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Are the new M43 cameras too heavy, or is there an optimal weight?

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panther fan

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It seems that all cameras are increasingly moving towards a common weight. Somewhere between 600 and 800 grams. I know there are lighter options from different manufacturers, but they rarely share all of the features.

Do you welcome this change because there is an optimal ergonomic weight, or should cameras still be as lightweight as possible?
 
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I recently had the chance to handle the new dinky little Hasselblad MF camera that weighs very little. The problems start with the lenses you put on the various cameras. Glass is weighty and the laws of optics define the size of lenses in most cases.
 
panther fan said:
Do you welcome this change because there is an optimal ergonomic weight, or should cameras still be as lightweight as possible?
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I like some heft, it makes it much easier to hold the camera still. But photography shouldn't be like weight lifting either - I think the E-M1 is just right for me, although it can get a little heavy with the legacy 50-200mm mounted.
 
I think Goldilocks would pick the EM1. :-D
 
Ha ! I know this is going to sound like something from Monty Python, but when I was much younger (I'm 69) I had a Canon FX and a Tokina 18-55 mm (or thereabouts) f/2.8 lens whose combined weight was 1.5Kg ! Well, I was younger and I was stronger. The progression to digital has been a relief - everything is SO light, but yes, a little heft is welcome. I have the Oly OMD EM10 Mklll and it sits well in my hand with the 14-150 f/4-5.6 ll ED lens.
 
panther fan said:
It seems that all cameras are increasingly moving towards a common weight. Somewhere between 600 and 800 grams. I know there are lighter options from different manufacturers, but they rarely share all of the features.

Do you welcome this change because there is an optimal ergonomic weight, or should cameras still be as lightweight as possible?
Click to expand...
It will be different for each person. But you must look beyond the body size and weight and factor in the lenses and the entire camera system. I find my Oly EM5-II to be too small and light without a grip added. The current M43 cameras such as the G9, GH5 and similar are actually a good weight for me and I am 65 years old with bad knees. Where I get my biggest benefit is in saving weight on lenses.

You'll see a lot of comparisions between lens weights, but be careful, all too often some people will compare a basic low cost zoom or prime for Full frame against a heavy duty weather sealed Pro Grade fast lens for M43. No comparision.

I find M43 a very nice system for me now days. Just about ideal. Others say they are getting too big. I don't see it or feel it. Then again a few decades back, I spent 12 years shooting professionally with mostly Large and medium format. Most cameras today are so much better built, more capable, small, lighter and faster and deliver better Image quality then the Medium formats of my workin days.

In the end, it is relative to you personally, not to the market or to the actual photography. What are you comfortable with. Lighter is not always better. Heavier is not always steadier. Choose your camera not on specs but how it feels in your hands, how its controls and system work for YOU. That is what makes the difference when you are out shooting. If you are comfortable with the camera, no matter what anyone else says, then you can focus on good photography.

Weight is an arguing point, nothing more. If you can't handle any of the current mirroless interchangeable lens cameras, then you should be looking at a nice compact super zoom with 1" sensor maybe.

How does a camera "FIT" you and how does it meet the needs of your primary photographic shooting is all that matters. Pick it up and try it with the lenses you intend to use. Then decide for you, not for anybody else.

FYI optimal weight varies by person more then by camera. What is optimal for you? That is the only real question.

--
- David
"The only good camera is the one you have with you when opportunity provides."
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/davidwendelrobinson
BLOG: Through David's Eye: https://throughdavidseye.wordpress.com
 
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Your sample is certainly not "all" cameras, especially not all m4/3rds ones. You leave out the GF, GX, and GM series of Panasonic cameras for example.

F.

--
"We shoot the things that move us in ways that will move others." David duChemin
"What's the use of having a great depth of field if there is not an adequate depth of feeling?" - W. Eugene Smith
 
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The EM1.1 with a 12-40, the GM1 with a 12-32 and the A7R2 with a 55mm are all just perfect.

Sometimes of course you want Papa Bear, not Baby Bear.



Works
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Doesn't work

I find that an EM1.1 with the 50-200SWD is too heavy for a neck strap but fine on a shoulder sling. A Bigma is heavy even on a shoulder sling.

Andrew

--
Infinite are the arguments of mages. Truth is a jewel with many facets. Ursula K LeGuin
 
I was just at the local Best Buy. This one carries most cameras, from entry level to top of the line. I wanted to check out the Pen For, the only Olympus camera they don't carry... Anyway, comparing the Olympus, Panasonic and fujifilm cameras to the rest? Significantly lighter... The Sony bodies are less bulky as well, but the lenses? Bulky and heavy, except for the older E-mount lenses.
 
and the Olympus em-10 series and PL-x series. Not to mention the Pen-F.
 
panther fan said:
It seems that all cameras are increasingly moving towards a common weight. Somewhere between 600 and 800 grams. I know there are lighter options from different manufacturers, but they rarely share all of the features.

Do you welcome this change because there is an optimal ergonomic weight, or should cameras still be as lightweight as possible?
Click to expand...
I like camera with big handgrip and on the "heavy" side, that's why the Canon 1D and Nikon D4 series camera are my favorite and main system since 2004 and currently own 4 of those. I consider my D800E too small and have to add a vertical grip to make it more comfortable to shoot with. just some background and personal preference of myself.

However, my main and only reason get into the MFT is the size and weight, no matter how much i like my 1D, they won't fit in my pocket, and I can't stand the image quality of those "pocketable camera with 1 inch sensor, so there is always those time I need a tiny camera, and that's where a MFT comes in handy. it balance the sensor size, body size and IQ nicely, a very good compromise, therefore I don't want a heavy and big MFT body, if I want a bigger body, my 1Dx , D850 and 7R II gave me day and night better image quality, so why would I want a big body with tiny sensor, to me it totally defeats the purpose of having a MFT, at least it defeats my purpose of having one as a multiple system user, so to answer your question, no, I don't and will never buy a heavy MFT body based on my usage of a MFT camera, my E-M 10II is the biggest and heaviest MFT I can stand.
 
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Yeah. my GX85 was heavier and larger than expected. Weighs as much as my EM5-I, and it has a plastic case. unlike my last four bodies.

I'm slowly starting to appreciate its features although the menu stymies me. Couldn't get its flash to work last week because I had invoked some mode that precludes it.,





5c423d2393be4445831e3f772cebdf13.jpg
 
NCV said:
I recently had the chance to handle the new dinky little Hasselblad MF camera that weighs very little. The problems start with the lenses you put on the various cameras. Glass is weighty and the laws of optics define the size of lenses in most cases.
Click to expand...
Even that Hasselblad X1D body still weighs 725g, which is the same weight as the GH5, which is by far the heaviest M4/3 camera by a sizeable margin.
 
It depends on purpose and use.

For my big telephoto zooms, I prefer the E-M1 with battery grip.

Sometimemes I prefer my GM1, when I just want to pop a camera into a coat pocket or briefcase. Many find the GM1 and GM5 too small to handle.
 
Mark Thornton said:
and the Olympus em-10 series and PL-x series. Not to mention the Pen-F.
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... an endless series of threads bemoaning the advances being offered in smaller/lighter-than-flagship bodies when it's their turn for a refresh - "My E-M1 doesn't even do that!"

No, not really. Gear bloat is a favourite topic here, and will continue unabated, no matter the full context of the mount or market.

With the exception of specialized uses (ruggedized compacts come to mind), smartphones reign supreme when it comes to small & light. Compact camera sales prove it - note manufacturers' move to advanced compacts. O & P have little to gain by offering tiny bodies that can't compete on size/weight/cost with phones, and can't compete with the advanced control interfaces and handling offered by larger bodies. As long as they continue producing smaller-than-flagship gear (and they will), I can't take these gear bloat threads seriously.

Technology and the market dictate that a move to more advanced gear is necessary, so I don't expect to see MFT compete on the tiny camera front. Better to continue broadening the mounts capabilities and price range (keep the low, add the high) than to wage war on what would be the low end of the ILC market. A look at the history of MFT shows that has been the strategy all along.
 
panther fan said:
It seems that all cameras are increasingly moving towards a common weight. Somewhere between 600 and 800 grams.
Click to expand...
You've missed at least one curve that changes the picture somewhat

GF1 385g 2009

GF2 310g 2010

GF3 264g 2011

GF5 267g 2012

GF6 323g 2013

GM1 204g 2013

GM5 211g 2014

GF7 266g 2105

GF8 266g 2016

GX850 269g 2017

This line of cameras has been very stable at about 265g for many years, and evolved into a very capable little camera.
panther fan said:
I know there are lighter options from different manufacturers, but they rarely share all of the features.

Do you welcome this change because there is an optimal ergonomic weight, or should cameras still be as lightweight as possible?
Click to expand...
 
baxters said:
Yeah. my GX85 was heavier and larger than expected. Weighs as much as my EM5-I, and it has a plastic case. unlike my last four bodies.

I'm slowly starting to appreciate its features although the menu stymies me. Couldn't get its flash to work last week because I had invoked some mode that precludes it.,

5c423d2393be4445831e3f772cebdf13.jpg
Click to expand...
The GX85 is that heavy because of the huge heat sink to allow unlimited 4K recording without overheating. Other cameras tend to be limited by overheating.
 
Any smaller and they are too small, to: 1. fit all the necessary controls required for advanced use, and 2. handle properly with the lenses we are supposed to use, for example the new f/1.2 Olympus primes. Yesterday, I tried the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 on the a7R3, and found the handling quite poor, due to (what felt like) its very heavy weight on the very small body.

So I would say they are currently already at a minimum size for their purpose. Of course, the E-M1.2/G9, etc are the biggest cameras you can get in the m4/3 mount, but since you can also choose from a number of substantially smaller bodies (and lenses) if desired, I don't see it as an issue at all.

As far as the weight, again, this is about balance and the intended users, who are presumably expecting premium build at this level. Obviously, the small bodies are also lighter duty specified and use plastic to save weight and cost, so they are extremely light, indeed, if that's what you are after.

Jan

--
"In my opinion to search means nothing in painting. To find is the thing."
"We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his [sic] lies."
-Picasso
 
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