Six Months with the Lumix GH3 and f2.8 zooms

Introduction  Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras [MILC] and the incomprehensibly named Micro Four Thirds [M43] system in particular, have had a difficult gestation. M43 was launched in 2008/9 in the middle of the global financial crisis. Soon afterwards the entire camera industry was hit by the surging popularity of smart phones which made compact cameras irrelevant for many people. Sales went down, profits fell. Those buyers who did decide to get a camera appeared to become more cautious, opting to stay with the DSLR,  the established ProperCamera type. 

 

Many MILC's presented to the market lacked a viewfinder and lacked the kind of user interface which buyers have come to expect from a Proper Camera. It appeared that the makers of MILC's were trying to find a niche between compacts and DSLR's. I have long thought this to be a puzzling strategy. It seems to me that most people who make photographs are either snapshooters or expert/enthusiasts (or experts by desire, needing further education and practice). Those little MILC's without viewfinders and with a reduced user interface just look like half baked gadgets to me, likely to appeal to neither to snapshooters nor experts. I have believed for several years and opined on this blog that MILC camera makers need to challenge DSLR's head on and beat them at their own game. It seems someone at Panasonic Lumix mission central has gotten  the same message and responded in the form of the Lumix GH3 with the 12-35mm f2.8 and 35-100mm f2.8 lenses.

 

The Expert/Professional M43 kit  For many years the standard basic kit for professional newspaper and documentary  photographers has been a full frame DSLR with 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 lenses. This kit can manage most asignments except macro, wildlife and some sports which require very long lenses.

 

The Lumix GH3 with Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 and 35-70mm f2.8 lenses is the M43 equivalent of a standard professional full frame DSLR kit. The camera body is robust and responsive. The lenses offer the same diagonal angle of view and aperture. Body and lenses offer some resistance to water penetration. They are built to a professional standard.

 

I have reviewed the GH3 and both lenses in considerable detail elsewhere on this blog.

Thoughts after 6 Months  I am not a professional photographer but an enthusiast amateur so I probably treat my equipment more gently than a working pro might do. However I do make a lot of photographs in a wide range of conditions so I give my equipment a decent workout. I am so pleased with the GH3/f2.8 twin lens kit that I  have been selling off  all my other M43 gear. The camera has been designed to be used efficiently by an experienced photographer who does not rely on any fully auto settings. There is a substantial, well shaped handle and thumbrest. Drive Mode and Focus Mode are accessed by Set and See  dials which provide instant feedback on camera status at a glance. All functions which might need to be adjusted in Capture Phase of use are readily accessible without taking one's eye from the viewfinder or having to release grip on the camera or lens. The large battery allows 1000+ shots per charge, depending on usage and image review.  The large buffer allows 28 frames to be shot at 4.6 fps before the frame rate slows.

 

The lenses deliver excellent image quality at all focal lengths and apertures, at the center and  edges of the frame. I can trust the camera and lenses to deliver excellent results in any circumstance as long as I use the equipment correctly.

There have been no faults, failures or problems with body or lenses.

 

Comparison with full frame  I don't have a full frame kit for comparison purposes but the GH3 makes pictures which look clear and sharp even when blown up to A2+ or larger print size. Maybe a full frame camera could produce images with higher quality in some technical respect but I don't care. M43 delivers good enough image quality for high quality large prints and that is good enough for me.

 

A bit of personal history  One upon a time, when I was younger and fitter, I embarked on a long journey in pursuit of ultimate image quality. I had a 35mm (film) SLR which made fine pictures but I wanted more. So I got a medium format camera, then a better one. Then came a 4x5 inch large format field camera. I got one of those, then a better one. I don't regret any of this as the journey was interesting and our house is graced by numerous large poster prints which came from 4x5inch color transparencies. But I nearly killed myself one weekend hiking into a remote area with full pack including 4x5 camera, tripod etc...etc.. and subsequently had an epiphany about the relationship between quality of life and the quest for ultimate image quality. I now find that with careful use I can make prints almost as information rich from my M43 files as I could from 4x5 inch large format using Fiji Velvia 25 years ago.

 

Marketing  The M43 system now has an excellent range of products with the GH3 and f2.8 zoom lenses genuinely deserving to be used as professional standard equipment. But in Australia where I live and elsewhere if the information I read on the net is correct, the Lumix brand is almost invisible. The makers of M43 camera gear are having difficulty luring buyers away from their DSLR's.  Olympus and Panasonic are having major financial problems. Despite all this I think that M43 has the product to beat DSLR's at their own game. A great and effective marketing push would now seem to be appropriate.