Thinking of Going to the other Dark Side - Four-Thirds

[ewaizel]

My advice, don't worry much about the gear. I'm an IT engineer and actually in charge of a group of photo lovers at my office. Many of us love talking about this topic. Nevertheless, I can say a good photographer is good with any gear. Yes, you need a camera and if yours is already falling apart, it is time to change. There are also many items that can also be included into the list (lighting, tripods, lenses and other fun extras) where you can invest the $$$.
There is a lot of noise about Sony, Panasonic, Fuji & Olympus. Canon and Nikon are probably slow to react. At the end, who cares? What's the point if there is still a lot to learn in the art of observing and being creative?

[ericmark]

In general the smaller the sensor the lower the ISO or PPI, but I would not want a large format in digital and even 35 mm I would question if really required except for commercial work. Smaller cameras mean every thing else can be smaller including tripod and lenses.

The main point about 4/3rd is the loss of the mirror and as a result the lens is closer to the sensor which also means smaller lenses. Also no mirror to cause camera shake. I have not moved over because it would mean all new lenses, but if starting again it would be 4/3rd.

To my mind the only reason why Canon and Nikon survive is the hiring of lenses. When Nikon released a firmware upgrade which stopped people using third party batteries I realised they were not a nice firm and the only reason I have a Nikon is it was given to me by my late father. In the main I use two cameras a Pentax K10D and a Casio compact Exilim 6.0 Mega Pixel which had a firm ware upgrade to allow a larger SD card to be used.

I will admit with the Casio I miss having RAW but it's always in my pocket so it gets used far more. Although the Pentax is the better camera the Casio is always there for me. It's also not as intrusive so one can take more candid shots. It would seem one after the other in the club are going for the 4/3rd format and I expect it will become the norm.

Large format film cameras still exist and so I think so will the 23.6 x 15.6 or there abouts sensor will be around for some time. But the 18 x 13.5 sensor I think will over time become the standard size.

At the moment there is a lack of lenses but I think that will change.