A few years ago, when the Micro Four Thirds system was introduced, it was rather revolutionary: it offered small mirrorless cameras paired with equally small high-quality lenses, giving photographers image quality that came pretty close to consumer-level DSLRs in an easier-to-carry package.
Nowadays, there are lots more options for small and lightweight cameras from a variety of manufacturers. From lightweight DSLRs to full-frame mirrorless cameras, there are plenty of other choices for photographers who don’t want to lug around a bunch of heavy gear. But I still like Micro Four Thirds, and here are my reasons why.
Yes, Of Course, The Small Cameras
Despite great design feats from other manufacturers, the Micro Four Thirds cameras are still among the smallest. Due to the smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor, this isn’t likely to change. Micro Four Thirds cameras are almost always tiny by comparison to similar cameras from other manufacturers, and usually much lighter.
Much Smaller Lenses Than Full-Frame Equivalents
Also owing to the smaller sensor of the Micro Four Thirds, the lenses are dramatically smaller. The Olympus 45mm f1.8 portrait lens (90mm full-frame equivalent) is downright tiny, especially compared with an 85mm full-frame portrait lens. Full-frame lenses — even those for mirrorless systems — are always going to be bigger and heavier, because they have to cover the larger full-frame sensor.
Sharper Lenses Than Most DSLR Lenses
This may have to do partly with the focusing of mirrorless camera systems. On a mirrorless camera, there’s none of that slight back-focusing or front-focusing nonsense that you have to deal with on traditional DSLRs. Mirrorless cameras always focus perfectly, and therefore can deliver perfectly sharp photos instead of the slightly out-of-focus photos you may get from some of your DSLR lenses.
The sharpness may also be due to the deeper depth-of-field of Micro Four Thirds systems. Or maybe Olympus and Panasonic are just better at making sharp lenses than other companies. Whatever the case, the sharpness and detail I get out of the Micro Four Thirds lenses is impressive.
Pretty Good Image Quality
It doesn’t deliver the absolute best image quality, but with some editing (you’re shooting RAW, right)? you can get pretty good results out of most of your files. I like my Nikons a bit better in terms of pure image quality, but Micro Four Thirds can hold its own in a lot of instances.
Better Colors
This applies to Olympus cameras like the EM10 (though I do own a few Lumixes which are rather good in this area as well). Olympus colors are just better than other brands. The cameras deliver perfect skin tones for portraits. On landscapes, everything is vivid and colorful without looking stupid. In general photography, there are never any blue or orange hues where they shouldn’t be. The colors even hold up well at high ISOs. I rarely need to do in-depth color correction on Olympus files.
Stylish-Looking Camera Designs
This also applies only to Olympus cameras. I love the retro look that a lot of the Olympus models have. Yes, I know, you shouldn’t care how your gear looks, because you’re a totally serious hardcore photographer, right? Yeah, yeah. But admit it, how a camera looks does play some role in choosing to buy it.
The “old school camera” looks of my Olympus EM10 have started countless conversations with people that I encounter. It’s disarming, and makes people feel comfortable enough to strike up a conversation about photography, since they are intrigued by what they think is an old film camera. Some have even let me take their photograph because of it. And that’s pretty damn cool, since photography is about connecting with people.
Do you still use the Micro Four Thirds system? What are your thoughts about it? Leave a comment below and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram.