The future of Micro Four Thirds

In Professor Newman’s article on lens and format size ( Tech Talk, AP 3 November), he talks about the Micro Four Thirds format being possibly in danger of becoming obsolescent, or at best, becoming a niche market – in part because consumers and manufacturers appear to be jumping on the bandwagon that is mirrorless full-frame. As a long-time Micro Four Thirds fan, I was not a little perplexed by this.

I see on the internet that there are indeed many articles proclaiming that the days of Micro Four Thirds are numbered (and it’s also been suggested that the APS- C format may not survive much longer either) – all because of this apparent desire to embrace the world of full-frame without slapping mirrors.

Recently Canon and Nikon entered the full-frame mirrorless market (not invariably to popular acclaim, based on some of the reviews I’ve read of Canon’s latest toy) and Panasonic looks certain to follow suit shortly. To what end, I ask? The main attraction of Micro Four Thirds was its ability to offer near- DSLR image quality in a much smaller package, but the new breed of full-frame mirrorless cameras and lenses are almost as large and heavy as their DSLR full-frame counterparts.

Can AP give me – and the legions of other Micro Four Thirds aficionados in the UK and around the world – any assurance that the format is likely to be with us for a good while yet? Bob King Full-frame mirrorless systems are great, but they don’t offer much of a saving in size and weight over DSLRs. Predicting the future is a dangerous game, but in my opinion there will always be a huge market for a compact interchangeable-lens system that offers a wide range of great cameras and very small, exceptional quality lenses. Micro Four Thirds fills this role superbly – Nigel Atherton, Editor