BauerPowerPhotographs: Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens System Cameras

In the last few years a new breed of camera has been born. It can be very DSLR-like or it can be Point and Shoot-like. Current nomenclature uses Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens System or MILS to designate this type of camera although the name is still evolving. They are made by Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung, Pentax, Nikon, and Sony. MILS cameras do not have a mirror that must flip out of the way as a photo is being taken. This allows the body form to be be smaller. Smaller is better if you are on a long hike.

One class of MILS cameras, made by both Panasonic and by Olympus is called the Micro Four Thirds cameras. They all share is the use of a 4/3 size sensor that is slightly smaller than the APS-C sensor used by Canon and Nikon. Using the M4/3 sensor results in a crop factor of 2.0 for lenses. The kit lens is a 14-42mm lens which has the same field of view as a 28-88mm on a camera using a full frame sensor. The first m4/3 sensors were 12 megapixels in resolution. The later models have stepped up to 16 megapixels. And you can interchange Oly and Panny lenses from one brand to the other. With the proper adapter you can also hang almost any camera lens on a micro-4/3 camera. When you use an adapter, you lose the auto-focus function. I have several Pentax K-mount lenses that do a great job as manual focus lenses. There is a complete suite of auto-focus lenses made by Panasonic and Olympus that fit the M4/3 cameras.

I own a Panasonic G2. It looks very much like a small DSLR but when you use the viewfinder you are actually looking at a small electronic screen. Like with a DSLR, you see the camera settings as well as the subject that you are photographing. The M/43 cameras take excellent videos as they have full time autofocus in the video mode.

When you are using it with non-M4/3 lenses and are using manual focus, you can get an enlarged view through the viewfinder to assist with manual focus. Although one can use auto-focus lenses of other brands (with the proper adapter) it is difficult to set the f/stop of an auto-focus lens because AF lenses don't have an aperture control band on the lens. Most older manual focus lenses have the control band and it is very easy to set the aperture. One additional thought about the MF lenses is that they are very inexpensive and it is also easy to find "fast" lenses. As an example I was able to acquire a 135mm f/2.8 lens for only $25.00.

Some photos of my G2.