# In praise of Micro Four Thirds and an emerging standard



## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

When great tech is available for little more than mediocre then give your self the advantage. 
What prompted this was an discussion about why standards are important to provide choice, price competition and longevity of a purchase. There are too many different MILC cameras emerging in my view with marginal differences and dead end tech. Seen that before in other fields.

BTW good article on sensors and why they are not as important as the glass.










long article with good explanations and examples
Four Thirds | Micro Four Third | High Image Quality

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take away ..... get a MFT and start taking a "good" camera with you all the time and build on it 










wish I had learned that a couple years ago.

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what prompted this.....Samsung has an odd duck out.










Samsung Galaxy NX mirrorless camera: hands-on with an Android ILC (video)

size is right tho


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Found a rather amazing bit of info - last line regarding the G5 versus the D800 in centre focus speed.



> *Please provide links to articles that suggests CDAF is faster than PDAF.*
> 
> The latest M43 cameras have faster CDAF than similarly-priced DSLRs. The top of the line DSRs might be a little faster but they also cost much more, making it apples to oranges.
> 
> ...


AF on M43's vs SLRs [Archive] - AnandTech Forums

There is nothing technical preventing AF speed increases in MFT and it's a very complex area where "it depends" is the watch phrase.

For burst mode - yes the DLSRs have some current advantage all else is up for grabs as far as speed goes.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Careful, Doc, you might be on the slippery slope to fanboyism.  Beware anything invoking the Barnack mystique, I always say.

I'm an early adopter of this system, so you know I'm a fan. But...

*On the lens side*; many of the lenses are actually controversial because they use software to correct certain optical aberrations (mainly barrel distortion) -- sort of a virtual "element" to help keep size down. In some cases this has been pretty clearly shown to affect technical characteristics of image quality. Not that I really care all that much. I still love my tiny Oly 9-18, because it's rare that edge sharpness is a truly make-or-break factor. But the lens quality is not in fact top-notch across the board. 

*On the sensor side*: For the first couple of generations of bodies, the Panasonic sensor tech noticeably lagged behind almost every APS-C sensor on the market, and it only got worse as one body after another came out with the same sensor first used in 2008. Not that those Panasonic sensors were bad, but they did offer modest dynamic range and were nearly unusable above ISO 400 (or maybe 800 if you really, really nailed the exposure). So I'm sure there's lots of marketing material from those days still floating around, touting the dubious notion that the sensor isn't really all that important.

Today, the sensor point has become moot and I think that was the expectation all along. Back in 2008, a big part of what was "wrong" with the sensor was due to its relatively diminutive size. Not surprisingly, advances in sensor tech have narrowed and arguably bridged the gap. Panasonic sensors are much better now, and Olympus now has access to an excellent Sony sensor. We've reached the point where very few people can tell the difference, or truly need something better.

On the whole, I think this has matured into a fine system and a fully viable alternative to the conventional DSLR. The proliferation of competitors and copycats is one testament to that. The number of third-party lens and even body manufacturers is another.

But in the early days, that success was not a given. Focus speed was terrible, body performance (shutter lag, burst rate, etc.) was mediocre, the sensor was way behind the competition, there were few lenses. Fortunately the concept was compelling enough to get a critical mass in place.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Speaking of lenses, the much-loved 20mm/1.7 is getting a refresh, announcement coming tomorrow (June 27). Looks like a good update, and if the focusing performance is improved it'll be a very good one.

(FT5) Hot! First image of the new 20mm f/1.7 II lens! | 43 Rumors


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