Any regrets after switching from DSLR to full M4/3 system?

[Blitzkriegh]

Thanks for all the valuable inputs. with regards to my shooting style now, it has shifted drastically for being a landscape/streets/events photography down to my family casual shoots/babies. I do miss the speed and af of what dslr can give and an the bokeh it can produce using the 1.4 primes (btw, i'm more of a prime user between 1.4-1.8 lenses). However, after-some time, i realized i haven't been using my dslr for many months because of lost of time going outside, heavy and lazy..

However, being an avid photographer, i do miss having an slr but if i were to buy a new system, perhaps not as serious setup i used to have (i.e. 7D, primes 1.4, 1.8, 17-55, flashes, etc) and just thinking on getting the lighter Nikon D5200 and build few cheap primes such as the 35mm and /50/85 1.8...

I've been doing my own reading about m43 and was indeed impressed with the quality images and portability of epl5, omd, and some of its variants. However, a part of me still asking myself whether if it's a good move to get m43 or dslr with a limited budget. My thought process is if i were to buy a m43 system at around $1K, would the price justifies the quality of the images, features, versatility from what I can get when considering a mid-range dslr such as the Nikon D5100/5200 or equivalent... it's still 50-50 at this stage...

My interest in images (limited to aps-c, m43) : decent bokeh, rich tones, sharpness, good noise handling
Types of shooting: babies, candid portraits, casual street
My interest in gear: light setup, i don't mind using primes,

 

[canbedone]

I got both system, MFT I got Lumix GX1 before and now OMD
DSLR I got Pentax K-5 IIs

MFT - OMD Advantages:
1. light weight and compact
2. Very fast AF (OMD)
3. EVF provide more features and option on info and grid line
4. Very good if not the best IBIS (OMD)
5. Very good ISO (OMD)
6. Lenses are smaller in size
7. Weather sealed

If you want to obtain MFT but dont want to spend a lot just obtain Lumix GX1 or G5 with a Lumix 14-45mm sharp lens made in Japan (used only cost <S$200) less than S$900 do not get 14-42mm its not as sharp.
One thing about MFT is that their good lenses are just as expensive, but more brands are supporting MFT which is a good news

DSLR - Pentax K-5 IIs Advantages
1. It is AA filter-less thus provide higher sharpness (K-5 IIs)
2. Higher battery life
3. More lenses accessories option
4. Larger sensor size - better higher ISO
5. Cheaper lenses option e.g Pentax 50mm f1.8 cost S$320 vs Olympus 45mm f1.8 cost S$450
7. Weather sealed

DSLR have better battery life more accessories and lenses options, other than that MFT and DSLR image quality are both very good (OMD and K-5IIs) largely depend on the lens we used.

Conclusion:
I will prefer to bring a MFT while travelling as its light weight and compact with fast AF better IBIS able to capture quick snap yet sharp images. But due to the fact that MFT only available wide angle lenses are oly 9-18mm <S$900 and lumix 7-14mm S$1400 they are expensive to me, thus I obtain Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 for my K-5IIs only <S$900 yet its still wider than Oly 9-18mm (after we multiple with the crop factor of 1.5 for DSLR and 2.0 for MFT) and with a constant F-stop of 3.5. ANd its 3rd party battery grid is only <S$60 where OMD i paid over S$300 for it.

Both are very good cameras produce very good image quality, I love its weight and compactness and the latest tech than an OMD provides but not its price range on their lenses and accessories. I like K-5IIs its battery life, price range and choices of lenses (able to use lens since 1975) and accessories option).

 

[Agrivar]

Let me weigh in. IMO, m4/3 is good enough. With the present level of sensors (EM5, EPL5,GH3) it's as good as mid range dslr. As good as d7000/60D. Only thing lacking is CAF which with some technique it's still able to do sports, but not as easy.

For fast primes, you have all the nice small primes in m4/3. True DOF is not the same as FF but with a 45/1,8 / 25/1.4 / 17/1.8 / 12/2.0 there is good enough shallow DOF for even portraits. Again I compare to APS-C and say it's good enough.

With the advantage to smaller lighter bodies and lenses m4/3 have come a long way. It challenges APS-C and I've personally rented/borrowed D5100/D7000/600D/650D/60D/A77 to try. To me the images are as good as APS-C cams.

So my suggestion is, unless you shoot sports or need FF or MF, m4/3 is good enough even for commercial prints. Just google and you will see world reknown photog like Damian McGillicuddy using EM5 for paid work. So who says m4/3 isn't good enough ? : )

My humble 2 cents. But at the end it's your shooting style. I still love the dslr handling, that's why im shooting with a GH3 as my primary cam. M4/3 offers much. Take time to explore it. For best IQ go with the 3 cams I mentioned. All others use older tech. Btw DPreview readers gave the oly EM5 camera of the year 2012 edging out the D800. Some feat for a mirror less.

 

[ageha]

Let me weigh in. IMO, m4/3 is good enough. With the present level of sensors (EM5, EPL5,GH3) it's as good as mid range dslr. As good as d7000/60D. Only thing lacking is CAF which with some technique it's still able to do sports, but not as easy.

For fast primes, you have all the nice small primes in m4/3. True DOF is not the same as FF but with a 45/1,8 / 25/1.4 / 17/1.8 / 12/2.0 there is good enough shallow DOF for even portraits. Again I compare to APS-C and say it's good enough.

With the advantage to smaller lighter bodies and lenses m4/3 have come a long way. It challenges APS-C and I've personally rented/borrowed D5100/D7000/600D/650D/60D/A77 to try. To me the images are as good as APS-C cams.

So my suggestion is, unless you shoot sports or need FF or MF, m4/3 is good enough even for commercial prints. Just google and you will see world reknown photog like Damian McGillicuddy using EM5 for paid work. So who says m4/3 isn't good enough ? : )

My humble 2 cents. But at the end it's your shooting style. I still love the dslr handling, that's why im shooting with a GH3 as my primary cam. M4/3 offers much. Take time to explore it. For best IQ go with the 3 cams I mentioned. All others use older tech. Btw DPreview readers gave the oly EM5 camera of the year 2012 edging out the D800. Some feat for a mirror less.

Technique and talent is a major factor. You can produce professional photos with m43 and a lot of crap with the most expensive full-frame cameras, just browse through the forums.

 

[TWmilkteaTW]

It will all boil down to.

Your shooting style.
What u want to shoot
Which kind of experiences you want
and whether you willing to lug around a bigger and heavier equipment or not.

Give and take. Win some lose some. They have their own market.
Like i mentioned before. With not much budget. For the stuff you can get.

The performance will be very close. At least to me.

 

[Agrivar]

Technique and talent is a major factor. You can produce professional photos with m43 and a lot of crap with the most expensive full-frame cameras, just browse through the forums.

True.. very true.. the person behind the cam is the most important.. I've seen shots done with FF that will make you cry.. heck, same with m4/3. But I've seen some great shots even from an iphone !

 

[tofu master]

by now, from all the posts, you'd have a picture that each dslr & m43 got their own (+) & (-) .
try to approach it this way: 'if your budget is $1k, will you get a better dslr or m43 system?'
if you think the (-) of dslr is the size, alternatively you can get a dslr and a good compact, e.g. a used panasonic lx 5 or lx3

 

[Agrivar]

by now, from all the posts, you'd have a picture that each dslr & m43 got their own (+) & (-) .
try to approach it this way: 'if your budget is $1k, will you get a better dslr or m43 system?'
if you think the (-) of dslr is the size, alternatively you can get a dslr and a good compact, e.g. a used panasonic lx 5 or lx3

I think the TS needs to ask the most important question. Does he want to change lenses? If yes, dslr or mirror less is ok. If no, go for the high end compacts like rx100 or lx7 or xz2.

If u want the versatility of changing lenses know that for 1k you will only be able to get entry level. Mb a 2 lens kit. Or buy 2nd hand from bns.

 

[Blitzkriegh]

I think the TS needs to ask the most important question. Does he want to change lenses? If yes, dslr or mirror less is ok. If no, go for the high end compacts like rx100 or lx7 or xz2.

If u want the versatility of changing lenses know that for 1k you will only be able to get entry level. Mb a 2 lens kit. Or buy 2nd hand from bns.

changing lenses is not an issue for me. Its either a DSLR (d5200/650D range) or m43.

 

[Agrivar]

Maybe the best advice is to go to the shops and try? It's really an individual preference. And for dslr users thinking of switching to mirror less the other thing is ovf to EVF. Best to touch and feel

 

[ageha]

I also have to stress you need to spend some time with the different systems, cameras and lenses. Everything written here is correct and wrong at the same time depending on what people want to achieve with the equipment, the experiences they made with those cameras and on their comfort level with "photography". Our opinions shouldn't matter to you.

 

[Agrivar]

Check this out for some EM5 shots with 45/1.8

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3381710

 

[Agrivar]

I also have to stress you need to spend some time with the different systems, cameras and lenses. Everything written here is correct and wrong at the same time depending on what people want to achieve with the equipment, the experiences they made with those cameras and on their comfort level with "photography". Our opinions shouldn't matter to you.

100% correct

 

[ageha]

Check this out for some EM5 shots with 45/1.8

45mm 1.8 + OMD EM5 Fantastic results: Micro Four Thirds Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

One of my favorite lenses! 500px / Search

 

[TrippleB]

I've sold my Nikon setup to get the E-PL5 2 days before CNY.
I'm not a pro shooter and dun shoot sports nor birds, so speed is not a concern to me.
The main reason that I bought a DSLR in the first place was to capture precious moments of my 2 gals.

Before long, I realised that my Nikon is spending more and more time in the dry cabinet as I'm too lazy to lug the bulk and weight of a DSLR around.

If I've not gotten my MFT, I would have missed another chance of capturing shots of my 2 gals during friends/relatives house-visiting this CNY.

As happy as I can possibly be right now.

 

[Blitzkriegh]

I've sold my Nikon setup to get the E-PL5 2 days before CNY.
I'm not a pro shooter and dun shoot sports nor birds, so speed is not a concern to me.
The main reason that I bought a DSLR in the first place was to capture precious moments of my 2 gals.

Before long, I realised that my Nikon is spending more and more time in the dry cabinet as I'm too lazy to lug the bulk and weight of a DSLR around.

If I've not gotten my MFT, I would have missed another chance of capturing shots of my 2 gals during friends/relatives house-visiting this CNY.

As happy as I can possibly be right now.

I have the exact situation like yours when my DSLR was just at the cabinet due to its heavy weight...
With all my searches, I'm leaning towards the epl5 as well. Do you mind if can share some of the pictures and total cost via pm or here?

 

[microcosm]

From what I have been reading, I think the best set up for you would be a used Panasonic GX1 with the X series 14-42mm zoom (to maximise your budget). If you ever want to get a faster lens, then consider the Panasonic 12-35mm but that would add some bulk to the set up. There are many pancake primes out there as well.

 

[Wzierbovsky]

No regrets. My DSLR only comes out when I'm shooting animals or birds. The rest of the time, my current m4/3s - the E-M5 - is a lot of fun to use when coupled with primes, and more portable too.

 

[iise7en]

I've sold my Nikon setup to get the E-PL5 2 days before CNY.
I'm not a pro shooter and dun shoot sports nor birds, so speed is not a concern to me.
The main reason that I bought a DSLR in the first place was to capture precious moments of my 2 gals.

Before long, I realised that my Nikon is spending more and more time in the dry cabinet as I'm too lazy to lug the bulk and weight of a DSLR around.

If I've not gotten my MFT, I would have missed another chance of capturing shots of my 2 gals during friends/relatives house-visiting this CNY.

As happy as I can possibly be right now.

Same same here. I prefer lightweight but "powerful" OMD with 12-35mm and 35-100mm.I used to have Pentax K5 and Canon 7D respectively. After doing much homework and reviews of many MFT camera, I am very glad to be an owner of OMD and never looked back since ever.

 

[spidey89]

I find the quality of crop sensors compared with m43 is quite close, the deciding factor would be the weight and size despite the similar prices. Using my Nikon with the 2.8 trinity, compared with my E-3, 7-14, 14-54, 50-200, the 43 system is really a lot lighter. So much lighter that my bag could actually last longer, but since I switched to my Nikon system, carrying 2 lens, my bag's D ring snapped (I've grown to like that bag though I initially hated it) hahaha