micro Four-Thirds: Panasonic vs Olympus

I've seen a lot of petty battles over the years where technology is involved.  The worst I've seen is Panasonic vs Olympus, driven by the fanatics alone.

My take is that both companies offer something great and without one or the other, the format would wither.  This should be Panasonic + Olympus instead of Panasonic vs Olympus.

Panasonic brought about the AG-AF100/AF105, which convinced Zeiss to adapt their cine lenses.  Given that the lenses have a typical micro Four-Thirds mount, they work just fine, and I would imagine that you could rent one for your Panasonic GH3.  For that matter, you could use it on a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.

Panasonic has done a lot for video while Olympus has conversely done a minimum for video.  However, Olympus is still a leader in still photography, regardless of what Canon or Nikon might have you believe, though they don't have those negative advertisements any longer since their sensors' pixel density is high also.

Olympus is clearly doing a lot with their in-camera processing to provide a great image.  When you put a micro Four-Thirds print up against prints from much larger sensors, it's extremely difficult to see a huge difference.  Back in 2006, I was printing on 13x19 inch paper with 5.1 MP images from an Olympus E-1, so I can't imagine why a current micro Four-Thirds body with 16.x MP would have a problem competing with the rest.  The pixel density should be similar to a 24.x MP APS-C sensor.  If the sensor and image engine are the best they can be, it's down to the adjoining circuitry and the analog-to-digital conversion.  It's all come a long way since, say 2000, or even 2003 when Four-Thirds equipment was introduced.

If Olympus and Panasonic had not joined forces to develop Live View with the E-330, DMC-L1, and Leica Digilux 3, would there be a micro Four-Thirds now?  Would there be a mirror-less market at all?

I suspect that still photography and videography would have been kept to separate devices for simplicity, and profit.

It's not that relatively inexpensive digital motion picture equipment isn't available--RED has proven that--but that students have extremely inexpensive equipment available and can do everything on their own.  Panasonic's GH2 and GH3 have shown how inexpensively someone can demonstrate their abilities as directors and photographers.

Live View has affected still photography in positive ways.  When you can't get inside the crowd, having that fully-articulated rear display means that you can get the body at an angle and view the scene to get the image you want.  N.B. Olympus: Your E-M1 is lacking in this respect (and several others related to the E-5).

micro Four-Thirds is stronger because of Panasonic and Olympus.  Take away one company's lenses and you can get by but, unlike Nikon or Canon, you don't have a wide variety of third party lenses, so you need both Panasonic and Olympus selling their system by providing lenses.

If we should believe a Credit Suisse "anal"yst, Olympus and Panasonic will be out of the camera business shortly, along with Pentax and FujiFilm.  That will be a dark time and I seriously doubt that Nikon, Canon, or Sony would continue to improve because they won't have anyone to show them how.

Update 2014.03.02: I've had some trouble with my Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 lens and I asked Panasonic to repair it.  They said that it was fine: http://nobuyukishouldknowbetter.blogspot.com/2014/02/i-wont-be-buying-any-more-panasonic.html

I've been using the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 on the GH3 body and it has breathed new life into it.  I'm shocked at how much better things look with a proper lens.  I'm looking forward to the 40-150mm f/2.8 lens from Olympus later this year.  I'm not saying that I'm abandoning Panasonic.  I just don't want to use any of their lenses any longer, and I hope that I never have to have anything repaired.

Update 2014.03.15: Since the GH4 has arrived for pre-order, I haven't seen anything to replace the AG-AF100/AF105.  The latest product in that category took PL-mount lenses, and the GH4 sales blurb said PL-mount lenses would be useful through a third party adapter.  I guess a dedicated micro Four-Thirds  camcorder wasn't popular at all, so we'll have to stick with the 29m59s limit of the GH3 and GH4.

Is Live View a waste on a dSLR?

Ever since the Olympus E-330, Panasonic DMC-L1, and Leica Digilux 3 introduced Live View to the world of photography, I've wondered about using it.

In November 2011, I got an Olympus E-5, which has Live View and video recording.  I played with each, but never did much with them.  In February 2013 when I got a Panasonic DMC-GH3, I had a camera body similarly equipped with Live View and (much enhanced) video recording.  Still, I'd yet to do more than test Live View.

In some cases, like the Nikon D7100, D300s, and Canon 70D, the rear display is rather firmly attached, so you can't slide, tilt, or turn it away from the body.  In cases like this, I've heard Live View called "Tripod Mode".  To me, the words "live" and "tripod" don't really seem to work with each other in photography.  Those still life portraits are so...still.

It was only when I was at an Olympus photo walk event with the E-M1 that I really considered Live View valuable.

At one intersection in downtown Indianapolis, there is a flying saucer-like underside covering the intersection, making it a bit claustrophobic.  I could just take a snapshot, but it made more sense to me to get closer to the ground.  I released the rear display and folded it down until it was facing upward.  As I held the camera a few inches from the pavement/sidewalk, between the obstacles, I was able to get a clear shot of the whatever-it-is.  It enabled me to do things I could not normally do.

E-M1 Live View Straight from the Camera JPEG

E-5 through the optical viewfinder, converted from raw file

Since mirror-less system cameras all use Live View and nothing else, the technology has become much better.  Lenses are designed for it, and speeding up the interaction between the image sensor helps to speed auto focus.  As the sensor is always going, the various companies are learning about heat dissipation to reduce the effects of photographic noise.

When I was at a Panasonic-sponsored event recently, an older gentleman showed me his Panasonic DMC-L1 and it was interesting but part of a different time.  Those ideas certainly changed everything, and we wouldn't likely have mirror-less system cameras today without them.

I still haven't a great use for Live View on the Olympus E-5, but now, that I've actually used Live View, I certainly have an appreciation for it, and will realize that I don't have to walk away from certain photos to get them comfortably.

Panasonic GH3, Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8

Here is another, more recent photo using Live View and the articulated rear display of my Panasonic GH3 this time.  I switched from the EVF to the rear display, held the camera body at a rather extreme angle, twisted the rear display angle for easy viewing, while kneeling comfortably, rather than lying on the ground, photographing it upside down.