Le dimanche 13 février 2011 15:26:35, Chuck Norcutt a écrit :
> But I haven't given up on Olympus yet. I don't see ever abandoning full
> frame but I can imagine adding a micro-4/3 camera to the stable. If I
> do it will be Olympus in order to gain sensor based IS. But it will
> also have a usable viewfinder as well as an articulating view screen for
> ease of macro work. Perhaps the VF-2 viewfinder meets my criteria
> already. But I've never seen one. For that matter I've never seen any
> micro-4/3 camera of any brand. Hasn't Oly promised a pro version of the
> Pen things? Maybe that will also satisfy my concerns about focusing speed?
For the sake of objectivity, let me put that first : I love µ4:3. I use my e-p1
more than I ever used any other DSLR, and probably more than I ever used my OM
and other film cameras.
But I am an amateur, in all the meanings of the word. I appreciate the colors
and ease of use the e-p1, but I'm not making a living on it, and, God forbids,
I don't have to bind to some clients' wills or assignements. And it's a
blessing, because no µ4:3 camera is playing in the pro league, and none will
until a while, in my humble opinion.
- AF is slow. Not dog slow, mind you, but the current contrast detection
technology can't compete with phase AF, and phase AF can't work without a
mirror box. Exit EVIL cameras here. The contrast detection has been pushed
almost to its limits now, but you can't shoot comfortably sports for instance.
Panasonic lenses help a bit here, because they were wise enough to have a
single moving lens inside the assembly for focusing, speeding up the process
(faster motor, lighter load). Still, not in the DSLR league.
- Prices for native lenses is confiscatory, to put it mildly. You can forgive a
300 € price tag for the Pany 20/1.7, it's a beauty (but still, it's quite
steep for what amounts to a pancake with a normal field of vision, one of the
easiest optical formula to build !). But ~ 230 € for the Oly 17/2.8 is armed
robbery, plain and simple. The promise of µ4:3 was lighter, cheaper lenses.
Where are they ? Not even Canikon dares setting such ingnominous prices for
mid-range prosumer lenses. This is subjective, but this 17/2.8 is worth
between 75 / 100 €, realistically. Other native lenses are on the same sorry
trend. What saves the system as a whole is the ability to use almost any MF
lenses from other brands with an adaptater. And maybe now that Schneider-
Kreuznach has joined the µ4:3 group, there will be a modicum of new blood and
cold reason to expect (they made Pentax clones, notoriously good *and* cheap).
- I suspect the electronics innards are quirky, and certainly not up to pro
quality. The body has a marked tendency to (over)heat after a certain time
span of use, and this can't be good if you expect to work for a couple of
hours straight.
- You can't tether the camera. While not absolutely necessary, this is a sadly
missing pro convenience. Missing too, a 'screw to camera sole booster battery
pack' with 2nd shutter button.
I will stop here the con's list, and let others add their own griefs or pro's
to it. µ4:3 are very very nice cameras. I've never regretted the 450 € for
body+zoom kit and the 300 € for the 20/1.7 I spent on it. It's almost perfect
for what I do (I wished there was a way to setup conveniently hyperfocal,
though, because at the moment, it's pure guesswork, and even the panasonic LX2
is better and more precise at this). But it's an amateur camera, and it can be
very frustrating at times. Be sure of that. You have to decide if you can live
with it or not, but it won't go away by magic.
Cheers,
--
Manuel Viet
--
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