What: M43, Micro 43, Panasonic, Olympus for wedding photography
I started to shoot wedding with M43 cameras back on the 2012. I use Olympus cameras, two OM-D E-M1 and a variety of lenses, most of them Panasonic Leica. The cameras are great, robust and quick and lenses are super and, most of all batteries last for more than 800 shots. Now in 2016 the sensor seems to be a little bit out of date. My perspective it’s not the one of a crazy guy looking at pixels but the one of a professional photographer working to earn his bread through wedding photography.
So first we look at the good things about Micro 43 and then we look at what it is not working, those are personal thoughts.
AF for Wedding Photography with Olympus and Panasonic
Single Af it’s great both with OM-D Em-1 and Panasonic GH3 (I use it for one wedding when Panasonic borrow me the camera) it’s very close to Nikon, and of course there are some plus: 1) The focus is on the sensor so no back or front focus 2) With the tilt or articulated and touch screen you can easily work in perspective that are really great creating nice images.
Continuous AF with Olympus is not acceptable but I do not use it I did not tried Panasonic but with the new cameras (GH4 and GX8) a lot of people say that it’s greatly improved.
It’s time to get something new, Sony with his new A6300 showed to the world that right now Electronic viewfinder and AF are really better than DSLR. I have the sensation that Olympus is not looking anymore to the professional world, it seems that they preferred the enthusiasts they are more profitable and less demanding.
Lenses
There are a lot of good lenses quick fast and well built it’s a system, I slightly prefer the Leica Panasonic because they are insuperable on skin toning but in the last few years a lot it’s happening and Nikon, Canon, Sigma and Fuji started to build lenses for professional at f 1.4 and this kind of approach let the professional wedding photographers to have a lot of choices, Sony it’s starting now. Micro 43 professional weddings photographers are waiting for something more luminous (1.2 or 1) for two distinct issues: 1) We need to fill a little bit the gap on noise and low light 2) Depth of field, we need to blurry a little bit more.
Panasonic and Olympus have a lot of lenses that are too similar they did not diversificate and now I’m a little bit tired to wait for something new… Something professional for wedding. I will need 12mm and 25mm really fast. Also Olympus zoom the 7-14mm f 2.8 is too big and not the right lens for wedding it’s too big and too wide. Wedding photographers prefers something like 9-18 but faster than the old 4-5.6.
Sensors
Let’s be serious physics it’s physics with M43 you will stop at 3.200 ISO, I do not know but here it’s important to do something interesting, Oly and Pana must think out of the box and they have to find something to have usable files up to 6.400 ISO, I do not need more pixel but more low light capability yes. Is there anybody listening? Fuji is doing right… Now everybody can shoot up to 12.800 and more with Canon,Nikon, Fuji and Sony.
Flash
The Olympus FL600R is acceptable, not as quick as DSLR but acceptable. It’s time to fill the gap, but it’s seems that Olympus it’ looking to enthusiasts, the new PEN F it’ gorgeous it’s a design object nothing really new under the hood.
VIDEO
Look at Panasonic…
Double Slot
Wedding professionals we’ll love it.
Assistance
Coming from Nikon here the gap it’s an ocean… It’s time to start a program for professionals, if you want professionals.
Future
The future is uncertain but I started to evaluate Sony and Fuji and also Nikon with his little D750 and really light 24mm f 1.8… It could be that for the next season I will have a new camera and sadly I will not be a Micro 43 unless something new and unexpected will appear soon. Sony and Fuji seem to take a serious look to the professional world and so I do I to their systems.
Those are personal thoughts on M43, Micro 43, Panasonic, Olympus for wedding photography. This is the perspective of a wedding photographer actually using this gear. No pixel peeping but real wedding consideration.
Senza potermi paragonare al tuo livello, anche io ho abbracciato il m43 e devo dire che nonostante alcune considerazioni giuste, non vedo alcun motivo per cui tu debba cambiare sistema. Se fin ora hai creato immagini spettacolari con questi sistemi, non vedo perchè di punto in bianco debbano diventare superati. Fuji e Sony hanno ottimi sistemi, ma le lenti… non sono poi tanto piccole. Il m43 è davvero l’unico sistema professionale piccolo e comodo che permette di fare cose che con altri sistemi non si può . le nuove ottiche pro Sony sono grosse come quelle tradizionali, non c’è alcuna convenienza di peso e dimensioni. Io credo che le nuove Em-1 II saranno un vero piccolo capolavoro invece.
Sony o Fuji??!! Hai deciso?
Il m4/3 scommetto resterà compagno di viaggio, oppure hai deciso di voltare pagina?
Non ho detto che cambierò ho detto che sto iniziando a guardarmi intorno. Certo 2 / 3 stop dal sensore e 1 dall’ottica è tanta roba…. 🙂
Aspetterò ancora. Spero sempre nel sistema che conosco, in ottiche più azzeccate e in un sensore un pochino più performante. 🙂
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Interesting. You haven’t even tried GX8 (or GH4) but you can say that M43 lags behind Sony and Fuji in terms of profesional use.
I’d at least wait until the E-M1 mkII appears (very likely at Photokina). If it brings us what the rumors (from previously very reliable sources) say, it will be a game changer in several areas.
I agree, but:
1: solid rumors say a series of 1.2 lenses are coming.
2: Olympus has not forgotten pros, but everything can’t come at once.
3: I feel convinced that a EM1 mk II will come this year with two stops higher useable ISO. (I just wish it had happened with the wonderful Pen-F. But then I’m not a pro, I can live with ISO 3200 and 1/4 sec hand-held.)
I am a professional, I have tried (not in a really wedding day) both GX8 and GH4. None of them have what I need in terms of high ISO and depth of field. My associate uses Fuji (he is an X photographer) and the file of X Pro2 is much better than the old 16 megapixel Fuji sensor and they have a bunch of lenses that are really nice like the 16 f1.4.
My perspective about cameras is about the opportunity of shaping my vision.
It’s better to stay focus on images than on gear. I always think about my images and then I choose gear the let me take those dreams.
I hope so. I really love M43. It’s compact, quick and light and it’s really near what I will need.
Dear Eolake 1 stop will be enough and 1.2 series will make me happy.
I will wait but at the end of April the wedding season will start and will make my choice.
@Matrimoni – Didn’t know that the XPro2 was so much better than the previous generation. Sounds nice…
The only area where m43 will never be able to compete with APS-C and bigger is in shallow DOF, so if that’s what you need…
Landscapes and macro being my focus, I’m happy with the greater DOF and things like focus bracketing and the Hi-Res mode.
Hopefully we will see Oly’s f/1.2 roadmap on CP+ and I’ve heard that one of them will be released before summer. If they release the E-M1 MkII before Photokina, it will have the GX8/Pen-F sensor, which I dearly hope won’t be the case. Either way, I’m afraid you won’t get a new m43 camera that will make you happy before fall (and there are of course no guarantees about that either).
Per se the simple fact that you speak about depth of field makes all this arguments about M43 questionable.
Shortly: in 95% of shots (especially when shooting persons) we can surely affirm that the bigger the DOF, the better. What photographers really want for good portraits and event photos is the stronger background blur, not the shallower depth of field.
E.g. the Leica Nocticron 42.5/1.2 usually has shallower depth of field than the Olympus 75/1.8, even so the latter makes better portraits as the background is more blurred due to the bigger focal length.
So, if you really want e.g. that the ears to be already blurred in a portrait the M43 is indeed not for you. But if you want all the face sharp but the background properly separated there are plenty of options even for M43.
Now you’re dealing with semantics, Kesztió. Sure, you’re right in theory, but for practical reasons, the 75/1.8 (which I own and love) often can’t replace any 42,5-45mm m43 lens (I have the 45/1.8 and would love to replace it with the 42,5/1.2, or even more so a 50/1.2, if only I could justify the cost). We’re talking about around 1.75x the FL, forcing you to step back quite a bit for the same “portrait coverage”.
There’s simply no denying that you get more control and choice over DOF AND background blur with a larger sensor (with the appropriate lens).