Feature photo by pittaya. Photo above by Ole1981

As a professional photographer, I place very high demands on gear in terms of quality, flexibility and full features. Now with the new Micro Four Thirds system, it seems I can get 95% of those things with only half the size and weight of an average DSLR camera.

Here are a few facts to know about Micro Four Thirds cameras.

It has an interchangeable lens system.

You are not limited to the built-in zoom range of a point and shoot camera, and you’re also not weighed down by the bulk of a DSLR. Even the best built-in zoom lenses on compact cameras can’t shoot wider than 28mm and do not have apertures wider than F/ 2.8. With a Micro 4/3rd, you can use the Panasonic 20mm F/ 1.7 fast lens to capture great shots at night or a Olympus 7-14mm wide angle zoom lens to get all your friends in the group photo.

It is an open format.

This means that any lens can work on any camera body regardless of manufacturer. You now have access to a larger variety of lenses available and you can be sure the camera system will not go defunct because a single company closes shop.

Photo by bfishadow

There is no shutter sound

Part of the reason the Micro 4/3rds is so small is because it doesn’t use a mirror; similar to the expensive Leica camera system.

An added benefit is its noiseless shutter which makes it perfect for street, travel and documentary photography.

It has a 2X crop factor.

This means that when a lens says 20mm, it is actually shooting at 40mm in the traditional 35mm sense. Most DSLRs have a 1.5 crop factor.

The benefit of this is they can make a 55-200mm zoom that is tiny and affordable but actually lets you shoot to 400mm.

The 4/3rds sensor size means more effective use of your lens and more photo size options.

Most DSLRs have a 2/3 sensor that is rectangular in shape. Camera lenses are circular so all the area outside the rectangle is essentially wasted. The 4/3 format is closer to a square and uses more of the images the lens is capturing.

Smaller Camera = Smaller Everything

Because the sensor format is redesigned and the mirror is taken out, you can get very compact camera bodies. But the true benefits really start to show when you see how small the lenses are. Smaller lenses mean smaller filter sizes, and lower prices. This also means half the battery size and a smaller tripod. It all adds up to a much lighter, more affordable, and more portable camera bag as well as less intrusive photo-taking.

There are two (2) body types to choose from.

You can choose from the really small flat bodies that are about the size of a deck of cards or a larger body with a hand grip and a few more features. Or you could buy both for the price of one semi- pro DSLR body and carry them both or bring just one out for different shooting occasions.

The availability of various accessories is currently expanding.

A few accessories available now are various flashes that work wirelessly, external microphone adapters, and external view finders. Many photojournalists and wildlife photographers have been using the Micro 4/3rds system for several years already.

You can control depth of field

No matter how solid a compact camera is, they will always have nearly unlimited depth of field. This means that almost everything within a scene is in focus all the time. Though the Micro 4/3rds format is smaller then some point-and-shoot cameras, it gives you a lot of control over how much of the photo you want in focus, thus allowing you to control depth of field.

Community Connection

Wondering what “sensor” or “depth of field” or “DSLR” mean? Why not sign up for one of Ryan’s photography workshops.

Photo by Ryan Libre

Often, when someone finds out I’m a photographer their first question is, “What gear do you use?”

So let’s see what’s in my bag…

Digital SLR Camera

I go through camera bodies way too fast.

I am currently shooting with a Nikon D90.

It is the only DSLR that takes movies at any price, yet is affordable for most travelers.

It has almost every feature I want and I can access 95% of them without searching through the menu.

Fixed Lens

More interesting than cameras are lenses.

The lenses you use have a much bigger effect on the final image than your camera. One thing every SLR shooter needs in their bag is a fast fixed lens.

That is a lens that does not zoom, but is small, light, has great depth of field and shoots well in low light without a flash.

I use the Nikkor 50mm F/1.4. Fixed lenses are also cheaper than zooms. The non-pro version, the 50mm 1.8 sells for around $100!

Wide Angle Lens

When I wanna get really close to my subject and still show a lot of context I use my Sigma 10-20mm ultra wide angle zoom.

At 10mm this lens is close to fisheye and you get a cool curvy distortion around the edges.

At 20mm it is still very wide but gives a more normal perspective.

Great to have them both in one lens.

Flash

I don’t use a flash a lot, but when I need one my Nikon SB-600 works wonders.

Even off the camera it knows wirelessly what lens I’m using, all my camera settings and even how far away my subject is!

You can also change the flash output in camera and it puts out more or less light no matter where it is located.

Takes most of the hard work out of using a flash.

Circular Polarizer

A Circular polarizer filter can do amazing things.

Polarizers can take reflections off glass or water, make skies bluer, make fall colors more colorful and much more.

A good start towards kicking the Photoshop habit.

Mini Laptop

Lastly, Ebony, my little black beauty. This mini-notebook has a six hour battery, the latest Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, three USB ports, an SD card reader and a built in webcam. I got mine for just $500, including the upgrade to 2GB of RAM.

After talking about the gear I use with curious travelers they often wonder where my big telephoto zoom lens is. I don’t have one and it hasn’t hurt my portfolio at all.

I follow Robert Capa’s advice, “Get close, then take another step.”

Next time you meet a photographer please do them and yourself a favor by asking, “What projects are you working on? ”

Photo by Ryan Libre

From hard hitting photojournalism and comical dog portraits to bizarre fish faces and beautiful naked Japanese women, they show mastery in various niches of photography.

1. South Southeast by Steve McCurry

This portfolio covers Steve McCurry’s 20+ year love affair with South and Southeast Asia.

Steve McCurry started his freelance photography career by going to India for 2 years with 200 rolls of film and not much else.

Today, he is one of the most universally respected photographer alive.

South Southeast is not the kind of book with several unforgettable photos in it, every photo is unforgettable!

2. Magnum Magnum by Magnum photographers

Magnum is a photographers collective started by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and others.

This large coffee table book shows off their best shots and their best is pretty damn good.

So good you should first get your photo on the cover of National Geographic more than once before even applying to join.

Have a look at this book and you will see why they can be so selective.

3. National Geographic: The Photographs

You already know every photo published in their magazines are topnotch.

So when they carefully select 300+ to put in a book simply titled “The Photographs”, be prepared to be blown away.

4. Vanishing Act by Art Wolfe

His name says it all.

Art Wolfe has published many quality nature and landscape photo books, but Vanishing Act stands out to me because I have not seen anything else like it.

Kind of like the “Where’s Waldo” of nature photography with endless fun and beauty.

5. Life By Frans Lanting

I can’t imagine anyone who could envision a book so broad, so bold, and do it so well as Frans Lanting.

When most people reading this article were still dirtying diapers, Frans was living in the Amazon canopy for weeks at a time waiting for the perfect shot.

His curiosity has not faded with time and the depth of his stories just keeps growing.

It is a must see collection of 175 color photographs.

6. The Book of Photography by National Geographic

This amazing 400 page book is half photos and half words, and covers everything you need to know about photography, except how to use a camera.

While it deserves a serious read from cover to cover, it is also organized in a way that allows the reader to open up any page and not feel lost.

Plus it has lots of short side essays built into the main text which are perfect if you’ve got just a few minutes to spare.

There are thousands of books about cameras but very few about the art of photography. Don’t judge this priceless book by its terrible cover design though.

7. The Photography Book by Phaidon

Each of the 500 photographers highlighted in this book get one page introductions and a photo.

It is a great and fun way to get a sense of the endless variety of photographers that exist.

You will probably never remember them all, but a few will really impress you and you can find more of their work.

The Photography Book was my first coffee table photo book. It is now officially out of print but with the millions of copies sold it is still very easy to find online and in used bookstores.

8. Life Laughs Last by Life Magazine photographers

Price: $11.50 | BUY

A light book of the funniest photos from decades of Life magazine.

Before National Geographic magazine took center stage, the most talented photographers in the world flocked to Life.

Life’s incredible pool of talent and longstanding notoriety as America’s primer photo magazine show in this timeless book of comical black and white photographs.

Most used bookstores have a copy.

9. Fish Face by David Doubilet

David Doubilet is arguably the undefeated master of underwater photography.

His new book Fish Face shows close up portraits of the underwater world from the very beautiful to the very bizarre.

David Doubilet published his first underwater photos in National Geographic before my mom could drive a car.

His love for the underwater world and his ability to tell its stories and secrets keep aging like fine wine.

10. Santa Fe by Kishin Shinoyama

What half of you have been waiting for….a nude photo book.

Some of the best advice for a photographer is to shoot what you are interested in.

Kishin Shinoyama followed that advice and remains one of the most famous and certainly most controversial photographer from Japan.

Controversy sells and so do Kishin Shinoyama’s books. Santa Fe sold 1.5 million copies.

Pick up a copy to find out why…