m43's is a system, not a camera

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?)  In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

absquatulate wrote:

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?) In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

You missed the G9,

Oops ... shouldn't have missed that one. Thanks.

other than that I agree completely. The hysteria around the E-M1X is quite bizarre, it's just another choice for those that want this kind of camera. If I was shooting wildlife professionally it would definitely be a great option. Neither Olympus nor Panasonic are going anywhere, these companies are producing cutting edge cameras, just enjoy the fact they exist and we have these choices. If you don't like M4/3's or they're not producing what you want then buy something else, but don't imagine any other manufacturer is perfect either, because they're definitely not in my experience.

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?) In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

You misunderstood the subject of the thread.

It is not at all about the lack of vision, but the evolution of the vision. That's different. And it wasn't bemoaning, just sharing opinions and asking for others.

That said, of course m43 is a system, and a superb one!

M43 is a lens mount developed for 43 sensor

Pixnat2 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?) In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

You misunderstood the subject of the thread.

It is not at all about the lack of vision, but the evolution of the vision. That's different. And it wasn't bemoaning, just sharing opinions and asking for others.

That said, of course m43 is a system, and a superb one!

Indeed, it's about evolution. Here's what you wrote "But recently, Olympus seems to divert a bit from this vision: cameras get bigger and more expensive. They seem to leave their "what people need?" mantra besides, and made a flagship that very few people need. I may be wrong, but the recent Olympus strategy is a bit confusing."

I don't think it's confusing at all.  What's on offer now is a full lineup of cameras from affordable ILC's (EM10.3 for $449 right now) up to the high-end sports/nature shooters. The pitch to those high-end shooters is the same ... an affordable, lightweight, option with excellent build quality (compared to the 1DX) .

Folks may not find the offerings particularly compelling, which, of course, is their option. But, respectfully, I don't see how this can be criticized from the aspect of a long term strategy or vision.

Not everyone will agree, but I wanted to get that point of view out there as a counterpoint to a commonly expressed opinion.

No text.

You missed best of all 

Jeff wrote:

Pixnat2 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?) In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

You misunderstood the subject of the thread.

It is not at all about the lack of vision, but the evolution of the vision. That's different. And it wasn't bemoaning, just sharing opinions and asking for others.

That said, of course m43 is a system, and a superb one!

Indeed, it's about evolution. Here's what you wrote "But recently, Olympus seems to divert a bit from this vision: cameras get bigger and more expensive. They seem to leave their "what people need?" mantra besides, and made a flagship that very few people need. I may be wrong, but the recent Olympus strategy is a bit confusing."

I don't think it's confusing at all. What's on offer now is a full lineup of cameras from affordable ILC's (EM10.3 for $449 right now) up to the high-end sports/nature shooters. The pitch to those high-end shooters is the same ... an affordable, lightweight, option with excellent build quality (compared to the 1DX) .

Folks may not find the offerings particularly compelling, which, of course, is their option. But, respectfully, I don't see how this can be criticized from the aspect of a long term strategy or vision.

What can be criticized is that instead of releasing "what (a lot of) people need", ie the long awaited EM5 update, they realeased a camera "(only a few) people need".

I find it confusing, and I'm not alone, apparently.

But OK, to each his own .

Not everyone will agree, but I wanted to get that point of view out there as a counterpoint to a commonly expressed opinion.

Great list of all the cameras, except you missed the Panasonic G9.

It is odd at how much people on this forum complains about the E-M1X and how it missed the corporation vision of a small camera.  In my opinion the E-M1X shows that Olympus has a corporate vision of a small camera.  Olympus saw the niche of a small wildlife camera where the 2x crop factor will allow these long lenses to have extra reach needed for wildlife and where the camera and lens combo is smaller than a FF wildlife camera and because of IBIS no tripod is needed for even more weight savings.  I do own the E-M1X is it is a great wildlife camera.

Now I also currently own the E-M1.2 for my general use camera and a Pen F for my small social camera.  Each one is great for what I use them for.  I don't know if I will be interested in an E-M5.3 camera when it gets announced later this year.  Most likely it will be too small for me.  But then again it might be a great replacement for my Pen F.  We don't know any thing about the upcoming  E-M5.3.  Is it going to be a Fujifilm X-T3 competitor or a X-T30 competitor.  All we know is that the E-M5.3 is going to be released later this year and that Olympus all year has been talking about taking advantage of what the MFT format provides, which I will think is compact size.

larsbc wrote:

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?)

In addition to the G9 which was mentioned elsewhere, you're also missing:

• GX9
• G80/85
• G90/95

Yea, I kind of messed up on the Panasonic side of things.  Thanks for adding these to the list.

I also agree with your general point. It's hard to tell where a system is going based solely on the most recent camera release. When the EM5.3 comes out I wonder if some people will start worrying that Olympus is now only concerned with enthusiast photographers and not pros.

Pixnat2 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

Pixnat2 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?) In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

You misunderstood the subject of the thread.

It is not at all about the lack of vision, but the evolution of the vision. That's different. And it wasn't bemoaning, just sharing opinions and asking for others.

That said, of course m43 is a system, and a superb one!

Indeed, it's about evolution. Here's what you wrote "But recently, Olympus seems to divert a bit from this vision: cameras get bigger and more expensive. They seem to leave their "what people need?" mantra besides, and made a flagship that very few people need. I may be wrong, but the recent Olympus strategy is a bit confusing."

I don't think it's confusing at all. What's on offer now is a full lineup of cameras from affordable ILC's (EM10.3 for $449 right now) up to the high-end sports/nature shooters. The pitch to those high-end shooters is the same ... an affordable, lightweight, option with excellent build quality (compared to the 1DX) .

Folks may not find the offerings particularly compelling, which, of course, is their option. But, respectfully, I don't see how this can be criticized from the aspect of a long term strategy or vision.

What can be criticized is that instead of releasing "what (a lot of) people need", ie the long awaited EM5 update, they realeased a camera "(only a few) people need".

I find it confusing, and I'm not alone, apparently.

But OK, to each his own .

Not everyone will agree, but I wanted to get that point of view out there as a counterpoint to a commonly expressed opinion.

And they have an order they must release their products?

What happened for people to feel so entitled that their needs must be met first? Or at all?

Pixnat2 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

Pixnat2 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?) In particular, how can anyone possibly claim that EM1.x does anything other than add another option to those already available in a very cool ecosystem of interchangeable camera and lens offerings from multiple manufacturers?

In case you're wondering, the post is motivated by a thread bemoaning a lack of 'vision'. on the part of Olympus. Hardly.

You misunderstood the subject of the thread.

It is not at all about the lack of vision, but the evolution of the vision. That's different. And it wasn't bemoaning, just sharing opinions and asking for others.

That said, of course m43 is a system, and a superb one!

Indeed, it's about evolution. Here's what you wrote "But recently, Olympus seems to divert a bit from this vision: cameras get bigger and more expensive. They seem to leave their "what people need?" mantra besides, and made a flagship that very few people need. I may be wrong, but the recent Olympus strategy is a bit confusing."

I don't think it's confusing at all. What's on offer now is a full lineup of cameras from affordable ILC's (EM10.3 for $449 right now) up to the high-end sports/nature shooters. The pitch to those high-end shooters is the same ... an affordable, lightweight, option with excellent build quality (compared to the 1DX) .

Folks may not find the offerings particularly compelling, which, of course, is their option. But, respectfully, I don't see how this can be criticized from the aspect of a long term strategy or vision.

What can be criticized is that instead of releasing "what (a lot of) people need", ie the long awaited EM5 update, they realeased a camera "(only a few) people need".

I find it confusing, and I'm not alone, apparently.

But OK, to each his own .

I am guessing the E-M1X was released before the E-M5.3 was mostly do to moving manufacturing from China to Vietnam and all the start up issues with a new camera manufacturing facility.  A small limited production for the initial new facility makes some sense and it was stated by an Olympus official as a reason in an interview.

Not everyone will agree, but I wanted to get that point of view out there as a counterpoint to a commonly expressed opinion.

Jeff wrote:

The purpose of this post is simply to remind folks that m43's is a *system*, not a single camera body. As a reminder, here are models currently available on manufacturers' web sites ...

• Olympus E-PL9
• Olympus E-M10.3
• Olympus E-M5.2
• Olympus E-M1.2
• Olympus E-M1.x
• Panasonic GH5
• Panasonic GH4
• Panasonic GX850
• Panasonic GX85
• Panasonic G7
• Panasonic LX100 (ok, not ILC, but still 4/3 sensor)
• Yi M1
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
• DJI Zenmuse

(Did I miss any?)

In Europe we additionally get:

em10.2

epl8

Pen-F

we don't get the em1.1 though

see https://shop.olympus.eu/en_GB/cameras/pen-cameras

The OMD-M5 (2) is not much bigger than the M10 and is weather sealed. I think it counts as compact.