What's Next For M4/3?

I was waiting to photograph a passing train one day last week when I looked across the tracks only to find
I was being watched!  This little guy was perched up on the rail carefully scrutinizing everything
I was doing. (click to enlarge)

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly. In fact, I've just added a gallery featuring all M4/3 images.  Thank you.

I've have been primarily using M4/3 format cameras for the past 3 years.  I think I've pretty much fully exploited the capabilities of the current generation of sensors.  My images, for the most part, have been excellent and satisfying.  That being so, I've seemed to have lost much of my M4/3 fervor and enthusiasm.  Why?

I think the reason I have lost my excitement for the M4/3 format, and not that there is anything at all wrong with it, is that Olympus and Panasonic both seem to have stagnated when it comes to sensor development.  both camera manufacturers have been introducing new camera models over the past three years, but using the same sensor as their other cameras.  I don't know if each manufacturer develops their own sensor or they buy it from a third party, but for the past few years, neither company has introduced any real improvements in their sensors.  I'm sure they are working diligently on improved sensors, but when will we see them?

Both Olympus and Panasonic have continued to develop wonderful cameras, but with the same image quality.  Additionally, both manufacturers have developed and introduced some new absolutely first class lenses for the format.  However, in my view there have been no real gains in dynamic range, digital noise elimination and certainly not in the resolution of the sensors. 

Furthermore, it seems that what Olympus and Panasonic are doing are adding features and gimmicks, as if there are not enough customization already available on our M4/3 cameras.  When I use the term gimmick, I think about the 40mp image file size from the Olympus E-M5II.  On the surface it seems to be a great feature which has the ability to produce wonderful image quality, but I call it a gimmick because it is almost useless in the real world.  To use it, nothing can move.  If you are a food or a studio photographer, I guess it may work well.  I'm a travel, landscape and nature photographer and I don't think I can find a subject in which every detail of the subject will be still for a second or more. I think this particular feature is more about Olympus' way of showing off their prowess in innovation and technology rather than something useful for the vast majority of photographers. Hopefully, in the future, this particular feature will improve to the point where it is useful.

So, for the foreseeable future, I'm putting down my M4/3 gear and trying some larger format gear to see how well it serves my photographic purposes.  Again, there is nothing wrong with M4/3 gear, but I just think sensor development has come to a standstill.  I hope I'm wrong.  

When sensor development resumes with more dynamic range, less inherent electronic noise at higher ISOs and a few more pixels, I suspect my excitement will return.


Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

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