New m4/3 gear released in last 33 months

MJL1952 wrote:

Henry Richardson wrote:

I just saw a thread where people are speculating that Panasonic will abandon m4/3. I sure hope not!

Hmmm.... the DMC-GF8 has been announced.

Yes, the GF8 too.

Astrotripper wrote:

trog100 wrote:

its a relative kind of slipping.. the competition is maybe improving at a faster rate..

Do we really want our top of the line cameras replaced by new models every year? I wonder how happy recent A7 buyers are now, that their camera was made obsolete by Sony just a year after it's initial release?

M43 desperately needs a major sensor upgrade to stay in the game..

Desperately? Stay in the game? I can see how the old 12mpx sensor was a limiting factor, it had some serious issues. But the current gen is perfectly fine. It stacks up very well against larger sensors, there's not much you can't do with it.

what was good enough fours year ago maybe isnt good enough now..

The current gen 16 mpx sensor was introduced 3 years ago with E-M5, so I don't know what you're talking about. I guess in your eyes, Nikon D4 (announced at the same time) is also not good enough and desperately in need of new sensor? I guess Canon 1D X is completely useless relic by your standards, since that is even 1 year older.

at the heart of it all is the sensor..

Yes, of course, there's nothing more important than the sensor. That's probably why Canon is such a strong player, they clearly must have the best sensors in the world.

if that dosnt improve the rest of it becomes irrelevant

That is a very backward way of thinking. I understand this is a gearhead forum, but your statement is extreme to the point of absurd. I don't see anyone claiming Nikon D4s is irrelevant because it's got an outdated (by your standards) sensor. And I can't imagine anyone switching from Canon 1D X to Nikon D610 because the sensor is newer.

sorry i aint adding to the feel good factor .. but that is the way my thinking goes..

And that sums it up pretty well. Maybe just chill out and curb that obsession with technology a bit? You know, get on the ground, closer to reality. Maybe, you know, use your camera more often. In like, get some joy out of using it, get some positive juices flowing, instead of worrying that a sensor upgrade will come one year later than you'd like to and the world will end because of it. Cheer up, man!

Could not agree more.  The most talked about photo in my living room was taken with my Canon 20D many years ago.  An 8MP sensor from 2004.  Its printed at 16x20 to boot.

I am just an amateur/pro-sumer.  I learned the hard way, after buying many bodies and spec chasing, that there are few leaps in sensor technology and I was mostly throwing my money away.  I remember well reasoned articles from a DECADE ago that SLR sensors had surpassed 35mm film when all aspects were considered (raw detail, noise, dynamic range, etc).

I'll gladly take 20MP+ in a MFT format when it's ready, meaning I don't give up dynamic range or overall noise control.  But until then I am perfectly happy.  If you ask this amateur, if you are doing more than minor cropping, you probably grabbed the wrong lens.  And 16MP handles minor cropping very well.  Matter of fact, if they offered a 16MP with 50% more dynamic range and 50% less noise or a 32MP sensor with the same specs as today's 16MP sensor, I'd go for the new 16MP sensor with crazy dynamic range and low noise.

I love my EM5-mkII and use it far more than any of my full size gear, mainly because I am willing to take it with me more often.

Henry Richardson wrote:

I started this thread in February 2015 which was almost 33 months after I started using m4/3 in April 2012. The list of m4/3 gear in my OP was what had come out after I had started using m4/3. I have made updates below for what has come out since my OP 11 months ago. As you can see, m4/3 is a dynamic mount with the great advantage of 2 companies supporting it with bodies and lenses. Then on top of that lots of 3rd parties make stuff for it too. And, of course, there was already tons of m4/3 gear before April 2012.

Henry Richardson wrote:

I know that 3 years ago when I bought my Olympus E-M5 and a bunch of lenses there were some who expected that Olympus would be gone by now, m4/3 would be pretty much dead. It may still happen, but so far things for us customers are looking pretty good. Here is a list of m4/3 bodies that have come out since I bought my E-M5:

Olympus PEN E-PM2
Olympus PEN E-PL5
Olympus PEN E-PL6
Olympus PEN E-PL7
Olympus PEN E-P5
Olympus OM-D E-M1
Olympus OM-D E-M10
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II

Olympus OM-D E-M10 II

Olympus PEN-F

Olympus Air A01

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8

Kodak Pixpro S-1

And the lenses that have come out since then:

Olympus 12-40mm f2.8
Olympus 40-150mm f2.8
Olympus 17mm f1.8
Olympus 25mm f1.8
Olympus 75mm f1.8
Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro
Olympus 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ power zoom pancake
Olympus 14-150mm f4-5.6 II
Olympus 9mm f8 fisheye bodycap
Olympus 15mm f8 bodycap

Olympus 7-14mm f2.8

Olympus 8mm f1.8 fisheye

Olympus 300mm f4

Olympus EC-14 1.4x teleconverter

Olympus 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II

Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8
Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8
Panasonic 15mm f1.7
Panasonic 42.5 f1.2
Panasonic 12-32mm f3.5-5.6 pancake
Panasonic 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 II
Panasonic 45-150mm f4-5.6
Panasonic 45-175mm f4-5.6 power zoom

Panasonic 14mm f2.5 II pancake

Panasonic 20mm f1.7 II pancake

Panasonic 35-100mm f4-5.6

Panasonic 30mm f2.8 macro

Panasonic 25mm f1.7

Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7

Panasonic 100-400mm f4-6.3

Sigma 19mm f2.8
Sigma 30mm f2.8
Sigma 60mm f2.8
Tamron 14-150mm f3.5-5.8
Kowa 8.5mm f2.8
Kowa 12mm 1.8
Kowa 25mm f1.8
Voigtländer 17.5mm f0.95
Voigtländer 25mm f0.95
Voigtländer 42.5 f0.95
Samsung 7.5mm f3.5 fisheye
Tokina 300mm f6.3 mirror

Kodak 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
Kodak 42.5-160mm f/3.9-5.9
Kodak 400mm f6.7

There are lots more 3rd party lenses from various companies and I am not even going to continue trying to keep track of them.

Okay, we've got 2 more lenses now:

Panasonic 12-60mm f3.5-5.6
Sigma 30mm f1.4

Yesterday there was a big thread that filled up quickly predicting once againthat m4/3 would soon be dead. It gets a bit tiring having the internet rangers keep repeating this sort of junk.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61345985

6 years ago in July 2012 this famous prediction was made that Olympus would be squished by the summer of 2014:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/42118702

"So I'm betting that in less than 2 years Canon will have squished Oly in mirrorless just as they did in DSLRs. The more so because they'll likely will have released some nice lenses, and at least one enthusiast body."

Olympus, Panasonic, and m4/3 have had lots and lots of activity with new bodies, lenses, 3rd parties coming out with tons of lenses and other gear too. I guess not squished yet.

Since I started this thread in 2015 there have been many more bodies, lenses, flashes, etc. added to m4/3. Will m4/3 someday die? Probably since nothing lasts forever. Is the end in sight? I doubt that very much. I recall that when I bought my first m4/3 in early 2012 there were also the typical internet yahoos saying it would be gone soon. The one I linked to above was just one of many.

Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

trog100 wrote:

he he he.. the bottom line is to stay in business which both Panny and Oly have to do M34 needs a new sensor and soon..

its got very little to do with whether or not the current 16mp one is good enough or not.. it has everything to do with what future camera buyers will spent their money on and it isnt what they consider to be yesterdays technology..

As an example, if a first-time camera buyer is deciding between an Olympus PEN E-PL9 and a Canon M100, what sounds better from a marketing standpoint 16MP or 24MP?

Thanks, Henry. This is scary, that things we said are actually kept and may be used as evidence against us. Even after years.

In early 2012, there was valid reason for speculating on the future of Olympus, given the scandal and the fact that its cameras all lacked lustre. But Sony had injected funds into it and then E-M5 came out with a bang.

rodriguezPhoto wrote:

They said the same thing about the mainframe. But in 2018 the mainframe is still the backbone of big business computing.

Sony is abandoning APC for last 3 to 4 years here on m43 forums too. Not happening.

Sergey Borachev wrote:

In early 2012, there was valid reason for speculating on the future of Olympus, given the scandal and the fact that its cameras all lacked lustre. But Sony had injected funds into it and then E-M5 came out with a bang.

The timing is a bit different to that. The E-M5 would have been in the works for two years or more before release and before the crisis. I suspect that the release of the E-M5 was hurried unexpectedly to try and get this new hero product out there and create some confidence with the shareholders during the bad press about the crisis.

Timing:

• Financial crisis hits the news October 2011.
• E-M5 announced February 2012.
• E-PL5/E-PM2 announced September 2012.
• Sony buys 11.5% of Olympus September 2012.
• Sony sells down to hold 5% in 2015.

Witness the number of E-M5 firmware updates that flooded out to try and fix issues that were not tested out or created fully during the hurried development time. http://dl01.olympus-imaging.com/ww/ud2/ENU/0001/0970/index22a.html

The 7 months later E-PL5 and E-PM2 came out with the firmware basics that the E-M5 should have had, that's my opinion of course.

Everything that happened at the time made me believe that it was a rushed E-M5 release, but it happened to be the mock SLR shape that so that appealed to the US market more than any of the smaller brick shapes and thus the dollars flowed and shareholders and later Sony were happy.

Regards..... Guy

Guy Parsons wrote:

Sergey Borachev wrote:

In early 2012, there was valid reason for speculating on the future of Olympus, given the scandal and the fact that its cameras all lacked lustre. But Sony had injected funds into it and then E-M5 came out with a bang.

The timing is a bit different to that. The E-M5 would have been in the works for two years or more before release and before the crisis. I suspect that the release of the E-M5 was hurried unexpectedly to try and get this new hero product out there and create some confidence with the shareholders during the bad press about the crisis.

Timing:

• Financial crisis hits the news October 2011.
• E-M5 announced February 2012.
• E-PL5/E-PM2 announced September 2012.
• Sony buys 11.5% of Olympus September 2012.
• Sony sells down to hold 5% in 2015.

Witness the number of E-M5 firmware updates that flooded out to try and fix issues that were not tested out or created fully during the hurried development time. http://dl01.olympus-imaging.com/ww/ud2/ENU/0001/0970/index22a.html

The 7 months later E-PL5 and E-PM2 came out with the firmware basics that the E-M5 should have had, that's my opinion of course.

Everything that happened at the time made me believe that it was a rushed E-M5 release, but it happened to be the mock SLR shape that so that appealed to the US market more than any of the smaller brick shapes and thus the dollars flowed and shareholders and later Sony were happy.

Regards..... Guy

Thanks and I know you are right, as usual.  It's still true at that time in 2012, before there was confirmation of Sony buying in, there was valid and serious concern about Olympus' future.

Sergey Borachev wrote:

Thanks, Henry. This is scary, that things we said are actually kept and may be used as evidence against us. Even after years.

Once something is posted on the forums it stays around.   Lesson to be learned: No one should make asinine, idiotic predictions and statements hoping that no one will remember them later.

In early 2012, there was valid reason for speculating on the future of Olympus, given the scandal and the fact that its cameras all lacked lustre. But Sony had injected funds into it and then E-M5 came out with a bang.

This thread is not just about Olympus.  This thread is about all the predictions of the Death of m4/3.  Those predictions have been made over and over for many years.  When I bought my first Panasonic m4/3 body and lenses in early 2012 they were common and since then just like clockwork they are made anew on a regular basis.

Mark Thornton wrote:

No it isn't happening, but neither is there much progress towards completing an APS-C system (unlike FE).

As far as sony is concerned, their FE lenses work on APC too and thus it makes no sense for them to specifically design lenses for APC system. They would rather user buy APC and FF camera and use same lenses on both.

I am sorry that what you think shall be priority is not sony's priority. Its their company after all. We are consumers we shall not buy sony if it does not offer what we want. I hope you are doing that and let sony know that their direction is not correct.

Henry Richardson wrote:

Yesterday there was a big thread that filled up quickly predicting once againthat m4/3 would soon be dead. It gets a bit tiring having the internet rangers keep repeating this sort of junk.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61345985

6 years ago in July 2012 this famous prediction was made that Olympus would be squished by the summer of 2014:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/42118702

"So I'm betting that in less than 2 years Canon will have squished Oly in mirrorless just as they did in DSLRs. The more so because they'll likely will have released some nice lenses, and at least one enthusiast body."

Olympus, Panasonic, and m4/3 have had lots and lots of activity with new bodies, lenses, 3rd parties coming out with tons of lenses and other gear too. I guess not squished yet.

Since I started this thread in 2015 there have been many more bodies, lenses, flashes, etc. added to m4/3. Will m4/3 someday die? Probably since nothing lasts forever. Is the end in sight? I doubt that very much. I recall that when I bought my first m4/3 in early 2012 there were also the typical internet yahoos saying it would be gone soon. The one I linked to above was just one of many.

Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

I come back and see there is yet another big thread forecasting doom and gloom and icebergs.  I realize the moderators, dpreview, and Amazon love clickbait threads, even though they violate the forum rules...

Henry Richardson wrote:

I come back and see there is yet another big thread forecasting doom and gloom and icebergs. I realize the moderators, dpreview, and Amazon love clickbait threads, even though they violate the forum rules...

It gives the Canikon types something to talk about as their own world is not very interesting.

I've been here all along for years now and have lost count of the number of times the M4/3 world was meant to be doomed.

The FF mirrorless may become the future standard for quality images and familiar DOF equations to those old stick in the muds, but the 1/4 sized sensor M4/3 works well enough for most folks and does it all in a neater package, so will last well beyond me, though that's not saying much.

Regards........ Guy