Whitbyrover Loc: Lincolnshire, UK

Hi, after suffering an injury I can no longer carry the weight of my Dslr system. I am looking at Four Thirds for the lighter weight.
I mainly shoot landscape and portraits with occasional wildlife outings. Any help from Hogs that use the system would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Steve.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Look carefully at the LUMIX GX8, the Olympus Pen-F, the LUMIX GH4, and the Olympus OM-D EM-1. Look carefully at the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8, the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8, if you buy a LUMIX camera. Look at the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8, and the 40-150mm f/2.8, if you buy an Olympus body. For birds and wildlife, the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-f/6.3 is superb, as is the Olympus 300mm f/4.

There are lots of great gear reviews on www.dpreview.com, on YouTube channels by Tony Northrup, David Thorpe, The Camera Store, and others, and several dedicated Micro Four Thirds sites. A quick review of the lens list at http://hazeghi.org/mft-lenses.html is also in order.

Whitbyrover Loc: Lincolnshire, UK

Thanks Bill for your advice and leads.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

The M43 system offers the photographer outstanding images (with good lenses) in a smaller package that could fit your needs but you should try it first, through renting if possible just to make sure it is for you.
The only area where the M43 system could not be at a par with dSLR cameras is in sports and wildlife. Until now its AF has not been good enough for those subjects but there are new cameras and new AF systems and I am not fully familiar with them so do your homework.
Olympus and Panasonic have a joint venture and lenses from one or the other can be used with each other bodies. I use Olympus cameras and lenses and I am satisfied with their performance.
Good luck with your selection.

Boentgru Loc: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

There are differences in specification between "4/3" and "micro 4/3", which is the specification for the Pano and Oly systems.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

The current cameras are actually M43. (The old 4/3 format is obsolete).

I use Olympus m43 cameras for the same reason you note - an injury to my right hand and shoulder made hefting my larger system impossible. Because I want a viewfinder (it's an EVF not an OVF but I love it), I stick with the OMD line rather than the less expensive PEN line. I have no trouble managing the weight of the EM1 and my go-to lens, the 12-40 pro lens. I would have trouble with the weight of the longer pro lenses for my system so I stick with the lightweight consumer models for long lenses. I also use several ultra-tiny, excellent primes available from Oly and Panasonic.

I shoot mostly the same subjects you mentioned, and the Oly suits me fine most of the time. High ISO's are a problem due to noise, and I don't find it easy to do birds in flight. But for my purposes, it is a good system, reasonably priced, lightweight and chock full of customization options and special features. If you want to see some of my images click on my profile and look at Topics Started. Most of them are image posts. If you have specific questions, keep posting or it's fine to PM me.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I have and have used both the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the Olympus PEN-F.
I originally bought OM-D E-M1 as a lighter, smaller camera for wildlife. I had problems acquiring moving targets with it, though it's not bad with stationary and slow moving targets. I still prefer a DSLR for wildlife.
I got the PEN-F, which is smaller than the OM-D E-M1, as a general use camera and to take with me when a DSLR would be impractical. I think the PEN-F would be good for your main focus of landscapes and portraits and functional with occasional wildlife shoots.
I have not used or handled the LUMIX GH8 or LUMIX GH4 that Bill Burkholder (burkphoto) suggested, but when I was looking into Micro Four Thirds, Bill gave me a lot of good advice and information and helpful answers to my questions. You would do well to pay attention to what he says.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I have a MFT system purchased used that has been very satisfactory. You will love MFT cameras.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I just got one of those and like it a lot. However, for someone looking to reduce weight, I would add the newer Lumix GX85 to the list. It is smaller, lighter, has a new shutter design, etc. If budget is a concern, a used GX7 would be a good choice too.

The GX8 and GX85 both have a unique "dual image stabilization". The body and lens work together to make up for hands that are less steady or allow lower shutter speeds.

Bill

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I think that changed in the last few months. Olympus has a new 300mm lens and Panasonic has a new 100-400 lens. (Full frame equivalents of up to 800mm) With stabilization systems and lighter weights, owners are shooting handheld where their Nikanon friends need tripods to support the weight of their 600 or 800 mm lenses. To make aiming and burst shooting easier, Olympus is offering a dot sight that clips into the flash shoe. Newer models from both Olympus and Panasonic have much improved autofocus.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

One more resource, a UHH member, Daniel J. Cox. Check out his blog:

http://naturalexposures.com/corkboard/

TONS of great information and experienced wisdom there.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yeah, now they need to build a GX9 to incorporate the shutter improvements.

This Fall at Photokina, both Oly and Panny are expected to release new flagships --- the GH5 and OM-D EM-1 Mark II.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Thanks, Mac. I have a GH4, which I use for video and stills. It is quite responsive, especially in 4K stills mode (30 frames per second!). The EVF is wonderful.

My bag is now much lighter, and fits under an airline seat. My old Canon gear was checked baggage or air freight.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Ditch the DSLR and go with the OMD series. Their 5 axis stabilization is like no other. Some new users to mirrorless, have issues with the EVF, but for me I don't think I'd ever want to go back to a traditional mirror. I love WYSIWYG especially for my early morning outings or when I have a 10 stop filter on (which you'd never be able to compose with it while you had it on your DSLR).

For those that say you can't print big from something this small...I beg to differ.
This was shot a few days ago using the 75mm (5 shot stitch in portrait). So say it's an odd focal length to work with, but I absolutely love it...final file size was 14428 x 5123 with very little photoshop work.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-405811-1.html

My favorite lenses for the system are the 75mm, 12-40 and 7.5mm fisheye.
Other great lenses include the Panasonic 20 and 25mm along with the 12-35 and 35-100 that Burk mentioned.

Whitbyrover Loc: Lincolnshire, UK

Thank you to everyone for their help and advice. I will be trying out the omd system on Friday😊😊😊