Why do you not see more m4/3?

I love my little EPM2 and travel with it often while the D600 sits at home, but I have noticed that I am definitely in the minority.  I have been to national parks, DC, and NYC in the past year and saw 1000 Canikons and a few other larger cameras, along with a metric ton of shooters using their phone and point and shoot, but only a couple of m4/3.  I just can't see carrying that large equipment around for prints that no doubt will never be larger than 8x10 or something.  Am I the only one seeing this or have others noticed?

You do not see more M4/3 cameras because the public is resistant to change and the cell phone is now acting as a P&S.  In the "good old days" when 35mm was in the early stages, there was great reluctance to move to a smaller piece of film.  The common sizes were 2 1/4 x 2 1/4, 2 1/4 x 3 and 4 x 5.  Nobody wanted a tiny 35mm (stolen from the movies) piece of film because the image was thought to be much poorer.  In truth, all images were on the poor side unless the camera had a very good lens.  Now we have a small sensor and the objection is the same. How can a tiny M4/3 sensor possibly produce quality???  Well, we know that it does.  Now, either the rest of the world will catch on, or cell phones will take over and rule the earth.

It highly depends on the region of the world you are living ....

I guess you are living in Northern America ....

In Asia m4/3 is rather popular, in Europe less so

The Nothern americans tend to think big, only big cameras are considered to be capable by many photographers

Yes, that's very conservative and prejudiced, but it seems to be a popular believe

One more thing is that the best known players in the US and European camera market are Canon and Nikon, and not Olympus and Panasonic

The mirrorless offerings of Nikon and Canon are half-hearted, still only a niche product ... and not m4/3 anyway

I'm guessing because the traditional P & S market has been destroyed by smartphone users and anyone walking into a camera store asking for "a proper camera" gets sold an entry level DSLR.

Kendunn wrote:

I love my little EPM2 and travel with it often while the D600 sits at home, but I have noticed that I am definitely in the minority. I have been to national parks, DC, and NYC in the past year and saw 1000 Canikons and a few other larger cameras, along with a metric ton of shooters using their phone and point and shoot, but only a couple of m4/3. I just can't see carrying that large equipment around for prints that no doubt will never be larger than 8x10 or something. Am I the only one seeing this or have others noticed?

Good question. I often wonder the same thing.

I think that folks want a nicer camera than a cell phone for a big trip or life event.  They go to the closest Best Buy or Costco, and they buy whatever is on the shelf with a kit lens.  (I was surprised to  notice the other day that the Nikon 5500 body weighs about the same as an EM-10 body.  If one is not a lens junkie, like I am, then the weight difference may not be as much as we think.)

The other thing I have noticed is how often people with Canikons approach me with questions about how to use their cameras.  On my last big trip, one of my tour mates asked me why the flash kept firing on her entry level Canon dSLR every time she tried to take a picture indoors. The camera was set to Auto, and I turned the dial to "P" mode for her. She explained that she had gotten the camera simply because she wanted a viewfinder, and that she had no idea what the buttons and dials on top of the camera did.  When I was in New Orleans a few months ago, someone approached me wanting to know how to turn off burst mode on a Canon 7D (!!!). Wow!  It really makes me wonder how many of the folks shooting with Canikons are treating them like point and shoots.

X_Holger wrote:

It highly depends on the region of the world you are living ....

I guess you are living in Northern America ....

In Asia m4/3 is rather popular, in Europe less so

The Nothern americans tend to think big, only big cameras are considered to be capable by many photographers

Yes, that's very conservative and prejudiced, but it seems to be a popular believe

One more thing is that the best known players in the US and European camera market are Canon and Nikon, and not Olympus and Panasonic

The mirrorless offerings of Nikon and Canon are half-hearted, still only a niche product ... and not m4/3 anyway

used to be that way in Australia  but seeing more and more mirrorless and m43 on streets and on shelves

kaphinga wrote:

... Wow! It really makes me wonder how many of the folks shooting with Canikons are treating them like point and shoots.

I won't say "most," but I will say "many." I know that a very large percentage of those who purchase serious DSLRs have no idea how to get the most out of them.

Maybe because there is no M4:3 gear available at Best Buy, Sears, Target and other large outlets? Maybe because the advertising and promotion of M4:3 is minimal to non-existent?

Although, as someone else has noted, M4:3 is popular outside the U.S.

Been to the Philippines 4 times in the last 6 years the large malls no Olympus or Panasonic in sight,canon,nikon,sony,samsung always there,seen a few Fujicameras,no Pentax either,Hong Kong,Seol,Tapei airports same thing,if you dont see them you cant buy them,Oly,Panny needs tp rethink there sales game,

Apart from the marketing challenges of not being a pre-established brand in the eyes of the masses or the pro-aspirants, which are perfectly valid reasons for the lack of m43 cameras, I think m43 is actually for the genuine enthusiast photographer, whereas the smartphone camera and the twin-lens-kit DSLR are the obvious quick-buy cameras for [1] those who just want anything that takes photos, and [2] those who just want anything better than a phone for taking photos.

robonrome wrote:

X_Holger wrote:

It highly depends on the region of the world you are living ....

I guess you are living in Northern America ....

In Asia m4/3 is rather popular, in Europe less so

The Nothern americans tend to think big, only big cameras are considered to be capable by many photographers

Yes, that's very conservative and prejudiced, but it seems to be a popular believe

One more thing is that the best known players in the US and European camera market are Canon and Nikon, and not Olympus and Panasonic

The mirrorless offerings of Nikon and Canon are half-hearted, still only a niche product ... and not m4/3 anyway

used to be that way in Australia but seeing more and more mirrorless and m43 on streets and on shelves

Agree with what you said and i reckon there would be even more if Olympus and Panasonic made commercials more often like Sony do

vass wrote:

robonrome wrote:

X_Holger wrote:

It highly depends on the region of the world you are living ....

I guess you are living in Northern America ....

In Asia m4/3 is rather popular, in Europe less so

The Nothern americans tend to think big, only big cameras are considered to be capable by many photographers

Yes, that's very conservative and prejudiced, but it seems to be a popular believe

One more thing is that the best known players in the US and European camera market are Canon and Nikon, and not Olympus and Panasonic

The mirrorless offerings of Nikon and Canon are half-hearted, still only a niche product ... and not m4/3 anyway

used to be that way in Australia but seeing more and more mirrorless and m43 on streets and on shelves

Agree with what you said and i reckon there would be even more if Olympus and Panasonic made commercials more often like Sony do

Never understand why Panny makes no ad on its cameras, TV, outdoor ads etc, at least in my city. It just changed recently but sad to see the money was spent on CM1.... its US$1400 camera phone!

Kendunn wrote:

I love my little EPM2 and travel with it often while the D600 sits at home, but I have noticed that I am definitely in the minority. I have been to national parks, DC, and NYC in the past year and saw 1000 Canikons and a few other larger cameras, along with a metric ton of shooters using their phone and point and shoot, but only a couple of m4/3. I just can't see carrying that large equipment around for prints that no doubt will never be larger than 8x10 or something. Am I the only one seeing this or have others noticed?

It depends on where you go, at least in NYC.

Big tourist attractions (for the unadventurous) = big cameras. Go to out of the way places, interesting areas and neighborhoods and you'll see more mirrorless.

I was just in Morocco for a couple of weeks and saw quite a few mirrorless… Oly, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung. Lots of DSLRs and superzooms, too. Every time I've been to Europe, I see quite a few mirrorless.

I had a few encounters with fellow M4/3 users. At Volubilis, Roman ruins near Meknés, there were several OMDs and a crew shooting a video with a GH4, plus my girlfriend and I with our GX7 and GX1. One woman I met was hauling around a Sony A-something full-frame and looked with wonder and envy at my GX7 + 12-40mm. She acomplained about the size and weight and asked what my camera was. I let her handle it and she was floored by the size and weight difference AND determined to get one when she got home.

So, like anything, it all depends…

veroman wrote:

Maybe because there is no M4:3 gear available at Best Buy, Sears, Target and other large outlets?

The Target I visited in Austin in February had some Panasonic M4/3. Not many, and a lot more of other stuff, but it was there

robonrome wrote:

X_Holger wrote:

It highly depends on the region of the world you are living ....

I guess you are living in Northern America ....

In Asia m4/3 is rather popular, in Europe less so

The Nothern americans tend to think big, only big cameras are considered to be capable by many photographers

Yes, that's very conservative and prejudiced, but it seems to be a popular believe

One more thing is that the best known players in the US and European camera market are Canon and Nikon, and not Olympus and Panasonic

The mirrorless offerings of Nikon and Canon are half-hearted, still only a niche product ... and not m4/3 anyway

used to be that way in Australia but seeing more and more mirrorless and m43 on streets and on shelves

I agree, in Australia, I've been quite surprised with the relative uptake compared as well, the overtake of Cameraphones over DSLRs.