Retro Digital in Micro 4/3

Olympus E-PL1 with 75mm Kern-Switar lens, 2012

About a dozen years ago, I owned an Olympus E-PL1, which was a wonderful travel camera, and with the m4/3 mount, allowed me to attach a variety of lenses with the proper adapter.  I took a lot of excellent images with that camera, and I sold it and all of its lenses when I bought a Nikon 1 V1 and a Nikon 1 J1 body with lenses, thinking that hey, Nikon’s onto something here - smaller, lighter, and I can adapt lenses.  Indeed, I did especially like the Nikon 1J1 as a perfect street camera with the wide-angle equivalent of 28mm in 35mm land.  But, the Nikon 1 series, with its even smaller sensor than micro 4/3 cameras, was a dead end. They were not a bad idea, but Nikon marketed them to a different audience. 

CCTV lens on the Olympus E-PL1, 2013

 When I decided to go and get a serious mirrorless system, I bought into the Canon EOS M series with the EOS M5.  I haven’t regretted that, as my M5 is a great camera, and I have used it quite a lot, especially with manual lenses from TTArtisans, 7 Artisans, and Meike.  It has plenty of megapixels, and I love the way that it does focus confirmation in manual mode.  

Panasonic Lumix GF1 and Canon EOS M5

I was looking into having a somewhat simpler camera that reminded me of using something like the E-PL1 and of course the Ricoh GR series came to my attention. I wanted a camera that was small, but not too small, enough resolution to make decent prints, and the ability to have interchangeable lenses.  Plus, it had to be a good carry-around camera that had good battery longevity. After doing some research, I figured that it was time to go back when video wasn’t the BIG deal it is now, and that meant something over 10 years old.  The perfect candidate to me, was the Panasonic Lumix GF1, a 12 MP micro 4/3 camera with just a rear LCD.  I purchased a like-new model from KEH for $158 without a lens.  I bought a TTArtisans 25mm f/2 fully manual lens on Amazon for about $60, and both arrived on the same day.  

So, back to m4/3, after all these years.  I already have a Pentax 110 lens to m4/3 adapter, as well a C-mount to m4/3.  I used several c-mount lenses with my old Olympus E-PL1, and really liked the results, so here we are again.  My plan is to mostly use the 25 mm TTArtisans lens, which on the m4/3 sensor, is a 50mm equivalent.  The TTArtisans 25mm f/2 is a particularly nice lens that has fairly close focus (.25m) and excellent sharpness.  It has a filter ring size of 43mm, and I was pleased to find that I already had a lens hood and filter adapters that fit it.

The only knock on m4/3 is the "crop factor" - it’s 2x, which means that wide-angle primes have to be 15mm or less.  But this is supposed to be a street camera and an easily-carried adjunct to my film gear.  Having interchangeable lenses make it all the more attractive, but my intent is to try and stick with one lens.

Some quick results with the TTArtisans 25mm f/2

The Panasonic Lumix GF1 appeared on the market in the latter part of 2009, which makes it a 15-year old camera, at most.  In digital years, that’s almost an antique.  However, 12 megapixels is certainly more than adequate, and feature-wise, it’s perfect for my needs.  Price-wise, I have a pretty good setup for a little over $200.  One of the bothersome little things about my EOS M5 is the location of the video selector button, which is easy to accidentally engage.  On the GF-1, it’s on the top plate to the right of the shutter release, and I have yet to accidentally turn on the video.

All kinds of videos are on YouTube for anyone interested in setting up a compact mirrorless ILC camera to do the job of a Ricoh GR series camera.  The minus of the GR system - lack of interchangeable lenses and cost are probably the biggest strike against them.  Of course you could do the same with an older Sony NEX-series camera, a Fuji X-series, or an Olympus or Panasonic m4/3.  You could also do this with an older Canon EOS M or M2. Depending on your style of shooting, these older cameras are certainly worth investigating, and if you add an inexpensive manual lens, you won’t be out of a lot of money.  My only other purchase for this camera might be one of those old Olympus m4/3 18mm pancake lenses. I had one in my EPL-1, and liked the results.

There are a lot of excellent manual focus lenses coming from China.  My beef with the Nikon Z system and the other major mirrorless bodies, is that the AF lenses are typically large and also can be very expensive.  The lenses from 7 Artisans and TT Artisans are mostly excellent and much more compact than most of the AF lenses for their respective systems.  I reviewed the TTArtisans 40mm macro lens a while back. The GF1 is often paired with the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 AF lens, which even now, sells for more than I paid for the camera body.  I think that if you desire an AF lens for m4/3, it’s definitely a good choice, along with the Olympus Zuiko 17mm f/1.8.  

If you think that the rear LCD isn’t the best thing for you, the Panasonic DMW-LVF1 Electronic Viewfinder sells used for a little over $100.  While it’s not up to the current ELV’s in current mirrorless bodies, it’s going to be good enough to use for focusing in bright sunlight rather than the rear LCD screen.The connector has an electronic connection to provide a live view that's close to that of the LCD display, albeit with a lower resolution.  

I’m not a videographer, and in fact, if I need a short movie, I use my iPhone.  I’d like to see the manufacturers produce at least one model in their offerings that’s designed only for still photography.  Do away with the video buttons and options, and it would probably also lower the price.  My Nikon Df doesn’t do videos, and it’s a great camera.  Vloggers, influencers, etc., won’t be the market niche, but people passionate about still photography would be thrilled. 

Canon EOS M5, 2023.

The fact is, any of these cameras are capable of great images.  The user interface and ergonomics are slightly different for each brand, and you really can't tell whether a camera used has an APS-C or m4/3 sensor when you view an image.  I like the different b&w modes in the GF1, and for me, that is a plus. You might wonder why I didn't just buy an earlier EOS M model, but I have a fondness for the m4/3 cameras, and the price was right.  Basically, my advice is to pick your price point and features, and go from there,  For less than $300, you certainly have a lot of choices.