An end of an era...

[newfoundmass]

After my close friend decided to upgrade to the Lumix S5 II X he gave me an incredible deal on his Lumix S5 that I couldn't pass up. As a result I just finished packing up my trusty GH5, 12-35mm mk II, 35-100mm mk I, 25mm, and 14mm to ship off to MPB. For the first time in nearly a decade I will no longer have any M43 cameras or lenses. I think my time in the system has finally come to an (unplanned) end. 😞

I'm feeling some kind of way about it right now, honestly. I still believe in the promise of M43, I just don't know that Panasonic will ever realize it or if the market will ever be there to make it viable. It's a damn shame, honestly. I'll be happy with my full frame cameras, and having three of the same bodies will make things a bit easier for me, but I still can't help but wish there was a professional level compact M43 camera that could fit my needs and fit in with my two S5 bodies. I just don't see it happening. 

I had planned to always have at least one M43 camera in my kit. Eventually I was going to upgrade to the GH6 in a couple years, once they were even more affordable on the used market, but I couldn't pass on another S5 with kit lens for $750, so plans changed. It just didn't make sense to keep the GH5 and follow through with my original plans anymore, as these three S5 bodies will get me through until I can snag some S5 II bodies in a couple years when people upgrade to the latest camera.

The GH5 was a total game changer for me and my work. I'm sad to see it go, because in many ways it did things that I never thought a camera would be able to do. It really cannot be overstated how much the IBIS changed things for people like me. I no longer had to set up a cumbersome shoulder rig, I could simply hold it and get steady shots even as I rushed around a wrestling ring and dodged people flying all over the place! Life goes on though, I guess.

 

[Benjamin Hilton]

I know the feeling...not a m4/3 fan myself, but the feeling of an era coming to an end with letting go of beloved camera systems. For me it was my FS100, I got so much out of that camera over hundreds of projects it still holds a special place of nostalgia in my heart, even though it was technically a terrible camera in many ways. 

[MurtlandPhoto]

You just can't pass up a deal like that at this stage in the game. I also look so fondly on my m43 days. I was with the Panny GH cameras since the very beginning until switching to full frame about 18 months ago. There will never be a better setup than a GH5(5s,6) and 35-100mm f/2.8. No other brand or system can match that compact setup.

[newfoundmass]

2 minutes ago, MurtlandPhoto said:

You just can't pass up a deal like that at this stage in the game. I also look so fondly on my m43 days. I was with the Panny GH cameras since the very beginning until switching to full frame about 18 months ago. There will never be a better setup than a GH5(5s,6) and 35-100mm f/2.8. No other brand or system can match that compact setup.

You really can't. For me, I never cared about the sensor size, it was the compact set ups that really appealed to me. I never felt like I was compromising much at all shooting with M43 and with Lumix cameras. I could work around their limitations (and continue to do so with my S5s) because what I was getting out of them was so good, especially for the time. My favorite combo of all time might genuinely be the GX85 and 35-100mm. So small, and the footage you'd get out of it was soooo good.

I was given an exit ramp that made too much sense. 

[FHDcrew]

4 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

After my close friend decided to upgrade to the Lumix S5 II X he gave me an incredible deal on his Lumix S5 that I couldn't pass up. As a result I just finished packing up my trusty GH5, 12-35mm mk II, 35-100mm mk I, 25mm, and 14mm to ship off to MPB. For the first time in nearly a decade I will no longer have any M43 cameras or lenses. I think my time in the system has finally come to an (unplanned) end. 😞

I'm feeling some kind of way about it right now, honestly. I still believe in the promise of M43, I just don't know that Panasonic will ever realize it or if the market will ever be there to make it viable. It's a damn shame, honestly. I'll be happy with my full frame cameras, and having three of the same bodies will make things a bit easier for me, but I still can't help but wish there was a professional level compact M43 camera that could fit my needs and fit in with my two S5 bodies. I just don't see it happening. 

I had planned to always have at least one M43 camera in my kit. Eventually I was going to upgrade to the GH6 in a couple years, once they were even more affordable on the used market, but I couldn't pass on another S5 with kit lens for $750, so plans changed. It just didn't make sense to keep the GH5 and follow through with my original plans anymore, as these three S5 bodies will get me through until I can snag some S5 II bodies in a couple years when people upgrade to the latest camera.

The GH5 was a total game changer for me and my work. I'm sad to see it go, because in many ways it did things that I never thought a camera would be able to do. It really cannot be overstated how much the IBIS changed things for people like me. I no longer had to set up a cumbersome shoulder rig, I could simply hold it and get steady shots even as I rushed around a wrestling ring and dodged people flying all over the place! Life goes on though, I guess.

 

I have a Panasonic G7 collecting dust after upgrading to my Nikon Z6 + Atomos (haha)....I should probably put it to use as a B-CAM or something.  Still a great camera.  At my church we livestream with one of these, using a Tamron 14-150 MFT lens, giving a wide zoom range and image quality that blows a comparably-priced camcorder out of the water.  Clean HDMI up to 4K...can be hacked for no internal record limit...has microHDMI but that is easy to clamp...such a great live-streaming camera and/or a camcorder-killer.

[FHDcrew]

We also have 2 Panasonic FZ1000s which are solid camcorder replacements in their own right.

[kye]

I can understand that it's an emotional thing, but I feel I have moved past attachment to any particular format or technology, and have become focused on the experience and the outputs.

MFT is great, I have 5 MFT cameras and some really nice lenses, but it's a means to an end.  I recently discovered I prefer the size of the GX85 to the GH5, and happily took the loss in image quality for the benefits in the shooting experience.  If someone created a camera that was slightly smaller than the GX85 and had equal or better image quality and features, I'd consider switching, not giving the slightest consideration if the sensor was 1/2.5" or Medium Format.

The S5 is a great camera, take lots of great images and enjoy it!  Enjoy the images you captured with the MFT gear too.  

Cameras matter, but the better you become at using them, the less they restrict the quality of the work.

[MrSMW]

The S5 is one solid camera.

I moved to it from Fuji XT3 as my ‘still cropped 4K 50p’ for the video side of things, but now full frame stills.

AF was fairly comparable but I would have given the edge to the XT3.

The stills I found were fairly comparable with the Fuji files being marginally ‘nicer’ but the S5 files having a little more to play with.

It served me well and was a good intro intro into L Mount and the ONLY reasons I flipped it for the S5ii were; AF, longer recording times and the insurance policy fan.

Great camera. Absolute bargain now. Enjoy.

[PannySVHS]

For me it is very different. I just started doing photographs again and i just love my Tevidons and my GX85 for that. But I had an almost greater pleasure taking pictures with one of two of my newly acquired MFT cameras. No ibis. So small, so direct and simple and loved the ancient pre GH4 menu system. I had just bought a Lumix G1 and G3, both for 25EUR, shipping included.

I tested the G3 and cannot wait to test that old 12MPix sensor of the G1 again, which should be the same as in the GF1, a camera which is one of the prettiest ever to me. Btw the G1 is red:) I love MFT. Will get an Oly EM10 III one day. For video, I am thinking about a GH5 II, for the great organic texture it seems to be known for. I don´t enjoy my S1, though it earned me some money. S5II looks appealing, just like Mft does in general and the latter even moreso with my newly acquired OG G cameras.:) The G3 is like brandnew. G1 is sticky. I hope it´s from honey.:)

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

Already said that in the forum - I'm an amateur (each day more amateur, in fact...), and started seriously in stlls / video with MFT; a GH2, in fact. Still have it here, and will never let it go (part because of nostalgia, part because the value is so low now - and its colors have something).

Compactness and discretion were (and is) my motto - and MFT still the champion in ths regard. And, for years, was more than enough for me.

First problem was PDAF. Never bothered my old use cases - travel, concert shooting, streets. CDAF and Single AF worked very well in all these situations. But then I became a father, and a child running around soon reverted all that - Continuous AF became mandatory, specially in video. My loved GX9 was out (albeit its eye detection works even better than current Fujis). Only PDAF cameras in MFT: the Olympuses, E-M1s and E-M5 MKIII. The latter would work very well for me, despite video being not on par with Panasonics.

But I sensed that OM Digital and Panasonic wanted to make the format a niche one. Adventure / wildlife for OM, video only for Panasonic. And looks like I was right. OM put all efforts in a wildlife / adveture body (the OM-1), and all the new lenses are big zooms and big Pro lenses, a lot of them bigger and heavier than APS-C ones. Panasonic released the GH6 (the first GH model full target to video, for stills the GH5 and specially yhe G9 are better), and the only new lens was the 9mm (terrific, would buy one in pre-order if already in the system) for the vlogger crowd, prior to that were only the big f/1.7 zooms.

The body size advantage was gone; and now the lenses too. Had to forcefully moved to Fuji.

Still have the GH2, my E-P1, and kept the Oly 45mm and the 12-32 zoom to use with them. Maybe will get a used E-M5 MK III or OM-5 used in the future, and always keep looking for a Pen-F, the most beautiful digital camera ever made. But I guess that Panasonic will give a last try with a GH with PDAF, if not suceeed will leave the format. And OM will stay small, surfing the wildlife crowd to the last possible moment.

Lots of missed oportunities in the format - market claiming for a X100V and Panasonic not taking the oppportunity to a new LX100, a smaller and MUCH more versatile camera. Or a new Pen F with a new pancake fast lens. Or newer zooms without OIS, smaller and lighter, like the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 APS-C.

Would like to see a future for the format besides a niche one, but I can't. 

[Davide DB]

Over the years I have invested so much in taking M43 underwater (GH2 GH3 GH4 GH5) that just the idea that it has reached the end of the line pisses me off like a beast.
I am still convinced that M43 is the best format in existence for underwater shooting. The size of the sensor and lens allows for minimal lens ports, and with modern wet lenses you get a very compact kit (housing and port/wet lens).
Switching to FF while maintaining the same quality means having an underwater kit at least twice the size and a bare expense of at least 20K euros if not more.  Also, given the current availability of underwater accessories, it almost certainly means saying goodbye to Panasonic and jumping into the hands of Sony or Canon.
If I were a professional earning from underwater work it would be an attractive investment. but for an amateur like me the jump is almost impractical unless you are really rich.

What a shame.

[newfoundmass]

For me M43 will always be the ideal system, it just got caught up in the specs race. And for a while, it was leading, but slowly the advantages that made it attractive to me started to dwindle because the wanted to appeal to a customer base that wasn't going to buy into M43 no matter what, which resulted in larger bodies and phasing out smaller ones.

Tiny bodies with exceptional photo and video capabilities interest me more than a GH6 or a future GH7, but they've seemingly abandoned that market completely. If they'd released a GH5 (or GH6) in the body of a GX camera I honestly would've held out and kept one foot in the M43 system, because that kind of setup, with the right lenses, is something that full frame will never, ever be able to achieve. Full frame will never be able to match the compactness of a GX body and the 12-35 or 35-100. Those lenses with the GX85 were probably my favorite set up I've ever used, especially for concerts and getting into venues that didn't allow "professional" video gear. No one ever looked twice when I'd bring that set up with me! As much as I loved it though, the limitations made me sell it last year. 

The problem is, I don't know if there is even a big enough market for cameras like that anymore. I assume if there was Panasonic would've continued it? It's hard to imagine that heading into full frame didn't impact the R&D that went into M43 though, which feels like the bigger culprit. But it seems to be paying dividends as the S5 II and S5 II X are being well received, so I guess it's hard to fault them with seeing the writing on the wall? I don't know. I just think it's a shame that we will probably never see what M43 is truly capable of, because I think we COULD see even smaller bodies and lenses without significant compromises if the resources were allocated to do so. 

I don't think people should rush to offload their M43 gear because there are still some years left in it, and there absolutely are benefits over full frame. I'm sure I'll miss my trusty GH5 once I do my first shoot without it, I was prepared to keep it for a couple more years and didn't have much reason to want to upgrade. But I was just given an off ramp that I kind of had to take. Selling the GH5 and the 12-35mm paid for the S5 and (excellent) kit lens, not to mention what i got for the others, so I ended up ahead financially. Plus having three of the same cameras will make things easier for me. But there's still a lot to love about M43.

[PannySVHS]

7 hours ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

Lots of missed oportunities in the format - market claiming for a X100V and Panasonic not taking the oppportunity to a new LX100, a smaller and MUCH more versatile camera. Or a new Pen F with a new pancake fast lens. Or newer zooms without OIS, smaller and lighter, like the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 APS-C.

Now that! LX100 in 10bit and a lens with a clutch mechanism for MF with a mechanical like feel and operation just like the Oly 12mm. Olympus Pen EP5, OMD10 MKIII, GX85, GF1 are my favorite MFT designs.

 

4 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

 If they'd released a GH5 (or GH6) in the body of a GX camera I honestly would've held out and kept one foot in the M43 system, because that kind of setup, with the right lenses, is something that full frame will never, ever be able to achieve.

Exactely! Have bragged about that a dozen times, GH10bit in a GX body! GX7 or GX85 like, not the big ole GX8:)

[MrSMW]

11 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

Full frame will never be able to match the compactness of a GX body and the 12-35 or 35-100.

One of my regrets of 2022 was that I did not give the OM-1 enough testing time…but I was mid busiest season ever.

Ditto the XH2 a couple of months later.

My only real gripe was that OM Systems made the perfect bodies and Panasonic made the pair of compact zooms that would have been my main workhorses.

The equivalent Fuji set up would only have been marginally bigger but getting close enough to full-frame S5 size based system, to negate the weight/size savings.

The 4/3rds system though, based on the OM-1 and NOT the GH6 could have been interesting…

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

15 hours ago, PannySVHS said:

Exactely! Have bragged about that a dozen times, GH10bit in a GX body! GX7 or GX85 like, not the big ole GX8:)

Same here. And it is not impossible - the Fuji X-S20 have a bigger sensor (APS-C), a bigger battery, and now have 10-bit video. Put a bigger battery sideways, like the X-S10, bring the mount a little closer to the grip, and you have space for a good EVF on the side.

https://camerasize.com/compare/#908,770

A GX with 10-bit video, good IBIS (the GX9's IBIS is already better than Fuji's for video, personal experience), PDAF, a non-field sequential EVF (even the X-S20 2.36mp would be enough) - would be perfect.

But looks like that "rangefinder" styled bodies are negleted form the manufacturers. OM digital does not have one, Panasonic is quiet (and I guess a new GX camera will never exist), Fuji dumbed down the X-E4 and there are a lot of rumors that a X-E5 will never exists...only Sony looks like that will release the A6700 and the A7C II, but with that atrocious commands.

[kye]

On 6/20/2023 at 2:08 AM, newfoundmass said:

If they'd released a GH5 (or GH6) in the body of a GX camera I honestly would've held out and kept one foot in the M43 system, because that kind of setup, with the right lenses, is something that full frame will never, ever be able to achieve. Full frame will never be able to match the compactness of a GX body and the 12-35 or 35-100. Those lenses with the GX85 were probably my favorite set up I've ever used, especially for concerts and getting into venues that didn't allow "professional" video gear. No one ever looked twice when I'd bring that set up with me! As much as I loved it though, the limitations made me sell it last year. 

"The best camera is the one you have with you" is often translated as "the best camera is the one that doesn't get confiscated by security for looking too professional" 🙂

As I've mentioned previously, on my trip to South Korea earlier this year I favoured the GX85 + 14mm F2.5 pancake lens combo over the GH5, simply due to the size while filming in public and private spaces (like museums, etc).  I would have liked more flexibility and since then have worked out that the best two lenses for my purposes are the 12-32mm pancake and the 45-150mm tele - the two kit zooms that were originally paired with the GX85.  

In terms of the quality of the files, it's adequate for my purposes, but I can understand if it doesn't meet the needs of others.  Certainly I would appreciate a few added features if I was given a magic wand, but I'm ok with it how it is, and I certainly wouldn't make it any larger to accommodate any of the additional things I'd ask for.

[newfoundmass]

1 hour ago, kye said:

In terms of the quality of the files, it's adequate for my purposes, but I can understand if it doesn't meet the needs of others.  Certainly I would appreciate a few added features if I was given a magic wand, but I'm ok with it how it is, and I certainly wouldn't make it any larger to accommodate any of the additional things I'd ask for.

If it had a mic input I wouldn't have sold it because then I could've used it in most of my work. I really do miss it, but it was hard to justify keeping for the couple times a year when I needed to be able to have a more discreet set up, whether it was because I was filming somewhere I wasn't supposed to or because I just wanted to keep a low profile. In most cases the GH5 without the cage and stuff was discreet enough.