My experiences with micro four thirds

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share my experiences with the micro four thirds system.

I sold all my Nikon gear a couple of years ago - based around the excellent camera the D300. It was getting old, no replacement had come out, it was too heavy to carry, many times I didn´t bring it on vacations because of the weight. But what a great camera it was, in many ways I still miss it - the autofocus system was just excellent, it somehow knew what I wanted in focus.

So I decided to switch to micro four thirds and went for the OMD EM10 with a Panasonic 14-140 and Olympus 25 mm F1.8. I´ve now used the camera for well over a year, but I´ve never liked it. It´s too small, and I find the controls counterintuitive. Autofocus is really terrible, and it takes too long to adjust the point of focus, I´ve missed so many shots. And it can´t be used for moving subjects at all. So finally this last week I sold it. Instead I got a Panasonic GX8 - and my passion for photography is back. What a camera! Love the size of it, well thought out controls, just so easy to use!

Hi

Its horses for courses for sure. At least you have found something you like. That's one of the great things about m4/3.

Wishing you well to use the GX8!

Teera wrote:

The GX8 is nice and quite responsive. But it's choice of flip screen will not work well with street photography. The gx7 type flip screen is much better for this purpose. Very peculiar decision to have selfie flip screen for a camera of this caliber . Am I missing anything here?

Selfie flip screen? What camera are you thinking of? The GX8 has a fully articulated screen, which is quite usable for street shooting. It just requires a different technique than the tilty screen of the GX7. It's totally doable. Imagination and the ability to experiment are necessary components. I carry both in my bag.

Rest camera in palm of left hand, flip screen out against inside of wrist, change focus point and trigger shutter with right thumb. It even works with manual focus lenses.

Another method is to swing your camera bag in front (not a bad idea for security in some places), rest the camera on top of your bag and do the same as above. Or cover the camera with left hand over the lens.

A fully articulated screen can be used to shoot subjects @ 90 degrees to the side .

A tilty screen is useless for shooting vertical (portrait orientation). The one thing I missed tremendously with my GX7!!!

Teera wrote:

The GX8 is nice and quite responsive. But it's choice of flip screen will not work well with street photography. The gx7 type flip screen is much better for this purpose. Very peculiar decision to have selfie flip screen for a camera of this caliber . Am I missing anything here?

I just bought the GX8 and love it as well. I would guess the screen was more for video reasons than selfies, making blogging and such easier to do without other equipment or help. It seems Panasonic is more video-centric than most brands.

jeffharris wrote:

Teera wrote:

The GX8 is nice and quite responsive. But it's choice of flip screen will not work well with street photography. The gx7 type flip screen is much better for this purpose. Very peculiar decision to have selfie flip screen for a camera of this caliber . Am I missing anything here?

Selfie flip screen? What camera are you thinking of? The GX8 has a fully articulated screen, which is quite usable for street shooting. It just requires a different technique than the tilty screen of the GX7. It's totally doable. Imagination and the ability to experiment are necessary components. I carry both in my bag.

Rest camera in palm of left hand, flip screen out against inside of wrist, change focus point and trigger shutter with right thumb. It even works with manual focus lenses.

Another method is to swing your camera bag in front (not a bad idea for security in some places), rest the camera on top of your bag and do the same as above. Or cover the camera with left hand over the lens.

A fully articulated screen can be used to shoot subjects @ 90 degrees to the side .

A tilty screen is useless for shooting vertical (portrait orientation). The one thing I missed tremendously with my GX7!!!

Hi jeff. I do the same when using it flipped out. Since it would be awkward to grip it normally down low, I support the under body with my left hand, often using my right thumb for the shutter. My left arm/wrist ends up somewhat in front of the LCD so its less noticeable.

Jeff it works until you have your camera at breast level. Because then you have to articulate LCD to the left, turn it little up and LCD touch shutter is hardly possible with right hand (eye sensor will black out the lcd) I must touch and shoot with left hand not with my right thumb. This mean completely different holding the camera - that is the reason why I still like more GX7 than GH4 (GX8).

YMMV

I just tried your technique and its quite a stretch for the right thumb to touch the screen. Having said that, your technique actually works fine if I take my right hand off the camera and use it for the touch controls. Not too bad as long as most of my settings aren't being changed. It is at least a decent option for slightly more discreet shooting. I still would rather have a flippy screen even though I know it is not as versatile.

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share my experiences with the micro four thirds system.

I sold all my Nikon gear a couple of years ago - based around the excellent camera the D300. It was getting old, no replacement had come out, it was too heavy to carry, many times I didn´t bring it on vacations because of the weight. But what a great camera it was, in many ways I still miss it - the autofocus system was just excellent, it somehow knew what I wanted in focus.

So I decided to switch to micro four thirds and went for the OMD EM10 with a Panasonic 14-140 and Olympus 25 mm F1.8. I´ve now used the camera for well over a year, but I´ve never liked it. It´s too small, and I find the controls counterintuitive. Autofocus is really terrible, and it takes too long to adjust the point of focus, I´ve missed so many shots. And it can´t be used for moving subjects at all. So finally this last week I sold it. Instead I got a Panasonic GX8 - and my passion for photography is back. What a camera! Love the size of it, well thought out controls, just so easy to use!

Out of curiosity, what was so terrible about the E-M10's autofocus?

Accuracy, speed, S-AF, C-AF, low light?

I aware of its poor C-AF and unlike E-M10 mark II there is no AF targeting pad.

Get you a Olympus EM-1, a Panasonic GX-8 or GH4 and your "problem" is solved. Always the same nonsense. Before buying a new camera, one should study all available, necessary information, especially coming from a DSLR.

Bhima78 wrote:

I just tried your technique and its quite a stretch for the right thumb to touch the screen. Having said that, your technique actually works fine if I take my right hand off the camera and use it for the touch controls. Not too bad as long as most of my settings aren't being changed. It is at least a decent option for slightly more discreet shooting. I still would rather have a flippy screen even though I know it is not as versatile.

It's stretchy like Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) of the Fantastic Four.

I was just messing around, hadn't used the GX8 that way very much. The GH2 I used that way all the time. So, either rotate my right hand to use my thumb (a bit awkward!), or quickly tap with right hand index finger. Focus manual lenses while supporting the camera/lens with the left hand.

It works well!

Glad to see that you like the GX8. Your experience with the E-M10 goes to show that it's really important to handle a camera before buying it. If it doesn't click in the first few minutes, it might just never do.

larsbc wrote:

Teera wrote:

The GX8 is nice and quite responsive. But it's choice of flip screen will not work well with street photography. The gx7 type flip screen is much better for this purpose. Very peculiar decision to have selfie flip screen for a camera of this caliber . Am I missing anything here?

I understand why some people prefer a single axis screen. I quite like the one on my GX7 and prefer it for some situations. But there are also good reasons for having a dual axis screen as well.

It's a shame we're forced to make a choice between the tilty and full-articulation. Both have definite strengths and weaknesses and work better in some situations than others.