4/3rds Mirrorless questions

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

Messages
3,670
Edit My Images
Yes
Ok so I'm having fun using my collection of point and press digitals as a cheaper alternative to using film SLRs (I'm on a tight budget) But now wish to move on to something a little less limiting, as I have tried a cheap DSLR which was too big to carry about with me all the time( especially when cycling/walking) and was later found to have a faulty sensor/associated circuitry anyway + the crop factor meant my film lenses were not as wide as they were on the original film cameras which meant a lot of the time I ended up using the point and press or my phone anyway.
The first thing is I'm going to need an optical view finder rather than just a rear screen ,are these any good on older cameras ? the second is one of the problems I have with the point and presses is the lack of ability to cope with relatively high contrast shots is this likely to be any better with the larger sensor compared to the small one on the point and presses bearing in mind it will be an older camera anyway ? Finally at this point, I would love to be able to use the camera manually with film camera lenses as part of the enjoyment for me is choosing all the settings in a mechanical fashion rather than with menus, is it going to be impossible to focus using these older cameras screens /view finders and as I realize this is going to cause the lenses to appear even narrower in viewing angle than the DSLR I wondered just how much of a difference this would make ? I'm guessing I'm asking too much for a cheap old secondhand camera to match my specifications.

Ps why are they called 4/3 rds anyway as this appears to imply it is 1/3 larger than the standard sensor of the day ?

Thanks all for your input.
 
Last edited:
BADGER.BRAD said:
Ok so I'm having fun using my collection of point and press digitals as a cheaper alternative to using film SLRs (I'm on a tight budget) But now wish to move on to something a little less limiting, as I have tried a cheap DSLR which was too big to carry about with me all the time( especially when cycling/walking) and was later found to have a faulty sensor/associated circuitry anyway + the crop factor meant my film lenses were not as wide as they were on the original film cameras which meant a lot of the time I ended up using the point and press or my phone anyway.
The first thing is I'm going to need an optical view finder rather than just a rear screen ,are these any good on older cameras ? the second is one of the problems I have with the point and presses is the lack of ability to cope with relatively high contrast shots is this likely to be any better with the larger sensor compared to the small one on the point and presses bearing in mind it will be an older camera anyway ? Finally at this point, I would love to be able to use the camera manually with film camera lenses as part of the enjoyment for me is choosing all the settings in a mechanical fashion rather than with menus, is it going to be impossible to focus using these older cameras screens /view finders and as I realize this is going to cause the lenses to appear even narrower in viewing angle than the DSLR I wondered just how much of a difference this would make ? I'm guessing I'm asking too much for a cheap old secondhand camera to match my specifications.

Ps why are they called 4/3 rds anyway as this appears to imply it is 1/3 larger than the standard sensor of the day ?

Thanks all for your input.
Click to expand...


Any camera can be used to adapt vintage lenses, you can get adapters for £10 that will do the job - as most old lenses have an aperture ring so they don't really require cpu connection to the camera itself. The adapters just act as spacers to make up the difference where the old mirror would be.

The name comes from the fact it is a 4 x 3 ratio sensor. Your images will be 4:3 rather than 3:2, and the micro came into play when Olympus ditched the older bulkier mirrored 4/3 system to go mirrorless. The cameras could be made much smaller, the lenses too, so micro just stands for a smaller, more compact system.
 
You mention optical view finder...m43 have EVFs, not OVFs. Or was this just your terms for a view finder or are you talking 4/3 rather than m43 ?

If you're talking m43, I got an e-m10 mk2 brand new from SRS for £234 ( after cash back ). You can't go wrong at that price level
 
You say you're on a tight budget but tight can mean different things to different people so my suggestions may or may not be acceptable to you :D

If wanting to use old film era lenses I'd go for a "full frame" Sony A7 on which you're lenses will give you the field of view they give on 35mm film bodies, 28mm will be 28mm, 50mm will be 50mm etc... I have a first generation A7 and I use old manual lenses on it most of the time and the adapters are cheap often starting at around £10. You'll get more dynamic range with these FF cameras which will be useful for your high contrast shots.

So, have a think about how much you are willing to spend and look at what used Sony A7's go for. I'm not so sure that manual lenses make a lot of sense on a four thirds camera and although they're perfectly useable on a Micro Four Thirds camera you've already noticed one drawback, these cameras are x2 crop and a 50mm film era lens suddenly becomes 100mm field of view.

If you must go for a x2 crop MFT camera the earlier models are very cheap these days, I had a Panasonic G1 (used ones cost somewhere between £50-100 and the similar G2 shouldn't be too much if anything more) which I used a lot with film era lenses and whilst these older cameras can't compete with newer ones for image quality IMO they're excellent at ISO 100-400, good to maybe ISO 800 and useable with care to ISO 1600 and the extended ISO 3200. Something later like a Panasonic GX7 (maybe under £200 used) may also be within your budget, maybe, and will give you better image quality but that particular model and a few others can induce shutter shock when used in combination with some lenses. It can be a bit of a minefield. The GX80 is a new model, it's shutter shock free, and is both good and IMO reasonably priced at under £300 used.

You could also look at the Sony A6000 (you could maybe find one under £300 used) which is an APS-C camera with a x1.5 crop factor so a 28mm lens gives a 42mm FoV etc...

On the general point of using film lenses on digital cameras personally I'd choose a camera with an EVF every single time over one with an OVF as with the EVF you get focusing aids such as with some cameras you get peaking and with them all (AFAIK) a greatly magnified view to call up and focus with. Manual focusing can therefore be very accurate assuming you have to the time to focus manually but of course you can always zone focus or shoot hyperfocally if you are happy shooting that way.

For an idea of the size of the various cameras look at this...

https://camerasize.com/compact/#487,311,535,202,ha,t

Good luck choosing. I hope you find something to suit you and enable you to enjoy your lenses.
 
Are you sure you need a viewfinder? I thought I did and paid out extra for one but after the first day I have never used it. I fold out the screen (I have an Olympus Pen E-PL5) so that it is horizontal and treat it like a TLR.
 
Thanks for the information everyone much appreciated. I did mean a a EVF but was unaware of what they were called, I tried tracking a plane at low level using the screen on my bridge camera Tthe other day which I found near impossible so that the reason for wanting the EVF. The Sony A7 sounds just the ticket as I have many film lenses so I will keep my eye open for one.

Thanks again all
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top