7 Months On

7 months ago I made the decision to give m43 a try, I won’t rehash the reasons for my move from Canon FF & APS-C suffice to say that size and weight had a lot to do with it.

7 months on and I think it’s time to review that decision.

Overall I have been very pleased with the Panasonic LUMIX G9 and have found myself doing far more photography than I was doing with my Canon gear.  I think there are two principal reasons why the G9 has reinspired my photography.

Firstly the sheer convenience of the smaller format and in particular the much lighter weight of the lenses has meant that I have been far more likely to take the camera and lenses with me when I am out and about, this is particularly the case when I have flown somewhere something that is becoming increasingly difficult with big full-frame glass.

Secondly the G9 just seems to inspire creativity, this being one of the big advantages of the EVF where you can actually see the results of your creative choices on the fly rather than in post, by way of an example I have found myself far more likely to try alternative formats such as the square format when using the G9 than I have with any DSLR.

Now my big concern about moving to m43 was image quality, would I miss the quality that an FF sensor gives and in particular would I miss the high iso performance of a bigger sensor.  Well, there is no doubt that at high iso, say greater than 1600, the G9 cannot match the Canon 5d Mk iii, and at very high iso, say 6400, there is a very noticeable difference.  However, for me, I have by and large found that the vast majority of my photography is at low iso and if I do need to shoot in low light I am at least to some extent compensate by using slow shutter speeds coupled with the G9s truly excellent image stabilisation.  At low iso I am more than happy with the image quality that the G9 delivers.

So I have now decided that the time has come to fully commit to m43, for me, it is more than good enough and the downsides are far outweighed by the advantages.  I have sold much of my Canon gear and the rest will be going shortly.  A new addition to the m43 family is on the way more of which later.