Micro 4/3 What Do You Use MFT For?

I use m43 for documenting my kid mostly and some travel. Or when I want don't want to risk taking out my fuji gear. I also use my E-PL8 as a second cam with a more standard focal length, in case I have a tight portrait lens on the Fuji
(which is most of the time).

Also I know it's not 100% m43, but my lx100 mk1 still is most likely the best camera I've ever had. Super bright zoom lens, usable EVF, some stabilization and Fuji like dials. It's just amazing for how much they cost now.

If I can only take a single small camera/lens with me it's almost always the lx100 OR the E-PL8 + 17mmf1.8. Fits in coat pocket and they are good enough for what I need.
 
It’s easier to list what I don’t use the m43 gear for.

1. slide and negative copying. That falls to a D600 adapted to an OM bellows and slide copying rig.

2. those odd times when the Nikkor 80-400 mounted on the D7100 is closer to hand than the m43 equivalent and the camera battery has some charge left.

3. wait a sec, I’ll think of something...

I bought a used E-M5 in 2013. It quickly proved its worth as a travel camera. I haven’t taken a DSLR traveling since then. Over time I worked out ways to use the m43 gear as year-round walkabouts so the Nikons became mostly redundant. Finally, for the little studio work I do, given sufficient light, they present little danger of compromised IQ.

I like touching them, I like using them. Hardly a day goes by without carrying one or two of them on a lengthy walk or two. In this way I get to become fluent in their use so that, when I’m traveling and I have only one chance to get a shot, I’m not likely to be confounded by an unfamiliar camera behavior.
 
I currently use M43 for most of my photography from landscape to travel to portraits to wildlife, and it does pretty well for all my needs. I switched to the system years ago because my canon gear was getting left at home on travels because of weight and bulk and I didn't like the shots I was getting from point-and-shoot cameras. I was so pleased with the results from my lowly Oly Pen E-PL5 with entry 14-42mm, and 40-150mm (plastic fantastic) kit lenses, and the Panny 20mm pancake, that I just switched over.

However, as smart phone cameras and their computational photography capabilities continue to improve, I find I am getting quite good results for ~28mm equivalent images in good light. I can foresee a change to just using my phone for travel photos on day-trips where I don't anticipate telephoto or lower light work.
 
M43 is the only digital systems camera I've owned. I never bothered to try any of the FF or APS-C options, having used Canon FD and Bronica ETR professionally and for hobby shooting. I didn't want the weight and bulk of FF sized lenses. I use it for site documentation and amateur shooting.
I have an E-M1 II, E-M1 III and far too many lenses.
 
I use M43 for personal photography (family, travel, etc.) Until last year it was the only system I'd used.

Last year I finally succumbed to the siren song of the Fuji X system and bought an X-H1 and a few lenses. While I enjoy the results I get from Fuji, especially the JPEG film sims, if I'm honest there isn't anything the Fuji can do that the M43 gear can't. That said, I really enjoy the ergonomics of the X-H1, especially the dual-tilt rear screen (I abhor using flip-out & swivel screens).

If the E-M1.2, 1.3 or OM-1 had a tilt screen, I would sell the Fuji gear in a minute and consolidate back completely to M43. For now, though, I've taken to using the Fuji as my main "walkaround" system, usually with the 16-80 or a normal-ish prime, and relying on the M43 gear to fill in the wide angle or telephoto as needed.

In terms of bags, that's been it's own GAS-fueled adventure. My general purpose kit includes the aforementioned X-H1 + 16-80 and a GM5 + P7-14 shoehorned into an Ona Bowery bag.

This kit looks like this:
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20220418_171816.jpg
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Another option here is replacing the GM5/7-14 with a Pen F + 25/1.4 or 17/1.8 for evening work or with Pen F + 60mm macro. Either if those options will fit in this bag along with the X-H1.

When you mention "Shotkit", is this the sort of thing you're looking for? If so, I can show you some other kit possibilities with larger bags.

- K
 
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If you use MFT, what do you use it for?
I use MFT (my GM5) for street, landscape, urban, macro with the Olympus 60mm, product, wildlife photography plus some contracts, if requested, and usually in dry weather. I also use it in events where no system cameras are allowed. The GM5 + the 12-32mm disguises as a point-and-shoot. I've had 7 instances when I got in when others with larger cameras weren't allowed to enter.

Is it your only system or do you couple it with other systems?
I now have 2 systems, MFT and Pentax. I find the two systems complimentary with each other. I like MFT's adequateness, the detail that can be squeezed from Panasonic's RAW files and video quality, the 4:3 format, especially when shooting vertically, and, of course, the compact lenses. I like Pentax's OVF, rendering, ruggedness, lens selection, ergonomics and metering. I use Pentax for really, really bad weather because we have a lot of extremes here, too. That being said, when I did my night urban/street shooting in Wellington, it was raining and I just used the GM5, which stayed mostly inside my jacket, kind of like hiding a gun, and brought it out only when shooting. I have been doing the technique for decades now and the cameras didn't have any problem, at all. For reference, this photo of corner lights give a scale of the raindrops during the walk.
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What kit (bags, bodies, lenses, flashes, etc) do you use the most?
MFT: I use the GM5 + the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 II most of the time. The Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro is the 2nd. I use an old Sigma 430EX flash for my Macro connected to the FlashQ. Pentax: I primarily use the K-3 + smc 18-135mm WR now because of bad weather and/or the Pentax-M 28mm f/2.8 when I am doing street in dry weather.
 
I can foresee a change to just using my phone for travel photos on day-trips where I don't anticipate telephoto or lower light work.
This is essentially what's happened for me. I do more photography than ever but it's with a phone that's a good enough replacement over the 14–120ish mme range. Doesn't have the dynamic range, color accuracy, stabilization, and autofocus performance of the G7 I also have but for general purpose outdoor daylight photography it mostly doesn't matter.

To put things into perspective, in my film days it was normal to run two or three systems. 6x6 for pro work, but no way would you contemplate taking it to the seaside. The quality of MFT far exceeds the output quality from my old Bronicas.
I used 135, 6x7, and 4x5. Panasonic's 16 MP sensor's nothing special these days but for 1 m prints it's comparable to what I'd get from 4x5 drum scans, corners of the 9–18 aside, meaning it's good enough at normal viewing distances for pretty much everybody. The few areas of C-AF and low light where 135 digital is meaningfully more capable are too niche for me to be interested. μ43 also meets my occasional long telephoto needs just fine, so the size-weight-cost of APS-C or 135 long glass unappealing at best.

I do hand held insect macro, stacked macro with microscope lenses, occasional landscape, occasional architecture, used to travel (hopefully will again), birds, planes, flowers, people and product.
Stacked macro is the main area where I use μ43 instead of the phone. No smaller format has the capability and larger formats increase magnification requirements. Using a 10x objective with 135 instead of 5x on μ43? No thanks, to me it's not unlike the photomacrographic equivalent of a 600 mm f/4 on 135 instead of a 300 on μ43.

While I enjoy the results I get from Fuji, especially the JPEG film sims, if I'm honest there isn't anything the Fuji can do that the M43 gear can't.
The G7 and μ43 lenses I have have been decidedly more reliable for me than Fuji, too. The G7 has an intermittent problem with 4k video sync during post-focus but that's fairly easily dealt with by watching the bracket proceed and restarting and rebracketing when it happens. With Fuji it was frequent lockups and having to change lenses and restart twice.
 
I use M43 (E-M1.2, O12-45, O40-150 (plastic) and O30Macro) for pretty much all my digital work - this includes travel, architecture, urbanscape, a bit of landscape and macro, plus product photography. I find it a great balance of size, cost and image quality.

I also shoot a fair amount of film (both 35mm and some 6x6) and also use the E-M1.2 plus the 30 Macro for digitising all my negatives.
 
I only have 1 m 4/3 body and its the OM EM D mark I It's a great camera. Since I only have the kit lens. I use it for Monochrome shooting only. It is my only evf system, what you see out of the viewfinder is what you get. A great way to shoot monochrome. I now have Sony slt A65 which I'm enjoying and learning how to use
 
I use MFT for most things (I have always had Olympus film and digital) and is my go to when I go out most of the time it is OMD 5 MkII with a 17mm f1.2 or 25mm f1.8.

But like many I also have more than one system and at the moment i will use one of four completly different systems when I go shoot motorsport, simply because most of the stuff I have had for a while or picked up releativly cheap. :)
 
Well, like many others, M43 is my main ecosystem.

I started with the normal players -- Canon and Nikon APS-C bodies. I found for a long time I went through a cycle -- I'd get an interest to take some photos, I'd do so. But then between the weight, everything associated with dragging everything, it then ended up at home. It kind of got exacerbated when I was recording church services. Getting everything ready was an emotional (and physical!) commitment.

So, nice enough gear that didn't leave the house :)

When another one of those photography moments happened, I looked into it some more and discovered Olympus. The promise was smaller, lighter, and still great photos. I started with a used OM-D E-M1 and the kit pancake. Pretty hooked!

I've done upgrades over the years. Sometimes overcompensating (yeah, I'm looking at you Mr. 880g 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro!) but I'm solidifying on a nice light kit -- I can stick my two pro lenses (12-40mm f/2.8 Pro II and 40-150mm f/4 Pro) plus a couple primes into my Manfrotto waist pack, and I have a sling that goes over my shoulder instead of my neck. Reasonably light - I was in Amsterdam and The Hague the last few days, walked a lot, and the gear was fine.

P4250034-Edit.jpg

Now being completely forthright, ironically one of the first things I did on this site was to buy a Pentax K-1. I guess the obvious question - why buy a 1kg camera if I like small and light :) Well... I've been a Pentax fan for almost 40 years - a K1000 was my first camera and I still have it. My Dad recently gifted me a wide selection of really nice lenses, and I've been looking for the best way to use them :)
 
Just discovered this "new site" from m43 site and reading through all those interesting stories. I have been all of the places from the film cameras (30+ years) moving to digital about 20 years ago. Jumped from m43, Sony NEX (for its MF peaking using legacy lenses), to Nikon FF but never felt at home. I have been contemplating between Fuji system or m43 as my final home system, as my body could no longer carry the weight of FF system gears. Fuji system seems to suit my style with explicit knobs and buttons for control and allow larger (than m43) sensor size. But the higher than expected cost of owning Fuji APSc system makes me hesitant to jump in. And the increasing quality of the m43 system is calling me to commit to this it as my final home.

I am finding that I am mostly using my m43 cameras for most situations, except for easy carry shots using LX100 or FZ1000. My photo types have been birding, flower, macro-nature, landscape, portraiture, and event videos, in addition to family and travel photos.
 
Just discovered this "new site" from m43 site and reading through all those interesting stories. I have been all of the places from the film cameras (30+ years) moving to digital about 20 years ago. Jumped from m43, Sony NEX (for its MF peaking using legacy lenses), to Nikon FF but never felt at home. I have been contemplating between Fuji system or m43 as my final home system, as my body could no longer carry the weight of FF system gears. Fuji system seems to suit my style with explicit knobs and buttons for control and allow larger (than m43) sensor size. But the higher than expected cost of owning Fuji APSc system makes me hesitant to jump in. And the increasing quality of the m43 system is calling me to commit to this it as my final home.

I am finding that I am mostly using my m43 cameras for most situations, except for easy carry shots using LX100 or FZ1000. My photo types have been birding, flower, macro-nature, landscape, portraiture, and event videos, in addition to family and travel photos.
:Welcome: to this friendly forum.
 
I use M43 for personal photography (family, travel, etc.) Until last year it was the only system I'd used.

Last year I finally succumbed to the siren song of the Fuji X system and bought an X-H1 and a few lenses. While I enjoy the results I get from Fuji, especially the JPEG film sims, if I'm honest there isn't anything the Fuji can do that the M43 gear can't. That said, I really enjoy the ergonomics of the X-H1, especially the dual-tilt rear screen (I abhor using flip-out & swivel screens).

If the E-M1.2, 1.3 or OM-1 had a tilt screen, I would sell the Fuji gear in a minute and consolidate back completely to M43. For now, though, I've taken to using the Fuji as my main "walkaround" system, usually with the 16-80 or a normal-ish prime, and relying on the M43 gear to fill in the wide angle or telephoto as needed.

In terms of bags, that's been it's own GAS-fueled adventure. My general purpose kit includes the aforementioned X-H1 + 16-80 and a GM5 + P7-14 shoehorned into an Ona Bowery bag.

This kit looks like this:
View attachment 304638
View attachment 304639

Another option here is replacing the GM5/7-14 with a Pen F + 25/1.4 or 17/1.8 for evening work or with Pen F + 60mm macro. Either if those options will fit in this bag along with the X-H1.

When you mention "Shotkit", is this the sort of thing you're looking for? If so, I can show you some other kit possibilities with larger bags.

- K
@K, can you elaborate on your what you mean by "ergonomics" of the Fuji XH1 and why your OMD can do every it can? I have been debating getting a XH1 or a Old EM1.2/Pana G9. I currently have EM5.1 and Pans G85 and am not happy with them.
 
@K, can you elaborate on your what you mean by "ergonomics" of the Fuji XH1 and why your OMD can do every it can? I have been debating getting a XH1 or a Old EM1.2/Pana G9. I currently have EM5.1 and Pans G85 and am not happy with them.
It's really just that the X-H1 grip fits my hand comfortably and the controls fall naturally at hand. I have a similar level of comfort with my E-M1.1 in terms of the way it fits my hand and the controls.

There are a couple of advantages that the X-H1 has over the E-M1.1 (for me):
  • The power switch to the X-H1 is under the shutter button so can easily be controlled with the same hand I'm holding the camera with; for the E-M1 the switch is on the left shoulder and I need to turn it on with my left hand
  • The screen for the X-H1 is tilt-able either up and down or to the right, which makes it easy to frame shots above of below head height in either landscape or portrait orientation; the screen on the E-M1 only tilts up and down
  • The X-H1 has a joystick to set the focus point, which I find handy
The other obvious difference between the two cameras is that the X-H1 has a 24MP APS-C sensor while the E-M1 has a 16MP 4/3 sensor. The extra pixels are nice to allow for more cropping, but at least for my purposes the E-M1 is really "good enough" 95+% of the time. I also like the Fuji film sims for JPEG output, with the E-M1 while I don't dislike the JPEGs, I typically develop from RAW files.

As I noted above the primary thing that's kept me from upgrading from the E-M1 to E-M2. E-M3 or OM-1 is that those cameras all have fully articulating screens, which I just don't find as intuitive to use as the flip up/ flip down screen on the E-M1 and X-H1.

I would really just encourage you to find a way to get a copy of the cameras in your hand to see how they work for you, because ergonomics is really in the eye (or hand) of the beholder.

- K
 
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