purpose other than to deride or shame another members choice of brand or gear is not allowed. Comments like "You should not have bought that BrandX lens, it's junk!" or "I only buy BrandZ, everything else is horrible!" are just another form of trolling. [ADDED 2023-08-23]
Watch how you go.

M.
 
Never been influenced by Youtube influncers (though I think Youtube is great) and I've never ticked a tock. But it's beyond me why FF is preferable to any other format for vlogging? Of course, I'm not the one to ask because I rarely shoot video on anything other than with my phone (and don't vloggers use them too?)

Anyway, when I seriously got into digital photography I started with Olympus (because that's how I ended with film) but in the four/thirds days. E-420, E-510,E-3, E-30, E-620. I still shoot occasionally with an E-1. ( I also had a Panny L1 because it was so good looking - yeah, that's a thing with me) But then I moved over to APS-C (because of four/thirds low light noise), shooting with a number of different Canon models (the 40D was my favorite) but then, finally, jumped into the (used) full frame market - 5D, then 5DII then 6D, which I'm going to sell because MFT just does SO much more for me. My E-M1 MKIII has most of the features mentioned in the above article (and I can't see a need for nearly half of what it does have), Decent weather sealing is a must for me (the E-1 and E-3 spoiled me) as is decent focus peaking (I've lots of legacy glass) but I've really come to love the built in ND filters and the focus stacking. Plus PRO lenses are much more affordable, and better, I think, than Canon L lenses. Can't speak for Nikon or Sony but Fuji can be pretty steep too.

So, I personally hope MFT is not dead. But then I hope trucks and SUVs don't replace sedans and coups and wagons.
 
Maverick, not Mustang (at least in the US), but their EV, which is very much a crossover, is a "Mustang Mach E." 🙄
I have to say that if I was in the market for a pick-up that the Maverick would be a front runner. My wife's first car out of high school was a bare bones Maverick. We spent two weeks driving around eastern Canada in that, with just $200 bucks in our pockets and no plastic.
 
I have to say that if I was in the market for a pick-up that the Maverick would be a front runner. My wife's first car out of high school was a bare bones Maverick. We spent two weeks driving around eastern Canada in that, with just $200 bucks in our pockets and no plastic.
The Maverick pickup is my front runner. Specifically the hybrid model; great fuel consumption plus the engine isn't as high-strung as the Ecoboost model. I liked Ford's small turbo efficiency idea at first, but there's increasing evidence that these engines give out long before their time, because they're subjected to more stress. My Jeep Renegade's Tigershark 2.4l is kind of the opposite; low and slow. But it gets the job done.

Is there an analogy to Micro Four Thirds somewhere in here? Hahah.
 
The Maverick pickup is my front runner. Specifically the hybrid model; great fuel consumption plus the engine isn't as high-strung as the Ecoboost model. I liked Ford's small turbo efficiency idea at first, but there's increasing evidence that these engines give out long before their time, because they're subjected to more stress.
My thoughts exactly.
My Jeep Renegade's Tigershark 2.4l is kind of the opposite; low and slow. But it gets the job done.
Same with my 2.5L Subaru Foresters. Pretty poor economy in stop/start driving (shopping trips), but far better with across town, and better again on the open road. The engine lasts pretty much forever, around 400,000 to 500,000 kilometres ...
Is there an analogy to Micro Four Thirds somewhere in here? Hahah.
Perhaps.
 
I’ve used m43 a lot, APSC a little, and FF a lot. I do mostly landscapes, but with some family stuff too (which I don’t publish). I think most people would be hard pushed to tell the difference between the final results from any of them. FF shines in shallow DOF (a blessing and a curse), cleaner high ISO, and somewhat more malleable files that hold up longer when pushing them hard in LR (as often happens with landscape shots).

What I really like about m43 is not just the weight and size, but the lens range, the camera features, the stabilisation, and the sheer enjoyment of using the gear. I sometimes wonder why I don’t just stick with it 100%. But there is nothing quite like an FF file taken at sunrise when you start processing it in LR. I think there’s a place for m43 and FF (and APSC). Choose your poison!
 
Maverick, not Mustang (at least in the US), but their EV, which is very much a crossover, is a "Mustang Mach E." 🙄
Screenshot 2024-12-11 at 7.30.10 AM.png
 
Same with my 2.5L Subaru Foresters . . .
I'm hoping my 2.5L Forester has a lot of miles left in it - currently sitting at a bit over 100,000. We just bought my wife a 2025 Outback XT Touring as a retirement present. She loves it, and it feels more solid than my Forester when I drive it. But no GAS there . . . 😃

As for m4/3, it has some things that make it appealing. I did see a video yesterday that claimed that Panasonic had stated firmly a couple of years ago that they would not be releasing any more small form factor cameras, so no WR GX10. I have studied most of the models that interested me, and noticed a curious pattern: if you want weather sealing and m4/3, you have to be happy with a fully articulating screen. Since the E-M5 II, all m4/3 cameras with a tilt screen have been less rugged and had no WR protection. I prefer a tilt screen, but I have resigned myself to the fact that if I want WR, then I have to accept fully articulating, because I don't want to switch to another system. Then there's the lack of small weather sealed f1.8 primes. I have to admit though, the O 20mm f1.4 has looked tempting at times.
 
I'm personally kind of glad it isn't real... I hate the concept of a "muscle truck."
Last post to this issue, but yesterday in Chandler AZ on Hwy 101, I saw with my own eyes a new-looking tan small Ford pickup (the old Ranger-size?) with the word in large caps on the rear side "MUSTANG". No imbibing beforehand! Now maybe it is a prototype (Ford and GM have test facilities in AZ), or the owner did it, but it was there and looked factory. Back to m43.... 🙂
 
My wife and I were coming down the exit ramp from the freeway a few days ago, and noticed the most bizarre looking vehicle in front of us. It looked like a cross between a mutated Delorean and a refrigerator box. Its license plate had the letters CYBER. Turns out it was a Tesla Cybertruck. I tried to take a picture, but it was so ugly my m4/3 camera refused to release the shutter (tongue firmly in cheek).
 
My wife and I were coming down the exit ramp from the freeway a few days ago, and noticed the most bizarre looking vehicle in front of us. It looked like a cross between a mutated Delorean and a refrigerator box. Its license plate had the letters CYBER. Turns out it was a Tesla Cybertruck. I tried to take a picture, but it was so ugly my m4/3 camera refused to release the shutter (tongue firmly in cheek).
From what I understand, the CyberTruck is so huge, you'd have needed an UWA lens to get it all in.
 
The Cybertruck is a crime against visual design that should rot in hell for eternity. It is also a masterpiece of engineering and the people that designed and built it from mechanical and electronics perspective should be applauded for their achievements.
 
It seems that people do not know how interesting the Cybertruck is from an engineering perspective.

It is the first steering by wire mass production car, it is the first vehicle that ditched the 1950s era 12V electronics for 48V electronics. It is amazing that todays cars that run multiple screens, computers, sensors and all that kind of energy consuming stuff still run on 12V like the cars from 1950 that had to run the interior lights and exterior lights and spark plugs. Just the 12V > 48V transition is worth so much - given that the voltage is so much higher, the wiring do not need to be as long and complicated as the 12V - a modern car usually has about 3 miles / 5 km of wiring in them, it is much shorter than that in a 48V system. Add the fact that wiring in that truck are basically built like a modern modular networking system instead of an older simple electrical system means that you also have a much smaller number of wires. A Cybertruck for example will have about 160 wires compared to around 500 for a much smaller Model 3.

As an engineer, sometimes it is amazing how antiquated modern cars are - some of the things are basically run by the part suppliers and these guys do not want to change anything - at least Tesla engineers are willing to innovate and bring the car industry to the modern world, kicking and screaming, it seems.

It is probably that the entire steering by wire is enabled by this move to 48V - because you can finally run the multiple redundancy systems required to support such a system.
A quick primer: https://www.slashgear.com/1502730/cybertruck-modular-wiring-system/
 
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